Why do most people have two water reservoirs?

[jgvergo]

I'm planning my fist saltwater tank and I've done a lot of reading about RO/DI and water mixing stations. I will be using RO/DI but I have limited space and setting up two separate reservoirs for the RO/DI water and the mixed water is going to be tough. What is the down side of having my DO/DI go directly into my mixing reservoir?

 

[Joshky]

Not everyone has a reservoir, some people simply make water when needed. Reservoirs are a luxury, having two isn't necessary at all just a nice commodity.

 

[jgvergo]

Not everyone has a reservoir, some people simply make water when needed. Reservoirs are a luxury, having two isn't necessary at all just a nice commodity.

That makes sense Joshky, but let me ask it another way. What is the advantage of having two reservoirs over having "only" one

 

[steve&mari]

You can always have both ro/di and sw ready incase of a emergency need.

 

[Jlobes]

having two smaller reservoirs is great. it allows you to store quite a bit of RODI, but also most are plumbed in a way that one can be mixing salt water, and the other storing fresh water. So, you can have both salt and fresh rodi on hand at any given time

not necessary by any means, but definitely makes things easy, and we all the the easier things are, the more often they get done.

 

[Lynn52]

I use one for RODI and the other for salt water.

 

[bobman]

Wrong thread Lynn lol

 

[Lynn52]

Yep I caught it right after I hit post.

 

[bobman]

I would be lying if I said I have not been guilty of it a time or 2

 

[pgravis]

If you are just going to use one reservoir, for top off water and mixing salt for water changes, make sure you give it a good rinse between the two tasks, otherwise your salinity could creep up.

 

[jgvergo]

If you are just going to use one reservoir, for top off water and mixing salt for water changes, make sure you give it a good rinse between the two tasks, otherwise your salinity could creep up.

If I only use one reservoir, I will measure the salinity before I do a water change. I intend to keep my water parameters as perfect as possible.

 

[bobman]

pgravis was more referring to fresh water. As for top off water after you mix salt in the reservoir there will be some salt left so when you fill it with fresh water there will still be a small amount of salt and could raise your salinity over time. Not really a big deal IMO but something to keep an eye on.

 

[jgvergo]

If I only use one reservoir, I will measure the salinity before I do a water change. I intend to keep my water parameters as perfect as possible.

Ah, I understand. The bottom line is that the DT salinity needs to be kept constant at 1.025

 

[bobman]

Correct 1.025 is a good spot to be for most anything you wish to keep. Assuming you are going reef tank that is.

 

[jgvergo]

Correct 1.025 is a good spot to be for most anything you wish to keep. Assuming you are going reef tank that is.

Corals are my primary objective with the tank.

 

[steve&mari]

We actually use 3 barrels, 1 for ro/di, 1 for mixing sw, 1 for waste h2o by the washer. We always have ro/di and sw on hand with our wastewater used for laundry. Allows for automatic water changes by controller also. With the ato also fed by ro/di our system is very stable from fluctuations of salinity ect.

 

[Blue Lip]

Rodi water takes time to make. It is a good idea to have a stored supply for things like top off water & mixing powder additives. Freshly made saltwater should be aged 24 hours.

 

[Jlobes]

Rodi water takes time to make. It is a good idea to have a stored supply for things like top off water & mixing powder additives. Freshly made saltwater should be aged 24 hours.

agreed, aside from the storing/aging part. Not all water need/should/can be stored. RSCP says on the label, to use within 4 hours of mixing.

 

[pgravis]

pgravis was more referring to fresh water. As for top off water after you mix salt in the reservoir there will be some salt left so when you fill it with fresh water there will still be a small amount of salt and could raise your salinity over time. Not really a big deal IMO but something to keep an eye on.

Yeah, not a huge issue, just something to keep in mind if you have a multi-purpose reservoir.

 

[ss95003]

That makes sense Joshky, but let me ask it another way. What is the advantage of having two reservoirs over having "only" one

I have a 55 gallon drum I keep full or refill when It gets low. I do not want to plumb that into my tank as one it's to far away but even if it were right next to my tank I wouldn't do it. If something when wrong I would not want 55g of fresh water entering into my system. 5 gallons would not cause any major issues.