Ted_C's Water Mixing Station
- Thread starter Ted_C
- Start date
Htfdwhaler
New member
Nice!
Htfdwhaler
New member
How much were the tanks? If you don't mind me asking..
what's your total system water volume?? That's a lot of water. lol
what's your total system water volume?? That's a lot of water. lol
Ted_C
Active member
I bought them back in November from Glenn Industries.
I drilled the tanks myself and installed the bulkheads myself. Only used three of the four.
This set-up is specifically for my quarantine / frag tank. Bought that from JMonks in October. Its 150 in the main display and I dunno - 25-30 gallons in the sump? I'm still re-plumbing everything - waiting on some back-ordered fittings.
I'm running the RO/DI now without the DI portion. I need to do some leak test and I want to treat JMonk's tank with HCl (Muriatic) to remove some dead corals, dead corralaine, and the emtpy vermetid tubes.
So far so good - no leaks. However - I received a pretty big static shock when Iw as feeling around the fittings. That may be an issue in the future.
Htfdwhaler
New member
Is that the DC 6000?
Ted_C
Active member
I wrapped some stripped wire around the lower bulkheads and grounded it to the travertine floors (hammer drill and drywall mounting screws). Haven't gotten shocked since - on the other hand - I haven't been touching the fittings either... it was building up a pretty big charge.
Nope - its one of the utility pumps available for sale at FAOIS. Sorry, I dont remember the name of it. If I go up there today - i'll post the name and size. I do know it's a 1.25" input and 1" output.
I did a small scale leak test last night and found the fittings around the pump were leaking a bit. Tore it apart - applied more (liberally) Thread Sealent and haven't seen any more leaks in 12 hours.
Ted_C
Active member
Regarding the static shock - there's only one other thread I can find about this:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1292657&highlight=static+shock
Alot of the advice was regarding a voltage leak / exposed wire rather than the possibility that water and plastic can build up a static charge.
However, this article perfectly describes the science behind what's happening with my mixing station: http://www.shimadzu.com/an/hplc/support/lib/lctalk/14/14lab.html
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1292657&highlight=static+shock
Alot of the advice was regarding a voltage leak / exposed wire rather than the possibility that water and plastic can build up a static charge.
However, this article perfectly describes the science behind what's happening with my mixing station: http://www.shimadzu.com/an/hplc/support/lib/lctalk/14/14lab.html
Ted_C
Active member
The only other leak was the bulkhead on the saltwater tank - it needed tightened down a bit. Luckily it was a slow leak.
Regarding the UHE - my input water is around 375-400 PPM TDS (that's softened water). Output (without the DI stages) is 2 PPM. It's pretty much spot on at 100 gallons per day (as far as I can tell).
The booster pump does make a racket - I have it mounted to the wall and the vibrations from it are vibrating the entire wall. I think I may try some 1/2" foam padding on the back of the unit to see if that helps and bolts instead of screws to the wall so I can tighten it down a bit more.
The unit failed one point - after the higher float switch opened up - the unit went into a few autoflushes, the pump shut down - but the water continued to flow. I have a mechanical float - I added that to the mix - now just to tune it - but I have another 35 gallons to go before I fill up the container.
Regarding the UHE - my input water is around 375-400 PPM TDS (that's softened water). Output (without the DI stages) is 2 PPM. It's pretty much spot on at 100 gallons per day (as far as I can tell).
The booster pump does make a racket - I have it mounted to the wall and the vibrations from it are vibrating the entire wall. I think I may try some 1/2" foam padding on the back of the unit to see if that helps and bolts instead of screws to the wall so I can tighten it down a bit more.
The unit failed one point - after the higher float switch opened up - the unit went into a few autoflushes, the pump shut down - but the water continued to flow. I have a mechanical float - I added that to the mix - now just to tune it - but I have another 35 gallons to go before I fill up the container.
Ted_C
Active member
A few more issues:
Called Spectrapure support yesterday - they are looking into my issue with the UHE 100 - even with the mechanical float on the output water - Waste water continues to flow out of the system.
Also, it looks like I'm back - siphoning from the storage tank to the waste water. I made just over 90 gallons yesterday and when I checked on it this morning, it was just under 90 gallons. No water on the floor - so it must be back siphoning.
Called Spectrapure support yesterday - they are looking into my issue with the UHE 100 - even with the mechanical float on the output water - Waste water continues to flow out of the system.
Also, it looks like I'm back - siphoning from the storage tank to the waste water. I made just over 90 gallons yesterday and when I checked on it this morning, it was just under 90 gallons. No water on the floor - so it must be back siphoning.
flounderpounder
New member
awesome plumbing
Ted_C
Active member
Issue with the UHE resolved. It turned out there was a little valve that wasn't in the correct position
The valve on the right (the malfunctioning solenoid) should be in the same position as the valve on the left.
I've also attached some foam padding (the DC12000 I bought - the foam that surrounds the pump within the box) to the rear of the unit between the wall. It's nice and quiet now. Totally dampened the vibrations. I can still hear the pump running from the next room - but it's acceptable now.
The last issue to solve is the back-siphon that's occurring. That should be easy to fix with some 1/2" PVC and a shorter waste line.
The valve on the right (the malfunctioning solenoid) should be in the same position as the valve on the left.
I've also attached some foam padding (the DC12000 I bought - the foam that surrounds the pump within the box) to the rear of the unit between the wall. It's nice and quiet now. Totally dampened the vibrations. I can still hear the pump running from the next room - but it's acceptable now.
The last issue to solve is the back-siphon that's occurring. That should be easy to fix with some 1/2" PVC and a shorter waste line.
Ted_C
Active member
it only takes a few minutes to fill the 90 from the freshwater reservoir so it's not like I'm walking away as it fills for hours at a time. as long as you use some common sense (with the valves) and turn off the pump when the container is full - you'll minimize the backflush.
If I do backflush a little bit of saltwater - no big deal. It'd be so diluted to almost nothing - its not going to affect anything I might be using the freshwater side for (like ATO). It's not going to affect my saltwater - as I'll mix that up fresh (and test it) every time.
If I do backflush a little bit of saltwater - no big deal. It'd be so diluted to almost nothing - its not going to affect anything I might be using the freshwater side for (like ATO). It's not going to affect my saltwater - as I'll mix that up fresh (and test it) every time.
