Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them

[makers marc]

Hmm.. I need to brush up on some jargon first. But essentially what youre suggesting is to store everything 20 feet below in my master bathroom. Drill through the wall to run the 3/8 lines to/from the tank which I get. But whats the old voltage work boxes and blank cover for? Is this to plug a pump into it so I can pump water upstairs to the DT, 20 feet above? Is it a DIY project to install a drain line from upstairs to the sink below?

 

[UFO8MyCow]

The low voltage old work box is so that you can put a hole in the wall to drill through and cover it up easily

As for the drain, that is what on of the pump heads is for you will run a 3/8 line back to bathroom and tap into the drain under the sink

 

[lnevo]

Mixing station 3.0

Both sides can be used for mixing saltwater. I added a float valve to the 5g bucket so I could make pure water for when I need some. The other two will be going back and forth between new salt water being mixed and ready salt water for the auto water changer.

I have ReefAngel Water Level sensors measuring the capacity in each one. It also controls a solenoid to flush the RO membrane daily. The RO also feeds a solenoid which refills my gravity fed ATO reservoir upstairs.

RO filter and the auto water change pump has also been wall mounted.

 

[40gal]

Im doing some research on an autowater change system before I upgrade to an 8 foot 240 gallon in 6 months. This thread is great, as I get to see what works for other people. The main reason I haven't upgraded is I haven't figured out how to integrate an autowater change system, or frankly any method that prevents me from lugging 5 gallon buckets back and forth. These are my main obstacles, please chime in if you can.

Obstacle #1: Lack of Space for storage/mixing tanks, no floor drain for wastewater
-My tank is located in our formal dining room and does not have space for storage containers in that room. There also is no floor drain. Tank is against an outside perimeter wall which is 20 feet above my backyard lawn (inverted floorplan). Garage is too far away and since there's no attic above, I don't know how id pump to/from the garage anyway. The room below the tank is the master bathroom.

Option#1 Place the storage containers and RODI unit outside, directly below the tank in the backyard right by the A/C condenser. Would this work in TX heat? What happens during freezes?

Option#2: Find a small footprint setup and put it under the stand. Maybe do a 2% change daily, so all I need are 2 5 gallon buckets underneath?

Option#3: Forget water changes and find a mentor who runs a SPS tank with no changes


Any other suggestions y'all can think of? How expensive is it for a plumber to come in and install a water line to the formal dining room, and install a floor drain that maybe leads to my master bathroom below?

This may help some: Auto/Continuous Water Change

 

[40gal]

Mixing station 3.0

Both sides can be used for mixing saltwater. I added a float valve to the 5g bucket so I could make pure water for when I need some. The other two will be going back and forth between new salt water being mixed and ready salt water for the auto water changer.

I have ReefAngel Water Level sensors measuring the capacity in each one. It also controls a solenoid to flush the RO membrane daily. The RO also feeds a solenoid which refills my gravity fed ATO reservoir upstairs.

RO filter and the auto water change pump has also been wall mounted.

What electronics are you using there? I'm in the process of programming an arduino-based controller for my RO/DI solenoids, as it will give me more granular control over what my Apex does since I'm out of relay outlets on my second EB8.

 

[don_chuwish]

Work in progress. The fittings on the Roto-Mold are from the previous owner, who used it to mix Kalk. I'll just plug them.
Haven't even started on plumbing.
The stand needs painting before I fully attach it to the wall, this is just a test fit.
Buckets fit neatly under it on the floor.

 

[zachts]

Mixing station 3.0

RO filter and the auto water change pump has also been wall mounted.

Ahh, that pump looks mighty familiar.......still can't believe what a great find those were!

 

[lnevo]

What electronics are you using there? I'm in the process of programming an arduino-based controller for my RO/DI solenoids, as it will give me more granular control over what my Apex does since I'm out of relay outlets on my second EB8.

It's a ReefAngel prototype I'm testing. The rat's nest is a circuit to turn on/off the solenoid and auto water change pump sharing one power supply. I wasn't initially going to need the transformers for each relay either but I blew out the dimming ports when I was testing things out.

Ahh, that pump looks mighty familiar.......still can't believe what a great find those were!

It's been live since last night! Working great so far. It's changed out a few gallons so far. Best $35 I ever spent, even though the cost of the project turned into much much more...

 

[UFO8MyCow]

Where did you find that pumpbfor $35?

 

[lnevo]

eBay. Zachts found them if I recall correctly. Look up the automatic water change thread.

 

[zachts]

Where did you find that pumpbfor $35?

I found them on Ebay and spread the word after snagging a few for myself, there were like 50 or more of them, but they went fast and the seller quickly raised the price tag to over $100 once they realized what they had :lolspin: In hind sight I wish I would have bought them all and resold them at a a meager markup to share the love with RC (the thread Inevo mentioned above was the insparation for me to spend the time scouring the web for them in the first place)

 

[Fishbulb2]

Ok this is a little different. Rather than just showing my station, I actually need help setting it up! So recommendations are welcome. This is what I have so far.

[/URL][/IMG]


These are my thoughts and concerns. I notice everyone builds a wooden stand to elevate the water containers off of the floor. But you'll notice that to the right of my tanks, there is the panel box for the house electricity. If I raise the water tanks up at all, I won't be able to open the doors without draining and moving the system. Can I just leave everything on the floor?

Next is, I'm not sure what pump to use to mix. I have three pumps on hand. These are a mag 18, A QuietOne 3000, and a SRO Water Blaster 5000. Which would you use. I like the idea of using the more powerful Mag 18, but I've heard they leak when run externally. If I drop it into the mixing station, how would I get the power cord to exit? I would think that this would leave an opening for air to get in and help with evaporation. These tanks will hold 1 months worth of mix.


I notice most people have the pump draw in water from the bottom of the mixing station and they send water back up to the top. Wouldn't we get more efficient mixing if we actively mix and stir the salt by having the water return to the bottom of the mixing station?

Last silly question. I was surprised these tanks didn't have gallon marks on it. I don't want to fill 50 1 gallon just of water. Is there a better way to guess where the 50g mark would be. (These are 55g barrels).

Thanks guys! I am really excited to get this up and running.

FB

 

[lnevo]

Since they are square and even on the way up you can measure the height and knowing the volume you can calculate inches per gallon to make the marks.

The pump water returning on top is most efficient in my mind but you could go either way. People elevate it so they could use gravity to drain water when needed. You could always have an outlet from the pump drain at a convenient height.

 

[UFO8MyCow]

looks like the spec sheet for those tanks says .375" or 3/8" per gallon

http://www.tank-depot.com/Drawings/Ace/SP0055-MM.pdf

You could leave the left tank on the ground and build a stand for the nsw on the right. that way you could easily put a bucket under it and fill it from the bulkhead

You could also add another bulkhead and a drum tap to the RODI container partway up.

 

[Fishbulb2]

Thanks UFO,

How very frustrating. You are correct that that is exactly what I ordered and the same vendor that I ordered it from. The picture and description both indicate it should have had gallon indicators on it, but sure enough, what they sent me doesn't. I looked at the spec sheet but I think .375" is the size of the gallon indicators, or the size of the numbers. I don't think it's actually .375 inches per gallon. Otherwise, for 50 gallons that would only be about 19" and the tank is about 40" tall.

Why can't they just send what I ordered? Arg. The shipping on these isn't cheap either.

FB

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Love the Banjo cam lock disconnects. Used them on my mixing station as well.

If anyone is interested, found mine at US Plastics.

M

 

[don_chuwish]

Work in progress. The fittings on the Roto-Mold are from the previous owner, who used it to mix Kalk. I'll just plug them.
Haven't even started on plumbing.
The stand needs painting before I fully attach it to the wall, this is just a test fit.
Buckets fit neatly under it on the floor.

And FINALLY I'm making RO/DI water with this thing.

I'm so happy to finally have a stationary setup. No bucket hauling, no RO line unrolling and rolling - just on or off.

The RO container already had a bulkhead at the very top from the previous owner. So I decided to use it as an emergency overflow. I added a 45 degree elbow inside to make it a little higher inside.

Both the emergency overflow line and the RO waste water line go through the wall and into the crawlspace of the house, then out one of the foundation vents and into the french drain. In summer I'll probably tap the waste line for watering plants or something.

Since the valve in the wall is hard to reach behind the Brute, I added an inline valve on the supply. That and the diverter for startup water are nicely available out front. Also nice to have the TDS meter at eye level finally.

Hardest part of all this was getting into the crawl space to drill up through the sill plate into that wall cavity, then fishing out the two lines. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.

Thanks to all who have posted so many great ideas here!

Next up is plumbing the mixing container. I'm sure a few more trips to the hardware store will be in order.

 

[woodnaquanut]

And FINALLY I'm making RO/DI water with this thing.

From the pics I'm not sure where it is but in a close up of clear tubing going into an elbow it looks like a brass insert fitting. If that's on either the SW or RO/DI water, it would be wise to change that to plastic. If it's on the house supply to the RO/DI it will be fine.

 

[don_chuwish]

I knew someone would ask about that! It's just the emergency overflow - in case the float switch fails somehow.

 

[DarthReefer27]

Ok this is a little different. Rather than just showing my station, I actually need help setting it up! So recommendations are welcome. This is what I have so far.

[/URL][/IMG]


These are my thoughts and concerns. I notice everyone builds a wooden stand to elevate the water containers off of the floor. But you'll notice that to the right of my tanks, there is the panel box for the house electricity. If I raise the water tanks up at all, I won't be able to open the doors without draining and moving the system. Can I just leave everything on the floor?

Next is, I'm not sure what pump to use to mix. I have three pumps on hand. These are a mag 18, A QuietOne 3000, and a SRO Water Blaster 5000. Which would you use. I like the idea of using the more powerful Mag 18, but I've heard they leak when run externally. If I drop it into the mixing station, how would I get the power cord to exit? I would think that this would leave an opening for air to get in and help with evaporation. These tanks will hold 1 months worth of mix.


I notice most people have the pump draw in water from the bottom of the mixing station and they send water back up to the top. Wouldn't we get more efficient mixing if we actively mix and stir the salt by having the water return to the bottom of the mixing station?

Last silly question. I was surprised these tanks didn't have gallon marks on it. I don't want to fill 50 1 gallon just of water. Is there a better way to guess where the 50g mark would be. (These are 55g barrels).

Thanks guys! I am really excited to get this up and running.

FB

I see you are in MD. where did you get the storage tanks from. or did you just order them online and pay the unreal shipping costs?