Mixing Station, Why 2 containers?

pring51 · 02/27/2017, 07:56 AM

Hey all, this is my first post but been reading the forums for a little while now.

I am designing my mixing station and every one that I see out there has 2 containers for fresh RODI water and mixed water. Is it ok to only have one?

My plan is to reuse an 55 gallon wine barrel and line it with a food grade liner, plumb it with a bottom and top pipe for mixing and have an adapter at the top for the RO line. (it's not near the source.) After it's filled, I would add the salt and test the salinity till it was good then leave it till I need it. I would then refill as needed and add salt as needed.

Any thoughts? Thank you.

homer1475 · 02/27/2017, 08:23 AM

Should work just fine.

My mixing station also has 2 barrels. My reasoning is I need RO/DI water for topoffs, cleaning equipment, rinsing media, etc, etc. So I have a barrel of plain water just for those things.

Also if I need to make a huge water change in a hurry for some reason, I have 2 barrels worth of water, one ready to go(already has salt in it), and one I could have ready in a couple hours. With these 2 barrels I can do a 100% WC if I ever needed to.

ReefsandGeeks · 02/27/2017, 10:39 AM

+1 to having 2 barrels. The second is for RODI, and IMO is more important than having mixed saltwater on hand. Not that just one barrel wouldn't work, I think it would work fine for a salt mixing barrel. Too bad you don't have 2 barrels you can use. need to start drinking more wine!

sde1500 · 02/27/2017, 11:40 AM

Yep 1 top off water, 1 salt water for water changes. What do you do for top off?

ericarenee · 02/27/2017, 06:57 PM

My Mixing station has 3 55 gallon tanks.. one for ro/di water and two for mixing salt.. I always keep 50 to 70 gallons of salt water at all times.. when i do water changes on all the tanks at once it takes all 150 gallons..

We Are known as the Fish Ladies to the Neighbors..

dj98ram · 02/27/2017, 07:24 PM

+1 on two barrels. I also use RO/DI water to clean misc supplies, as well as use it to fill drinking bottles. It is gravity fed to the saltwater barrel, so if I need to quickly make a new batch of saltwater it helps with the initial mixing.

marper331 · 02/27/2017, 09:39 PM

How big is your tank? I use a 20 gallon barrel for mixing salt water and 5 gallon poly containers for top off water. My system is 90 gallons and I make new saltwater whenever I do my water changes.

pring51 · 02/28/2017, 10:14 AM

I have just a 72 gallon bowfront atm. I have plenty of 5 gallon buckets but thats a PITA. I have more than one wine barrel but space is the issue. I was going for something sort of decorative so that you would never that that it had function. I like the idea of always having RODI water on hand for washing and the like. Maybe i'll keep the 55 gallon fully mixed and have a 5 gallon for washing.

Thanks for all the replies. When I start the building of it, I'll post some pics.

EnderG60 · 03/01/2017, 07:50 AM

A few reasons actually.

It allows you to have both fresh and salt on hand for whatever you need it for.
It allows you to double the available water you have for a large water change.(you can make on barrel of salt and use it then make the fresh into salt and you have a much larger water change available)
It allows you to have salt mixed and ready a day or more prior to use so the salinity and temp is correct for sure.

The only real downside is needing more space.

Elricsfate · 03/01/2017, 08:23 AM

I only have room for one container atm myself. So, I have an ATO reservoir plumbed into the line, with float switches that keep it full of RODI water which is then moved to the tank by an Osmolator,, and a 50 gallon container elsewhere in the house that fills with RODI that I mix with salt. I guess until I put the salt in it it's still RODI water that I could use for the other things folks mentioned.

DEadsCSU · 03/03/2017, 05:07 PM

Is there a best practice to automate the mixing of salt and RODI water in the second tank most of you have? Hand stir vs pump vs mixing blade connected to a motor, etc.

ericarenee · 03/04/2017, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEadsCSU

Is there a best practice to automate the mixing of salt and RODI water in the second tank most of you have? Hand stir vs pump vs mixing blade connected to a motor, etc.

MY PUMP Pulls water from the bottom of the tank and drops it back into the top

DEadsCSU · 03/04/2017, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericarenee

MY PUMP Pulls water from the bottom of the tank and drops it back into the top

That seems to be the most common way I've seen them plumbed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KRBNSOL · 03/06/2017, 07:41 PM

Check for an existing thread on water change stations. Lots of good ideas there. Pulling water from the bottom and return to the top is most common. I added an extension and a 45 at the end to force the return to churn/stir the water.

Found the thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1711626

tkeracer619 · 03/07/2017, 11:45 AM

My water supply uses chloramines and while I have made a lot of effort to eradicate and treat them with my RODI it still comforts me to have a mixed bed DI chamber running on a recirc loop on my RODI storage tank. I use an eheim 1260 to circulate the water through the loop.

jacksonpt · 03/07/2017, 01:19 PM

I have kind of a hybrid setup... I have 2 tanks, but they are fully independent of each other. My SW tank is much like what you described in your original post and it works perfectly well.

IMO, having an RO/DI tank is far less important than a SW tank, especially for smaller systems.

02/27/2017, 07:56 AM	#1
pring51 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 24	Mixing Station, Why 2 containers? Hey all, this is my first post but been reading the forums for a little while now. I am designing my mixing station and every one that I see out there has 2 containers for fresh RODI water and mixed water. Is it ok to only have one? My plan is to reuse an 55 gallon wine barrel and line it with a food grade liner, plumb it with a bottom and top pipe for mixing and have an adapter at the top for the RO line. (it's not near the source.) After it's filled, I would add the salt and test the salinity till it was good then leave it till I need it. I would then refill as needed and add salt as needed. Any thoughts? Thank you.

02/27/2017, 08:23 AM	#2
homer1475 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 5,313	Should work just fine. My mixing station also has 2 barrels. My reasoning is I need RO/DI water for topoffs, cleaning equipment, rinsing media, etc, etc. So I have a barrel of plain water just for those things. Also if I need to make a huge water change in a hurry for some reason, I have 2 barrels worth of water, one ready to go(already has salt in it), and one I could have ready in a couple hours. With these 2 barrels I can do a 100% WC if I ever needed to. __________________ 80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work"

02/27/2017, 11:40 AM	#4
sde1500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Glocester, RI Posts: 3,336	Yep 1 top off water, 1 salt water for water changes. What do you do for top off? __________________ My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1.

02/27/2017, 06:57 PM	#5
ericarenee Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Louisville Kentucky Posts: 3,110	My Mixing station has 3 55 gallon tanks.. one for ro/di water and two for mixing salt.. I always keep 50 to 70 gallons of salt water at all times.. when i do water changes on all the tanks at once it takes all 150 gallons.. We Are known as the Fish Ladies to the Neighbors.. __________________ 240+G Mixed BB Reef tank.. 350 G Marine Pond. And the expensive stuff that runs it. Chic's are for Chic's You silly men Go Fishing or something... Current Tank Info: 240= gal Reef /550 Gallon Saltwater pond 72 G Bay front Tropical aquarium

03/06/2017, 07:41 PM	#14
KRBNSOL Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 111	Check for an existing thread on water change stations. Lots of good ideas there. Pulling water from the bottom and return to the top is most common. I added an extension and a 45 at the end to force the return to churn/stir the water. Found the thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1711626 __________________ "Never time to do it right - but there's always time to do it over" Current Tank Info: 120g Mixed Reef/30g sump Last edited by KRBNSOL; 03/06/2017 at 07:48 PM. Reason: Added link

02/27/2017, 10:39 AM	#3
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	+1 to having 2 barrels. The second is for RODI, and IMO is more important than having mixed saltwater on hand. Not that just one barrel wouldn't work, I think it would work fine for a salt mixing barrel. Too bad you don't have 2 barrels you can use. need to start drinking more wine!

02/27/2017, 07:24 PM	#6
dj98ram Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 15	+1 on two barrels. I also use RO/DI water to clean misc supplies, as well as use it to fill drinking bottles. It is gravity fed to the saltwater barrel, so if I need to quickly make a new batch of saltwater it helps with the initial mixing.

02/27/2017, 09:39 PM	#7
marper331 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Boston Posts: 62	How big is your tank? I use a 20 gallon barrel for mixing salt water and 5 gallon poly containers for top off water. My system is 90 gallons and I make new saltwater whenever I do my water changes.

02/28/2017, 10:14 AM	#8
pring51 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 24	I have just a 72 gallon bowfront atm. I have plenty of 5 gallon buckets but thats a PITA. I have more than one wine barrel but space is the issue. I was going for something sort of decorative so that you would never that that it had function. I like the idea of always having RODI water on hand for washing and the like. Maybe i'll keep the 55 gallon fully mixed and have a 5 gallon for washing. Thanks for all the replies. When I start the building of it, I'll post some pics.

03/01/2017, 07:50 AM	#9
EnderG60 Plumbing Engineer Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 3,260	A few reasons actually. It allows you to have both fresh and salt on hand for whatever you need it for. It allows you to double the available water you have for a large water change.(you can make on barrel of salt and use it then make the fresh into salt and you have a much larger water change available) It allows you to have salt mixed and ready a day or more prior to use so the salinity and temp is correct for sure. The only real downside is needing more space.

03/01/2017, 08:23 AM	#10
Elricsfate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Fredericksburg, Va Posts: 482	I only have room for one container atm myself. So, I have an ATO reservoir plumbed into the line, with float switches that keep it full of RODI water which is then moved to the tank by an Osmolator,, and a 50 gallon container elsewhere in the house that fills with RODI that I mix with salt. I guess until I put the salt in it it's still RODI water that I could use for the other things folks mentioned.

03/03/2017, 05:07 PM	#11
DEadsCSU Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Loveland, CO Posts: 56	Is there a best practice to automate the mixing of salt and RODI water in the second tank most of you have? Hand stir vs pump vs mixing blade connected to a motor, etc.

03/07/2017, 11:45 AM	#15
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	My water supply uses chloramines and while I have made a lot of effort to eradicate and treat them with my RODI it still comforts me to have a mixed bed DI chamber running on a recirc loop on my RODI storage tank. I use an eheim 1260 to circulate the water through the loop. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/07/2017, 01:19 PM	#16
jacksonpt Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Vestal, NY Posts: 3,679	I have kind of a hybrid setup... I have 2 tanks, but they are fully independent of each other. My SW tank is much like what you described in your original post and it works perfectly well. IMO, having an RO/DI tank is far less important than a SW tank, especially for smaller systems. __________________ Jackson - All advice I give is based on my first hand experience. YMMV. Current Tank Info: 38g (mostly LPS) with a 20g sump/fuge and all the other standard goodies