Water Mixing Station Equipment and How-To's

[bshow24]

I'm in the process of planning a saltwater mixing station. I will be using a 32 gallon brute trash can and had a couple questions - Note, this is for outside use, as I have no room inside for this...any tips for having things plugged in outside at all times are greatly appreciated.

1) What would be the best external pump for this? Would it be better to use an internal pump in this case? The reason I'm looking for external is so I can pump water out into a bucket as well, rather than having to use it like a well and manually scoop water.

2) What is the best way to insert the heater while also maintaining a proper seal in order to avoid any leaves/dust/bugs/other items getting into the trash can? Drill a hole and then silicone around it?

 

[outy]

I like external, but only have internal at the moment. Hell in a trash can a hydra works great.

ideal is to have gate valves and external so all you have to do is use gate valves to do everything.

This winter I may plumb my 100g salt mixing Rubbermaid, into my 100G Rubbermaid sump.

I just now finally ran my ro water to the tub with a valve.

 

[Lsufan]

Do u plan on plumbing it to the tank to pump water for water changes or u using it for mixing & storage only? If are only using it for mixing then I would keep it simple & let gravity feed the mixing container from the RODI container & just place a ball valve towards the bottom of each container to get water from. Then the only equipment u would need is a powerhead or pump inside the mixing container to mix the saltwater & a heater.

There really is no need to pump water from one container to the other. U don't need to pump water into a bucket eighther. That is why u place a ball valvevtowards the bottom of the container. Build a small stand for the container to sit on so it is high enough to slide a bucket under it to get the water.

That is how I set mine up, by letting gravity feed the mixing container & to get water out of the container. All I have as far as equipment is a powerhead in the mixing container to mix the saltwater & a heater. I don't leave the heater on all the time, I turn it on eighther the day before or the morning of a water change. The only reason u have to have a pump is to pump water to the tank or sump.

 

[bshow24]

Do u plan on plumbing it to the tank to pump water for water changes or u using it for mixing & storage only? If are only using it for mixing then I would keep it simple & let gravity feed the mixing container from the RODI container & just place a ball valve towards the bottom of each container to get water from. Then the only equipment u would need is a powerhead or pump inside the mixing container to mix the saltwater & a heater.

There really is no need to pump water from one container to the other. U don't need to pump water into a bucket eighther. That is why u place a ball valvevtowards the bottom of the container. Build a small stand for the container to sit on so it is high enough to slide a bucket under it to get the water.

That is how I set mine up, by letting gravity feed the mixing container & to get water out of the container. All I have as far as equipment is a powerhead in the mixing container to mix the saltwater & a heater. I don't leave the heater on all the time, I turn it on eighther the day before or the morning of a water change. The only reason u have to have a pump is to pump water to the tank or sump.

It won't be plumbed to the tank, so could definitely go the route of gravity fed but due to the fence size on the patio, it would be better to pump out rather than drain.

Regardless of route though, I think my main concern is being able to find a pump that can weather any elements. I don't know enough about them to fully know if an external pump is good to use outside (for instance, a Vectra can be on a closed loop like this but it is okay being outside?

Also, what do you guys do to protect the outlet everything is plugged into for instance if it were to rain?