What pump for mixing salt in 55gal barrel ?

M4rtin

New member
I'm about start up my bigger tank and tried mixing water in 55gal barrel.
That didn't go that well as I only had small pump (160gph) for my usual mixing in 5gal bucket, so I went and stole powerhead from my bigger tank to help out.

What gph pump should I be looking at when mixing in big containers like 55gal ?
 
depends on how long you want it to mix. 55 gallons will take exactly 11 times longer to mix than the 5 gallons did @ 160 gph.

or there abouts.

I use an extra pump from 2003 - it's huge but rugged. GPH unknown. gets the salt in a pickle barrel in suspension in about 10 minutes best I can tell.

It's still useless, but how about that whirlpool right?

It's best to let the water sit a spell after mixing it anyway. IMO.

HTH
 
It's not an exact science and honestly doesn't really matter. I don't think you can linearly extrapolate. I use a cheap offbrand prop-style powerhead I got on eBay. In the past I've used small, low-flow powerheads or big external pumps. Most people mix longer than specifically required anyways, since it's no big deal to start the process a little ahead of time and let it run while you do other things.
 
I would try to get at least 600 gph, but 1000 would be better. All you really need to do is stir up the salt on the bottom. The more GPH the quicker the salt will dissolve (linear or not!).
 
Are you going to use this pump to transfer water to the display? That's something to think about. A big mag, with a hose Barb is good for this.
 
I haven't started using either of the 55g drums I have so this may not be applicable due to magnet strength, but....
In the brute trash can I'm currently using (biggest one there is I think) I have a coralia 750 attached to the side near the bottom and I remove the hose from the mj1200 and let the discharge point straight up.
I usually use all but the last 5 gallons or so before I mix new water and I have no issues pouring in 40 cups over the course of a few hours.
Once it's clear I unplug the mj1200 and let the coralia run constantly..
 
I run a Rio 1400 and a Mag 5 on two different 32 Brute cans, both do a good job. I would do it again with the Rio since it's less $
 
I use a mag18 in my 55g barrel, but it is also hard plumbed up to the DT in the living room, so needs to be able to push water up ~10' and through about 30' of PVC and still have enough capacity to do it in a reasonable amount of time. When the mag18 dies, I'll replace it with a 24 to increase flow rate a little.
 
I'm thinking of picking up Jebao DCS 4000 (749 to 1055 GPH) for mixing 55gal.
I have DCP 6500 on my reefer 250, running at 37%, if it ever dies I'll have the 4000 as a backup.
 
I use a couple jeboa pp-20's or rw ones. Not sure.
Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
At least they were cheap.
 
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