Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them!!

[mrpergo]

This is a great thread ! But I have a question...
For those of you using the containers that only have the small little black 6" circular port-hole on top, rather than a full size removable lid, How do you clean the container and keep it free from build up over time ?

The only build up you get is in the mix tank and its a hard build up like coraline algae. I've cleaned mine once with vinegar and a high powered hose but it didn't do much.
It doesn't effect the mix in the tank. I know guys that have had their tanks for years without cleaning so I don't worry.

 

[EddieM]

This is a great thread ! But I have a question...
For those of you using the containers that only have the small little black 6" circular port-hole on top, rather than a full size removable lid, How do you clean the container and keep it free from build up over time ?

I can't speak for others, but on mine I added additional 1/2" drains on the bottom of the container. I find that the factory drains still leave about 4 gallons of water. The bottom drains drain it completely. The Panworld 100PXX (Blueline 40 HD) also moves enough water that I've yet to see any build-up on the bottom

 

[PW150]

Here is my water station (and cooling station). I have a 100gpd 5 Stage AquaFX tied into this.

That's beautiful - so clean

 

[revhtree]

Nice stations!

 

[Forsaken77]

This is my RODI station in my basement. It's split off the washing machine hot & cold water and they combine together into a blue, food grade garden hose, which connects to the RODI. The unit itself sits in a plastic rimmed tray in case any water ever leaks it'll stay in the tray and won't damage stuff below on the shelf. My unit is on a middle shelf and the stuff above and below it are not aquarium related.

The unit has an auto shut off when the pail gets full. I would HIGHLY suggest getting one. If you forget to turn the unit off, you won't flood your place like I did (before I installed it). You should also make sure you have a glycerin or gel filled pressure gauge so you can tell when the prefilters need replacing.

There's a heater and pump in the 42 gallon Brute pail and a thermometer mounted on the wall above the pail. That's just straight water, no salt.

This is how I mix salt. I line the buckets up in a row and fill them all with water, then fill them with salt (only the buckets standing on each other, not the ones inside each other). All the buckets are made of food grade plastic and I use those twist-on Gamma Seal lids. Gamma Seal lids are indispensable. They keep the water from leaking out as I clumsily drag them upstairs. Plus they have a cushioned handle, which is huge. The bucket with the yellow top on the right is filled with salt and those lids keep any moisture out from being in the basement.

 

[FishGuyBri]

I'm still in the planning stages of mine. Looking for about 2x 20 gallon tanks, stacked. I would like bigger, but i'm limited on space and this will be in my guest bathroom. I have to figure out how to build something that looks halfway decent or the other half will murder me in my sleep.

 

[DinoS]

Still working on mine I have two 75 upright tanks, one for my 180 fresh water planted and one for my 75 reef. Right now I have pumps placed inside to mix the salt but I think I will add a pipe at the booth outlet and connect a pump to that to pump it back through the top to mix it. This is in my garage so I have a 100 ft tube to pump the water in my tanks. My RO/DI system is in my laundry room so my tube runs through the wall and accross the garage and into the tanks.

 

[Rick.45cal]

This is my RODI station in my basement. It's split off the washing machine hot & cold water and they combine together into a blue, food grade garden hose, which connects to the RODI. The unit itself sits in a plastic rimmed tray in case any water ever leaks it'll stay in the tray and won't damage stuff below on the shelf. My unit is on a middle shelf and the stuff above and below it are not aquarium related.

The unit has an auto shut off when the pail gets full. I would HIGHLY suggest getting one. If you forget to turn the unit off, you won't flood your place like I did (before I installed it). You should also make sure you have a glycerin or gel filled pressure gauge so you can tell when the prefilters need replacing.

There's a heater and pump in the 42 gallon Brute pail and a thermometer mounted on the wall above the pail. That's just straight water, no salt.

This is how I mix salt. I line the buckets up in a row and fill them all with water, then fill them with salt (only the buckets standing on each other, not the ones inside each other). All the buckets are made of food grade plastic and I use those twist-on Gamma Seal lids. Gamma Seal lids are indispensable. They keep the water from leaking out as I clumsily drag them upstairs. Plus they have a cushioned handle, which is huge. The bucket with the yellow top on the right is filled with salt and those lids keep any moisture out from being in the basement.

That makes my back hurt just looking at it!

 

[Snookchaser]

In an effort to save space I went vertical. R/O on top and salt on the bottom. The top is gravity fed and the bottom has a pump to mix and discharge the water. The outlet on the wall does have a weather proof cover on it now. A friend gave me his R/O set up so I combined it with mine. There is 2 sediment filters, 2 carbon filters, 2 75 gpd membranes (BRS water saver configuration) and two DI filters. The required water pressure is achived with a a booster pump.

 

[Billy the kid]

In an effort to save space I went vertical. R/O on top and salt on the bottom. The top is gravity fed and the bottom has a pump to mix and discharge the water. The outlet on the wall does have a weather proof cover on it now. A friend gave me his R/O set up so I combined it with mine. There is 2 sediment filters, 2 carbon filters, 2 75 gpd membranes (BRS water saver configuration) and two DI filters. The required water pressure is achived with a a booster pump.

 

[Mark9]

Here's mine.
The hose allows me to fill my ato by turning a valve rather than carrying water.
The pump is used for mixing sw.
There's a float valve in the top container, so it's always full.
I plan to add a stenner for auto continuous water changes.

 

[dieselkeeper]

 

[captainsmitty]

In my opinion this should be as robust as possible to give you options. My system has 2 different configurations....

A) A Renew continuous water changing system
B) The ability to mix 55 gallons and bring it on-line after draining 55 gallons of existing tank water
C) The ability to draw buckets of RO/DI water or Saltwater


You run the system in either configuration (but not both) but the beauty is you never have to touch a bucket. In addition, my sink has it's own RO/DI spiget on the sink for cleaning the test vials. We are not up and running with this sytem yet. However, I designed the system to be as automated or as manual as I need. I plan on running it 99% of the time using the Renew water changing system.

Here are some pics.... It's hard to photograph because it's in a fish room and located behind the 400 gallon display. Here are my best attempts at pics....

Nice configuration. Where did you get the square tanks? I'm looking for them to fit into the space I am designing for my build.
Thanks

 

[captainsmitty]

My station with auto water change =)

Where did you get the square containers?
Thanks

 

[Rick Mathew]

Here is my mixing station...it located along one wall of my garage

Weighing Station

Monitoring and Control

Monitoring and Control Closer Look

RODI & Salt Mix Tank

Storage Area

 

[Chris155hp]

Where did you get the square containers?
Thanks

Tank Depot

 

[Forsaken77]

That makes my back hurt just looking at it!

Tell me about it. But to be fair I use a pump and U tube to pump the buckets into the tank. Only change 20-40 gallons at a time at the most.

Unfortunately the tank is in a location that has no close water access, so water has to be lugged to it.

 

[Finatik]

I know this is an old thread, but where can I purchase containers like the blue one in this photo ?

 

[reefwiser]

Here is my mixing station...it located along one wall of my garage

Weighing Station

Monitoring and Control

Monitoring and Control Closer Look

RODI & Salt Mix Tank

Storage Area

Rick could you explain your manifold system between your two tanks. Great job organizing your equipment. Do you use the storage container to measure out your salt for your tank?

 

[joro]

Just finished building mine this weekend and, after fixing a few small leaks, I can now say that everything is working beautifully!