Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them!!

[lapin]

Please excuse the door! lol, I will be adding a new door and I still need to do a little more wire management on my #50 gallon saltwater mixing station and my 6 stages RODI with a Dual Membrane along with my Aquatech booster pump.

Any thoughts on how to keep the booster pump from vibrating the wall? It is the loudest part of my set up. I have a rubber pad betweeen it and the wall and it still vibrates like crazy.

 

[siggy]

I have a rubber pad betweeen it and the wall and it still vibrates like crazy.

mount it to your water system, not the wall?

 

[lapin]

mount it to your water system, not the wall?

The rodi unit is on the wall. I dont think its possible to mount it on it. I could not get the canisters off. I have a solenoid mounted to the frame and it takes up a bit of room as is and its small.

 

[Harrison Gordon]

I've had this setup running for a couple months now....thought it would be time to take some pics!

So here is the mixing station in my closet, 20g RODI on top, 50g SW below. The SW has a powerhead and a pump for filling buckets, and both are heated:

This is my RODI unit in the next room over, above some cabinets, really simple. Exits into ceiling:

And this is the water supply and drainage for RODI bedhind washing machine

Now this a different closet, in my bedroom--what you see here is the ATO container for my tank and a FW line for it from RODI. There is also SW into take and SW out.

And here is the powerhouse of the whole system--I know, nothing fancy. I just didn't see the need of spending any more time on this part; its in attic after all! So yeah, as you might have noticed this whole thing is an Auto Water Change system. At first I had thought it would be impossible and expensive, but then I realized that all I would need is this! It's a Cole Parmer double headed peristaltic pump controlled by the smart plug below. If you want something a little fancier and nicer looking there are the Stenner pumps which are great. Pretty much, this just sucks up SW from the big barrel and puts it into the tank at the exact same rate its pulling it out and putting it down the drain pipe behind the unit here.

Since I live in CT, I have the plug set to turn on for 1:32 a day, but not if it is below 25º outside.

Hope this makes out to be an interesting post!
-Harrison

 

[csund]

@csund - on your mixing station you did a really nice job and I really like your containers! Let me ask you a question, was there any reason why you are running 1 #WYE CHECK VALVE?
I know what they are used for since I run two of them on each of my returns, on my SCA 150. I just never saw one on a mixing station. Also, how do you like your @AVAST Marine Barrel tender?

One last question on attachment 2, what plumbing did you use in order to create a water spicket? What d you do just heat up some 3/4'' SCH 80 PVC pipe and bent it for a nice and easy access??

I had a box of the wye check valves laying around figured it wouldn’t hurt, especially if the GF needed to make water while I’m out of town. I didn’t want the salt water to be able to syphon back to the RODI container if the valve was opened without the pump running. If you look closely the piston is removed, just the housing in case I wish to use it.

You can purchase faucets, search for pvc laboratory faucets.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Any thoughts on how to keep the booster pump from vibrating the wall? It is the loudest part of my set up. I have a rubber pad betweeen it and the wall and it still vibrates like crazy.

@lapin - May we see how you have your Booster pump installed and where?
I have mine installed on my RODI panel that was screwed into my dry wall and add then I added some tiny rubber pcs to dampen the noise.
Also, my mixing station is in the garage so I cant hear mind if is did vibrate. I bought the Aquatech Booster pump kit from @Bulk Reef Supply.
Here is a picture of my 50 gallon set up for AWC's! I just cut out a little bit of rubber out and stuck underneath the booster pump bracket.

 

[lapin]

@lapin - May we see how you have your Booster pump installed and where?
I have mine installed on my RODI panel that was screwed into my dry wall and add then I added some tiny rubber pcs to dampen the noise.
Also, my mixing station is in the garage so I cant hear mind if is did vibrate. I bought the Aquatech Booster pump kit from @Bulk Reef Supply.
Here is a picture of my 50 gallon set up for AWC's! I just cut out a little bit of rubber out and stuck underneath the booster pump bracket.

 

[n4soccer06]

Mine is pretty basic. RO/DI water on the right, salt on the left. Pumps in each to keep the water moving. The salt container also has a heater and auto-water change plumbing. Both containers are setup to hold 35gal each. They are brine tank, typically used in whole home water softer systems. I got each for $60 from a local company.

 

[DangerDave]

Why keep the water moving? I use coral pro, and it specifically says not to mix for more then a couple hours.

Are you doing constant water changes? If so I’d say stop heating, it’s such small amounts at a time it never effects my tank temp. That’s even with the water in the garage, and it gets down to the 40s when it’s the middle of the winter.

 

[n4soccer06]

Why keep the water moving? I use coral pro, and it specifically says not to mix for more then a couple hours.

Are you doing constant water changes? If so I’d say stop heating, it’s such small amounts at a time it never effects my tank temp. That’s even with the water in the garage, and it gets down to the 40s when it’s the middle of the winter.

I use the pump in the salt container to mix the salt when I make it and to pump salt into the sump when I do 10-15% water changes. I have the heater set to 70. I use it because everything is in the basement and normal water temp is 55-60deg. I read a few post on here that said when making salt water, it is best to have RO/DI water closer to tank temp then normal ambient. I do additional have a constant water change setup that changes a gal per day as well. The pump in the RO/DI container is only on when I'm transferring water to salt container.

I also remember reading a few post here talking about its best to not have your salt water stagnant because it can create a film on the top of the water. I use Instant Ocean and I haven't read anything that says not to mix for more then a couple hours. Is this a Coral Pro specific thing?

 

[homer1475]

I use the pump in the salt container to mix the salt when I make it and to pump salt into the sump when I do 10-15% water changes. I have the heater set to 70. I use it because everything is in the basement and normal water temp is 55-60deg. I read a few post on here that said when making salt water, it is best to have RO/DI water closer to tank temp then normal ambient. I do additional have a constant water change setup that changes a gal per day as well. The pump in the RO/DI container is only on when I'm transferring water to salt container.

I also remember reading a few post here talking about its best to not have your salt water stagnant because it can create a film on the top of the water. I use Instant Ocean and I haven't read anything that says not to mix for more then a couple hours. Is this a Coral Pro specific thing?

Yes it's a coral pro thing. Some salt mixes have organics in them that can break down if not used right away. coral pro is one of these salts. IO can be mixed and stored almost indefinitely if it's kept in a sealed container. With that said, I mix and store regular IO for nearly a month before I use it all up, and have never had an issue other then the typical brown scum in my mixing barrel.

 

[n4soccer06]

Yes it's a coral pro thing. Some salt mixes have organics in them that can break down if not used right away. coral pro is one of these salts. IO can be mixed and stored almost indefinitely if it's kept in a sealed container. With that said, I mix and store regular IO for nearly a month before I use it all up, and have never had an issue other then the typical brown scum in my mixing barrel.

Got yeah. That is good to know. Is your water at room temp when you mix it and store it? So maybe I don't need to keep the pump going after it is mixed. I'll have to give it a try on the extra round.

 

[homer1475]

Mine is heated only because I use an external panworld pump that heats up the water quite a bit. I keep it cuirculated with 2 small wave makers, and the panworld for mixing. You certainly do not need to heat it depending on the amount of water your changing, and the size of your tank.

Before I built my mixing station I just used a couple small pumps to mix, then let it sit at room temp. I change out 10G in an 85G(total system volume) once a week, without heating my temps would only drop by .5 to 1 degree.

FWIW specific gravity will change when the water is heated. Not a problem if your using a conductivity meter, but could become an issue if your using a refractometer(SG will be higher when it's heated).

 

[samnaz]

Wow you guys go all out for your mixing stations. Tbh most of the set ups are beyond my current level of knowledge and understanding. Is there a “mixing station show off thread for beginners/noobs with limited budget and space”...lol.

Here is my station and also my dog shower/ aquarium equipment cleaning station .[emoji51]

Best looking mixing station if you ask me. The copper pipes are really cool too. Although, I can’t help but see two large pieces of chocolate when I look at those mixing barrels.

It’s not much, but it works well for my 120 gal tank. It also fits in my closet when I’m done.

Brilliant. Its quick and to the point, simple, convenient, and compact!

 

[leorii2000]

Those are some amazing stations. However most are rather complicated. So many valves and connections.
No one has a simple less involved station? Less valves and possibly no straight connection between the salt and fresh water.

I need it to be simple and functional

 

[AquaLifeStudio]

Those are some amazing stations. However most are rather complicated. So many valves and connections.
No one has a simple less involved station? Less valves and possibly no straight connection between the salt and fresh water.

I need it to be simple and functional

I think most of these setups would be considered simple and functional by the people who designed them. I know I consider my own setup as such.

 

[atoll]

Those are some amazing stations. However most are rather complicated. So many valves and connections.
No one has a simple less involved station? Less valves and possibly no straight connection between the salt and fresh water.

I need it to be simple and functional

Simple functional and a breeze to use Reefloat Automatic Water Changer. There are a number of various capacity models.

 

[don_chuwish]

Those are some amazing stations. However most are rather complicated. So many valves and connections.
No one has a simple less involved station? Less valves and possibly no straight connection between the salt and fresh water.

I need it to be simple and functional

Using gravity helps simplify it a lot. Stack the RO container above the mixing container. See mine here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/finally-going-big-120g.211632/#post-2737260
There have been a few tweaks since that initial setup but it's functionally unchanged.

 

[Harrison Gordon]

Those are some amazing stations. However most are rather complicated. So many valves and connections.
No one has a simple less involved station? Less valves and possibly no straight connection between the salt and fresh water.

I need it to be simple and functional

Hi, if you scroll up this page you'll see that the one I have doesn't involve a single PVC valve--basically just a barrel, a pump, a smart plug, and some RO/DI lines in between. Happy reefing!

 

[boacvh]

Here is my total noob one. Located in my outside patio.