Help me skip the crud in my mixing station!

[Peace River]

In the following @Bulk Reef Supply YouTube video (about 1 minute into the video), they talk about adding a BRS reactor with a 5 micron filter to a saltwater mixing station to get rid of the crud. They don't really give any more details. Is this simply dropping a Sicce 1.5 (or comparable) pump into the mixing container and running the hoses to and from the reactor? I welcome any thoughts or suggestions. Additionally, if you have ever done this yourself I'd love to hear your about your experience as well as any tips and tricks.

 

[blaxsun]

I haven't done this myself, but I imagine that yeah - a separate pump run to the reactor/filter on a loop is probably what they have in-mind.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I have s sponge filter (like the old ones for protein skimmers, overflows, etc.) on the inlet of my mixing pump. It helps a lot. I rinse it out every so often.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

@19 second, did you notice that our own @Randy Holmes-Farley was featured in the video?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

So, in the video one of the options are heaters and continues power head use. Are you running a power head and heater the whole time you have water in your mixing tank? That's the way I do it and have never had any residue at the bottom. As we talked before, I only mix for water changes and have water mixing for a week max, and you always have water going so I don't know if that is the difference between you and I.

 

[Peace River]

So, in the video one of the options are heaters and continues power head use. Are you running a power head and heater the whole time you have water in your mixing tank? That's the way I do it and have never had any residue at the bottom. As we talked before, I only mix for water changes and have water mixing for a week max, and you always have water going so I don't know if that is the difference between you and I.

There is a heater, but I do not currently have a powerhead in the mixing station container. The water is continuously flowing in a loop (on high during mixing and then low after that). It helps when I have the filter sock in place and would probably also help if I filled the container and then slowly added the salt. I already have a new BRS reactor that is on the shelf so I was thinking that I may try this added approach as an experiment.

 

[Peace River]

@19 second, did you notice that our own @Randy Holmes-Farley was featured in the video?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

There is a heater, but I do not currently have a powerhead in the mixing station container. The water is continuously flowing in a loop (on high during mixing and then low after that). It helps when I have the filter sock in place and would probably also help if I filled the container and then slowly added the salt. I already have a new BRS reactor that is on the shelf so I was thinking that I may try this added approach as an experiment.

Keep us posted on your journey, I just purchased an offer up 75 reef set up, so I will be running mine full time soon.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

One of the benefits of using Grey Brute Containers, is no light, so no weird blooms. Also easy to wheel outside to hose out. I have Acid cleaned in the past, but found out a hose out will loosen the percipient attached to the bottom.

 

[exnisstech]

My mixing brute is full of sediment. I mix IO and RC 50/50 and it mixes very dirty. I just filter through a sock when filling the sump during changes. Of course that only works if your doing manual water changes.

 

[Roatan Reef]

I simply use a heater and a fish bubbler...like the ones you keep on hand if you lose power, or need to keep shrimp alive when fishing.

I have found though, that at the half way point of RODI water making, I add my IORC salt mix and give it a good shake and twirl...add bubbler and heater,,let sit for a few hours, and I have almost 0 crud left.

I do 5g batches at a time.

 

[homer1475]

Been doing this for years, and my barrels are spotless with regular purple box IO.

I have a large external pump that I use to mix, and send water to my tank. What I simply did was add a 5 micron sediment filter(with appropriate housing) on a closed loop that I use to circulate the water through.

I use a T fitting to either circulate the water through the barrel, or turn a valve and I send water to the tank, but again said water still goes through the sediment filter.

Sorry @Peace River I saw your query on your other thread about the filter, just did not have time to respond to you.

I'll go take a couple pics, and post them in the next post.

EDIT:

@Randy Holmes-Farley has often thought(as do I) that since I lower the alkalinity with acid, that the precipitate is also cut down drastically by reducing the alk level. Not sure if this is true, but I have always lowered the alkalinity of IO.

 

[homer1475]

Ok first photo is my mixing station with the huge MRC pump I won on here. Left barrel is RO/DI, right is salt.

Sediment filter. Just a plain jane RO/DI housing with a 5 micron sediment filter(think iot cost me a total of $30 to setup with the hoses, and plumbing fittings)

T valve where I either send water to the tank, or recirculate through the barrel.

And this is a simple bulkhead thasts ends water from the filter back into the barrel. I do not circulate all the water through the filter, it's an off shoot of the main plumbing.

And my barrel. Full of water, but I think you can see clearly enough that they are clean.

 

[dangles]

Ok first photo is my mixing station with the huge MRC pump I won on here. Left barrel is RO/DI, right is salt.

Sediment filter. Just a plain jane RO/DI housing with a 5 micron sediment filter(think iot cost me a total of $30 to setup with the hoses, and plumbing fittings)

T valve where I either send water to the tank, or recirculate through the barrel.

And this is a simple bulkhead thasts ends water from the filter back into the barrel. I do not circulate all the water through the filter, it's an off shoot of the main plumbing.

And my barrel. Full of water, but I think you can see clearly enough that they are clean.

Where did you get the bulkheads?

 

[homer1475]

Where did you get the bulkheads?

I believe the larger bulkheads(1 1/1/2") are just Sch 40 bulheads from BRS. The smaller bulkhead(1/2") I think I found at lowes. They have a thicker gasket that you can compress to the thinner walls of the brute so they don't leak(basically it makes the thinner walls of the brute a flat surface).

I do not like uniseals as I have never had them not leak, eventually. Smaller diameter pipe they are ok with, but anything over 3/4", and they eventually leak. Even the single one you see in my barrel, leaks. But I only use it to send water from the RO/DI to the salt barrel. So it's not in constant use, and the little drip I can handle while I fill it up.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive been currently running my single poly tank since December and have Zero precipitation or buidup of any kind.
In it is a heater and driven by a running circulation pump externally

 

[Doctorgori]

Anymore I cop’d a couple of these
Marineland Polishing Filter
To mix my salt

 

[Peace River]

Ive been currently running my single poly tank since December and have Zero precipitation or buidup of any kind.
In it is a heater and driven by a running circulation pump externally

What type of salt? Is it a “dirty” salt like IO or RC?

 

[Peace River]

Anymore I cop’d a couple of these
Marineland Polishing Filter
To mix my salt

How do you have these plumbed in?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What type of salt? Is it a “dirty” salt like IO or RC?

Its reef Crystals by IO. Previously was Tropic Marin Bio Actif