JDowns Red Sea Reefer 525XL Ver. 2.0

JDowns · Apr 7, 2019

dantimdad said:
I gotta build one of these!

It was a lot of fun to put together. I honestly can’t think of a cheaper more efficient way of mixing. For less than $150 in parts and less than 10 watts, with a few small changes this will also work to mix salt in the 50 gallon. Same outer dimensions just twice as tall. For the salt side I think I’ll route a 5” diameter hole in the center so the magnets won’t have to go through the wood. This will fix the disconnect at higher rpm’s.

I’m now rethinking the plumbing for the mixing station. Not having an external pump will save a ton of space and plumbing. I already have an Ecotec M1 for water mixing and a few mag drives I keep handy just in case. I’ll probably use the M1 internal to the RO and have a quick disconnect valve with a short hose to either fill the Kalk or Salt containers. I’m going AWC on both tanks. But for filling or times when I need to do a traditional WC I can just plumb internal to the salt container one of the mag drives which has better head pressure with another quick disconnect.

dantimdad · Apr 7, 2019

Sounds like a good plan.

I am going to use a mag12 when I do the big mixing station for the store.

I am looking at two 1000 gallon cylinder tanks possibly.

crusso1993 · Apr 7, 2019

JDowns said:
Turns out an easy fix is an o-ring down the center of the stir bar. Still enough pull on the magnets and the small space below allows for additional flow. Still don't need to go above 9vdc for this thing to move a lot of water. A bit overkill for a Kalk Stirrer....but was certainly fun to put together.

You'll have the best mixed Kalk this side of the Mississip!

crusso1993 · Apr 7, 2019

JDowns said:
Final door is finally in and testing touchscreen. Pretty happy with how the glass doors turned out. The touchscreen has a nice subdued look that helps blend into the stand now.

This is looking sick! I agree with @dantimdad , you are a mad genius!

CDavmd · Apr 7, 2019

Spectacular!

JDowns · Apr 11, 2019

I promise not to turn this into a magnetic stirrer build thread.

Last one. Slightly modified stir bar. I'm now confident this will easily mix salt in a 50 gallon container. Maxed out at 9v in a 25 gallon container. Only thing that would make this better is a 4:1 ratio that would give it greater dynamic range, but 9v does put it right at peak efficiency and the motor stays cool to the touch.

crusso1993 · Apr 11, 2019

JDowns said:
I promise not to turn this into a magnetic stirrer build thread.

Last one. Slightly modified stir bar. I'm now confident this will easily mix salt in a 50 gallon container. Maxed out at 9v in a 25 gallon container. Only thing that would make this better is a 4:1 ratio that would give it greater dynamic range, but 9v does put it right at peak efficiency and the motor stays cool to the touch.

Hey, it's part of the build and something you've spent a lot of time developing and building. Therefore, it should have the amount of time that correlates to the effort. Additionally, having it all documented will help others that want to follow in your footsteps. I, for one, think you've done a great job and am appreciative of your sharing it!

Why do I have the feeling you'll eventually have this at a 4:1 ratio?

JDowns · Apr 11, 2019

crusso1993 said:
Hey, it's part of the build and something you've spent a lot of time developing and building. Therefore, it should have the amount of time that correlates to the effort. Additionally, having it all documented will help others that want to follow in your footsteps. I, for one, think you've done a great job and am appreciative of your sharing it!

Why do I have the feeling you'll eventually have this at a 4:1 ratio?

Going 4:1 is quite possible. I just need to decide how much more attention to put to that side of the build. I do eventually want to get rid of the manual motor driver (POT switch) and replace it with a MOSFET H-Bridge and a BLE module. That way I can have an embedded app to slowly ramp up the motor for mixing KALK and put it on a timer. It can then have an app on my phone and/or the touchscreen to remotely turn things on and off for mixing, because manual switches are so 1970's. It would also be nice on the salt side since I can just set the app to have a timer to allow it to mix for "x" time then auto shutoff.

crusso1993 · Apr 11, 2019

JDowns said:
Going 4:1 is quite possible. I just need to decide how much more attention to put to that side of the build. I do eventually want to get rid of the manual motor driver (POT switch) and replace it with a MOSFET H-Bridge and a BLE module. That way I can have an embedded app to slowly ramp up the motor for mixing KALK and put it on a timer. It can then have an app on my phone and/or the touchscreen to remotely turn things on and off for mixing, because manual switches are so 1970's. It would also be nice on the salt side since I can just set the app to have a timer to allow it to mix for "x" time then auto shutoff.

Totally! I'm with you on the upgrade. potentiometers definitely have their place but that place is quickly going away. Although, they are good to have sitting on a shelf as a back up.

dantimdad · Apr 11, 2019

That look awesome!

If anyone ever wondered how an MP40 works...

crusso1993 · Apr 11, 2019

dantimdad said:
That look awesome!

If anyone ever wondered how an MP40 works...

Yes but I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who, who wrote the book of love?

JDowns · Apr 11, 2019

Water tanks arrived today so I may get around to testing the 50 gallon tanks soon.

I went with the Tamco tanks from US Plastics. They cost more than other tanks like the Roto Molds. But when buying more than one they turn out to be a cheaper option overall due to shipping since the tanks from US Plastics can be shipped UPS ground and to my door was only $35 shipped.

JDowns · Apr 12, 2019

50 Gallon test. Yeah this thing will mix some water for sure.

Not too shabby for a square container either.

dantimdad · Apr 12, 2019

Geez! That thing is awesome!

JDowns · Apr 13, 2019

Got myself to pondering last night. The decibal level was a bit annoying so was thinking of ways to quiet this thing down. Tore apart an old gyre propeller assembly and used the shaft and bearing assembly. Shaft assembly welded to a 1/4" acrylic sheet. Bearing assembly mounted in the center of the stir bar. This forced a balance on the entire system and forces the stir bar to stay in place.

Dry test 6V - 12V. This is significantly quieter and once filled with water should be pretty darn quiet.

dantimdad · Apr 13, 2019

JDowns said:
Got myself to pondering last night. The decibal level was a bit annoying so was thinking of ways to quiet this thing down. Tore apart an old gyre propeller assembly and used the shaft and bearing assembly. Shaft assembly welded to a 1/4" acrylic sheet. Bearing assembly mounted in the center of the stir bar. This forced a balance on the entire system and forces the stir bar to stay in place.

Dry test 6V - 12V. This is significantly quieter and once filled with water should be pretty darn quiet.

Very nice!
Great improvement.

JDowns · Apr 14, 2019

Really hoping this guy finally splits on his own. I just haven't been able to stomach cutting him up yet. Looks like he might just be naturally splitting into fourths soon. Been balled up like this for a few months now and has slowly been forming what looks like four parts. I may need to pop him off the rock though, since not a lot of room for four bodies on there. That could be what's holding up the show. Just not sure where the heck I'm going to put the other three.