Salt Water mixing Station

[ffmurray]

Yes another mixing station build. Maybe I’ll do something a little different but basically following a fairly common build.

Starting off, I found these 55gal barrels on FB market place. They were $25 each which is fairly cheap for my area. The main reasons I went with them were: lids, they were only 15 min away, and price.

They are made from HDPE which is very common and the same stuff used for milk jugs. But...
They contained laundry soap inside a bag. I rinsed the snot out of them, but still have an odor of soap. I will do more research on this.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Soap residue can be sneaky; you think it's all out, then you think it's all out, then you think it's all out... but "eventually"... (Lol) Best wishes!

 

[ffmurray]

Soap residue can be sneaky; you think it's all out, then you think it's all out, then you think it's all out... but "eventually"... (Lol) Best wishes!

Yeah, I soaked it with a PBW mix also... couldn’t find much on getting rid of the odor. So far after rinsing the barrels again one smells clean so‍. I’m thinking I’ll do a lab test of the water after I have RO in it and see what’s up. For science

 

[ffmurray]

Update: Doing some shifting of stuff in the garage but here’s where the mixing station will go. I’m going to have the barrels on a stand with one for RO water on top and the salt one below. The salt one will be 16 1/2” off the ground so I can fill and store 5 gallon buckets under it. I’m going to build the stand out of steel so I can have the clearances to get the barrels in and out, and have room to open the lid for the salt.

 

[ffmurray]

Been trying all sorts of things to get the laundry soap smell out of the barrels. I’m hypothesizing that it won’t be dangerous but… tried PBW, no luck. Here’s one way I’m trying to soak it.

 

[ffmurray]

UPDATE! So I finally made some progress. I found filling the barrels with a bleach solution and letting them sit for a month got rid of the laundry soap odor. I also built the stand. It’s probably over engineered but I don’t know. Its all 1” .060 square tube. I ended up doubling up the four posts.

 

[ffmurray]

Here’s the final product… for now. I went with a pretty basic plumbing setup. RODI into the top with a float valve. There’s only two valves on the pressure side. If I need just a little saltwater I turn on the pump. The 100’ python hose is perfect with the various 6 pump. The return to the top of the barrel is angled so it circulates the water really well. The 1’ square tube is all cited in appliance epoxy (because that’s what they had). It’s all strapped to the wall with metal plumbers tape in a couple spots.

 

[ffmurray]

Here’s the final product… for now. I went with a pretty basic plumbing setup. RODI into the top with a float valve. There’s only two valves on the pressure side. If I need just a little saltwater I turn on the pump. The 100’ python hose is perfect with the various 6 pump. The return to the top of the barrel is angled so it circulates the water really well. The 1’ square tube is all cited in appliance epoxy (because that’s what they had). It’s all strapped to the wall with metal plumbers tape in a couple spots.

 

[Fishface1970]

Looks awesome… I’m looking to build a station myself for my new tank. Not sure what size barrels or cans yet though.