Water Storage in Arizona

[mjweismann]

Since this will be my first time tackling the hobby in Arizona, I'm wondering where those of you not lucky enough to have fish rooms make and store your water. The garage is most convenient, but we all know how hot it gets in there during the warmer months. What challenges does this create? Also, do the high temperatures have any adverse effects on RO/DI equipment?

 

[ksigaekdb]

All my water is made in the garage the day before a water change, and I wheel the Brute in and park it next to my tank on the way to bed the night before. When I wake up the next morning the water will be at room (and tank) temp and I change the water. If you time it right and get up a little early you can even be done before the spouse sees you parked a garbage can in the living room.

You will see your RO/DI cartridges need to be changed more often because of the insanely bad municipal water, but I have never experienced any issues storing it in the garage.

 

[bambam918]

Above is the best practice

I mainly make my water a day or two before the WC and conduct the change in the early morning, leaving the top of the trash can half way open to release the heat build up. The water is normally at 80 degrees in the mixing can.

 

[mjweismann]

Thanks guys. Glad to hear it's not really an issue.

 

[reefstew]

Same advise. Before the fish room build I kept a 275 gal tote in the garage & pumped water to a brute can on wheels inside the house. I had a heater in it during the winter & in the summer had to get the water in the house the day ahead.

 

[Da Kind Reef]

+1 reefstew

I don't make water I buy jugs of it and store it in my garage a pull them in a day or two before I need to use them.

 

[azjohnny]

I make my water in the laundry room which is in the house so no issues

 

[82ndengineer]

Mine is in the garage and occasionally the temps get a lil high so I just keep a couple of 1 gallon water jugs 3/4 full with RO water in the freezer. If the temp gets too high just toss them in and if they open somehow no big deal. Also really good if the power goes out in the house and the tank temp creeps up.

 

[briankmarsh1980]

I use a brute on wheels with a float valve on it... I make it in the laundry room no issues for me

 

[Robb/Scottsdale/AZ]

Mine is in the garage and occasionally the temps get a lil high so I just keep a couple of 1 gallon water jugs 3/4 full with RO water in the freezer. If the temp gets too high just toss them in and if they open somehow no big deal. Also really good if the power goes out in the house and the tank temp creeps up.

Same as above, but switched to 2L bottles which ended up being a bit more durable.

Instead of wheeling the brute tub into the house I just pump water through a hose when the temps are proper.

 

[DgenR8]

Something I haven't seen mentioned is circulation. Your replacement water can get hot, but should not sit stagnant. A small powerhead, even an airpump can be used to keep enough water moving to be safe.

 

[schristi69]

Mine is made and stored in my garage in a big blue barrel. No pump. Never had a problem. Now if you keep it in a big, open tub so crap can fall in it and bugs get to it......maybe.

 

[AZBigJohn]

I keep both Rodi and salt in 55 gallon blue plastic barrels. They are in my laundry toom, but that is not ventilated well and gets as hot as a garage. I have external dc water pumps plumbed to them yo agitate them (and pump the water to the tanks when I need) and have the pump on a timer to run 30 minutes every 6 hours. No stagnant water issues

 

[Down]

The lack of good options for a more permanent approach (no good place in garage, my laundry room is a walkthru with not much room, etc.) is actually why I've been in the hobby for over a year but just last weekend made my first batch of RODI. I make it outside on my back patio in a Brute, then pump it into another Brute that sets next to the tank while the salt mixes in and the temps drop. Luckily, I only make 30G at a time, so it's not as bad as it could be.

 

[khdlr]

I mix my water in the garage, then pump it into a 30 gallon water container on a utility cart in the laundry room. In the winter months, all is fine, the toasty months make it a bit more interesting. Today I tried to create a make shift water cooling solution by using a spare JBJ chiller. Got a little messy but it was successful in bringing the water from 90 degrees down to 80 before moving it to the tank. Hopefully I will be able to setup a perm solution for using the chiller during the hot months when pushing the water from the storage units to the portal container.

 

[Skyzpop]

I'm new to the hobby and was trying to figure out the best way to deal with the AZ heat and water changes, thank you for the ideas!