Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them!!

vector824

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Mine is quite complicated, took forever to design and plumb correctly... I'm talking MINUTES of prep.

2BAD71D7-6BC2-4649-8B8E-D2CC6B642F09.jpeg
 

Lor

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My water storage and salt water mixing setup. The right tank is RO/DI and the left is salt water. These are 65 gallon storage tanks.

R2RMixingStation.jpg
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noob question, how does the plumbing work for this?

what is the need for the tube that connects the two tank and what does the tube that run vertical to the pump do?

thanks
 

Don Lidtke

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noob question, how does the plumbing work for this?

what is the need for the tube that connects the two tank and what does the tube that run vertical to the pump do?

thanks

I have always felt that the only truly "noob" questions were those that folks are afraid to ask. :)

I am a retired sysadmin so I have had a lot of questions ask of me. Mostly starting with "Why..." but that's for another time...lol!

How this system works is, the bottom pipe allows water to be pumped from either tank depending on how I set the ball valves. Closing the ball valve on the RO/DI tank and opening the ball valve at the bottom of the salt water tank allows for circulation of the salt water with the ball valve on the vertical pipe open or if I open ball valve on the outlet port than salt water flows out that. If I leave the ball valve open on the vertical pipe I will continue to circulate the salt water as well as pump it out but the flow is cut by around 1/2.

When I close the ball valve on the left, the salt water, open the vertical ball valve, open the RO/DI ball valve and close the outlet ball valve on the outlet, I fill the salt water tank. That's the valve setting in the picture.

Closing the vertical ball valve while opening the outlet ball valve and leaving the RO/DI valve open allows for RO/DI water to flow to wherever I have the hose running to.

The ball valve on the inlet side of the pump is normally open and would be closed only when I need to replace the pump or to do some kind of pump maintenance; I can isolate the pump completely for easy removal/replacement.

I hope that explains the workings of the system. Honestly, it's a lot easier to use than it is to explain. :)
 

Lor

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I have always felt that the only truly "noob" questions were those that folks are afraid to ask. :)

I am a retired sysadmin so I have had a lot of questions ask of me. Mostly starting with "Why..." but that's for another time...lol!

How this system works is, the bottom pipe allows water to be pumped from either tank depending on how I set the ball valves. Closing the ball valve on the RO/DI tank and opening the ball valve at the bottom of the salt water tank allows for circulation of the salt water with the ball valve on the vertical pipe open or if I open ball valve on the outlet port than salt water flows out that. If I leave the ball valve open on the vertical pipe I will continue to circulate the salt water as well as pump it out but the flow is cut by around 1/2.

When I close the ball valve on the left, the salt water, open the vertical ball valve, open the RO/DI ball valve and close the outlet ball valve on the outlet, I fill the salt water tank. That's the valve setting in the picture.

Closing the vertical ball valve while opening the outlet ball valve and leaving the RO/DI valve open allows for RO/DI water to flow to wherever I have the hose running to.

The ball valve on the inlet side of the pump is normally open and would be closed only when I need to replace the pump or to do some kind of pump maintenance; I can isolate the pump completely for easy removal/replacement.

I hope that explains the workings of the system. Honestly, it's a lot easier to use than it is to explain. :)


thank you for the explanation. im a network guy and we are probably asked the same questions. what size of pump do you have in there?
 

Don Lidtke

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thank you for the explanation. im a network guy and we are probably asked the same questions. what size of pump do you have in there?

I am using the MD-20RT - 492 GPH - Iwaki Japanese from BRS. I vacillate between thinking I should have gone larger to being awfully glad I didn't. I think it's going to be a bit small for mixing salt but if it were any larger I would have a tough time not over filling my ATO tanks. If I need more water movement for salt mixing I can always add a pump into the tank.

It was interesting being a part of the early days of the network and watching how the network has changed. In the early days the network was just a way to connect to the computers but the computers themselves were the focal point. When they were down all sorts of folks got bent out of shape. Also, the network wasn't that reliable. I loved how the vampire tap was never supposed to be able to short out the network cable often did...lol! Today things have flipped completely around. The network is pretty much rock solid. When a computer is down it effects a some users but when the network is done the death start rising from the grave demanding to know how long it's going to be before the net is back up. Not to mention the speed at which those silly bits are flying around! The whole of idea of statistically being a one or a zero hurts my brain to think about.
 

Jason Collins

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People that use round water containers... How do you tap into the bottom. Do you use a regular bulkhead? Does it seal well? I have 2 of the blue 55 gallon plastic drums that im going to work on setting up a water station just curious what I need to use to tap into the side near the bottom of the drum.
 

john.m.cole3

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uniseals suck IMO. A bulkhead will mount up just fine. I used stardard ABS 1 inch bulkheads drilled about a half inch from the bottom of the barrel
 

john.m.cole3

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Here's mine. I still need to save up some money to get some more ball valves to finish the project but it old water for now
20180821_113308.jpg
 

siggy

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FYI: I went to buy another ace roto mold storage tank from Rural King - they stopped carrying them. :(
Thats a bumber I know Tractor Supply and farm and fleet stopped a year ago. They had to be loosing money with the free shipping, freight cost has skyrocketed
 

ncaldwell

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I have no options in Alaska other than brute trashcans. I'd like a 100gal storage but I have to wait till I get back to the lower 48
 

DinoS

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I have 2 75gal containers one for my fresh water n one for my salt water. They are filled with my ro/di line that runs from my laundry room into the garage. Each tank has a hose that will reach each aquarium to be filled. They are mixed by the pumps that circulate the water.
20181010_235027-1.jpg
 

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