Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them!!

[Patrick Cox]

Nice[
QUOTE="Baiggann, post: 2411228, member: 31103"]

Here's mine

[/QUOTE]

I have a question on these setups that seem to have one output from the pump for both the RODI and the Saltwater containers. When using this setup, do you use this output to dispense Top off RODI water as well as saltwater? And if so, wouldn't this introduce some level of salt into your Top off container that will accumulate over time? Does my question make sense?

 

[don_chuwish]

I have a question on these setups that seem to have one output from the pump for both the RODI and the Saltwater containers. When using this setup, do you use this output to dispense Top off RODI water as well as saltwater? And if so, wouldn't this introduce some level of salt into your Top off container that will accumulate over time? Does my question make sense? [/QUOTE]

That's one reason I like my over under setup - RO only ever drains into mixing container or the ATO reservoir - never shares a pump or plumbing with the mixing container. Having said that, I don't think there is much left in the pipes/pump after the mixing container valve gets closed - the remainder in the pipe & pump would mostly drain out.

 

[Patrick Cox]

That's one reason I like my over under setup - RO only ever drains into mixing container or the ATO reservoir - never shares a pump or plumbing with the mixing container. Having said that, I don't think there is much left in the pipes/pump after the mixing container valve gets closed - the remainder in the pipe & pump would mostly drain out.

Thanks, yes, this is direction I decided to go as well. Now trying to figure out my stand...

Need Help Planning a Saltwater Mixing Station

 

[Ellery]

I wouldn't worry about any salt buildup. It's probably negligible. If you don't want to use a single pump with multiple valves the having separate pumps and plumbing can do the trick too.

 

[JoeIII]

Good question. I really don't know since I haven't been able to try it. Ultimately the question would be to test how uniform a slurry can be over time and how much water can be used.

What about something similar to an automatic feeder to dispense dry salt mix? You couldn't keep too much extra salt in it for fear of clumping but it would still simplify your measuring/mixing/testing process like using a slurry would.

 

[robf]

What about something similar to an automatic feeder to dispense dry salt mix? You couldn't keep too much extra salt in it for fear of clumping but it would still simplify your measuring/mixing/testing process like using a slurry would.

I thought about developing a salt dispenser but the complexity seemed not worth it. One of the primary concerns with these mixing stations is ease of service. It's even more important than automation IMO. A lot of hardware makes it harder to pull a barrel out for cleaning if you have many floats and tubes connected. I weigh my salt based on gallons I'm mixing. For Tropic Marin I use 0.36 lbs of salt per gallon and it comes out pretty close. Each salt mix is slightly different so you'll have to use trial and error to get it exact try this figure for a starting point. A really crude but effective method is standing on a bathroom scale with an empty bucket as your baseline and adding the say 10 lbs (27.75 gal of water * 0.36) of salt to get to correct salinity. It's quick, easy, and effective. If you look at my mixing station above it's one of the most automated in this thread. I've been running it now for many years with good success however it does have many potential failure points and was very expensive to put in.

My system is on page 1 of this thread near the bottom. Good luck.

 

[007Bond]

Here is mine again,...I posted it on page 6 originally,...supper easy,...all gravity, but you kind of need to have this in your basement. My systems total volume is 1000gal, so when I do a 10% water change I take two 55gal barrels off line(#1 & 2). You can also run the same set up with 2 barrels or more depending on the volume of your system and % of water you want to change at a time. My RO-DI takes 24hr to refill the two 55gal barrels, with the rest of your system continuing to run except for the 30 seconds it takes me to turn the three valves off.
Happy Reefing !

Post on page 6 > Well here's mine...very simple...my system runs through 4 barrels continuous. For water changes I drain barrels 1 & 2 with the valves at their bottoms,...also I shut the DT return valve over barrel 1 off and open the valve over barrel 3 temporary redirecting the flow to barrel 3 and shut the valve between 2 & 3 so I don't get any back flow into 2. I then do a squirt out with my hose of any bottom settlement. Now ready to refill 1 & 2 .My RODI unit fills barrel 1 from a flote switch at the top...when its 1/2 filled I dump the first 50gal bag of IO. I have a batch type mixer with a ss shaft and prop that I switch on...when its almost filled I add a second bag of salt. Barrel 1 dumps into barrel 2,...when they are both filled and temp reaches DT temp...Done...return a couple valves and all 4 barrels are back on line. The hardest part is dumping the salt.

 

[robf]

Here is mine again,...I posted it on page 6 originally,...supper easy,...all gravity, but you kind of need to have this in your basement. My systems total volume is 1000gal, so when I do a 10% water change I take two 55gal barrels off line(#1 & 2). You can also run the same set up with 2 barrels or more depending on the volume of your system and % of water you want to change at a time. My RO-DI takes 24hr to refill the two 55gal barrels, with the rest of your system continuing to run except for the 30 seconds it takes me to turn the three valves off.
Happy Reefing !

Post on page 6 > Well here's mine...very simple...my system runs through 4 barrels continuous. For water changes I drain barrels 1 & 2 with the valves at their bottoms,...also I shut the DT return valve over barrel 1 off and open the valve over barrel 3 temporary redirecting the flow to barrel 3 and shut the valve between 2 & 3 so I don't get any back flow into 2. I then do a squirt out with my hose of any bottom settlement. Now ready to refill 1 & 2 .My RODI unit fills barrel 1 from a flote switch at the top...when its 1/2 filled I dump the first 50gal bag of IO. I have a batch type mixer with a ss shaft and prop that I switch on...when its almost filled I add a second bag of salt. Barrel 1 dumps into barrel 2,...when they are both filled and temp reaches DT temp...Done...return a couple valves and all 4 barrels are back on line. The hardest part is dumping the salt.

I like the simplicity and seemingly easy maintenance of this design. Looks pretty much bullet proof.

 

[007Bond]

It really is,...just dump in a bag of salt,...I use IO,...buy 200gal boxes,...each comes with 4 50gal bags, so in my case 2 bags = 100gal water change. The mixer motor broke awhile ago,...so now I have a pump in barrel 1 that dumps into barrel 2 which mixes the salt in the two barrels which is an option if you don't want a mixer,.... until I find another motor on CL.

 

[aereaus]

Heres ours

 

[lsaint88]

This is mine

 

[Dreadnaught]

I wanted to be able to mix full bags of salt, circulate (self mix) and distribute both RODI and salt H2O using 1 pump. Here is my design in my basement filter room. The Brute can is temporary waste water. I need to run the wate line into sink drain. The salt bucket is temp ATO water for coral QT.

 

[Todd C]

here is mine... the barrel on the left is saltwater and the one on the right is fresh water...both barrels contain float switches to auto fill the barrels and the saltwater i have a shut off valve to dissconnect it from the water source once mixed...also the saltwater barrel contains a skimmer pump with venturi to keep the water mixed and aireated which is set on a timer to run 5 min every hour.... pretty simple and easy to do..just set and forget...also they sit on a 18" platform so i can just throw a bucket under it and fill with a pvc valve.... the valves were installed in the bottom of the barrel with uniseals....

What do you get these type of white barrels?

 

[Gomery12]

What do you get these type of white barrels?

farm supply stores sell them, blain's farm and fleet is where i got mine

http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/064724-norwesco-65-gallon-vertical-storage-tank.html

 

[atoll]

Reefloat Auto Water Changer and mixing here all the way. Made by the UK company Reefloat.

 

[Rogergolf66]

I built this last year. Does all my water changes automatically also. Was well worth the investment. Yes that is 5 stages of di alone on my ridi system.

 

[007Bond]

What do you get these type of white barrels?

You can find food grade barrels on craigslist.

 

[mrpergo]

this is my operation, still have some work to do but it works great

 

[JoeIII]

this is my operation, still have some work to do but it works great

Looks like your saltwater container is on the bottom. It looks like it is very close to the bottom of the shelf for the freshwater... How do you get the salt into it to mix?

 

[Pat924]

Robf where can I get those containers