Saltwater mixing station

[jokerjohnson]

Looking at setting up a saltwater mixing station, would like to purchase two containers 50-65 gallons each one for rodi one for saltwater.
I’ve seen Pictures of peoples stuff but never specific details of how it’s done. Can someone please elaborate on their mixing stations? What al equipment is needed, and even where they purchased the containers? (Don’t want to use just trash cans) would prefer nicer ones. Thank you.

 

[Jason Scalise]

Joker
I have built a mixing station with two 65g containers (one for RODI and one for new saltwater).

If you look at my build thread, (425xl Reefer build thread) there are pictures and some explanation of putting it together on the upper half of the post.

it is located in the garage plumbed through the wall to the sump. It is set up to automatically do ATO and AWC controlled by the Apex.

Pump between tanks pushes water from RO tank (on the left of the picture) to NSW tank (on the right) when making a batch. Then with changing ball valves is used to circulate the NSW while mixing.

I was making new RO water and new saltwater only about every other month. very convenient and never moving water buckets around.

if you want more detailed info, let me know.

 

[misturrtinnie]

I have always wondered how one of these mixing stations work, and just from your pictures that gave me all the information that I needed. Awesome looking set up, hopefully OP gets his going also.

 

[serecheneric]

In my experience NSE stands for natural seawater, I believe you are using the acronym for new sea water or something else since you live in a desert I don't believe you are acquiring natural seawater.

 

[Tcook]

Take a look at this. I found it helpful.

Building the Ultimate Water Mixing Station | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

We’ve been building out the Reef Builders Studio for well over a year now and if there’s one project that has felt like it would be the capstone to the endeavor, it’s the water mixing station.

reefbuilders.com

 

[Mikey-D]

I just finished mine. I did a budget build but all the components are there to properly mix and store.

I used 35g Walmart cans with the locking lids. Ran my pipe from RO to pump with valves to isolate the 2 cans.

Inside the salt can I have the heaters and a mini wave maker to help stir.

Pm if you want more pictures and I can help you through the process.

 

[n2585722]

I have three tanks on my mixing station. One is DI storage for ATO and anything else I may need DI for. Another is the fresh saltwater tank which is used for AWC and also can be dispensed into containers like the DI for other uses. The last one is the mix tank when it is refilled I just add the salt and when it is ready to use I press a button to alert the controller it is useable. When the fresh salt water tank goes low and the mix tank is ready to use the controller transfers water from the mix tank to the fresh saltwater tank and then refill the mix tank with DI water. The stirring pump in the mix tank is turned on when it is above 60% full. They are in the garage under my workbench and can be rolled out when I need to get to something on top or inside. I did use 20 gallon Brute trash cans and all plumbing goes through the lid and not the can itself. The first photo is the controller board with the controllers that are in the garage and the solenoids and ATO, AWC and dosing pumps. The tank is 35ft away from the garage. To dispense into containers all I have to do is push a button and release it when done for the particular tank I want to dispense from.

 

[Geikster]

Can I ask a basic question I don't believe I've seen answered explicitly yet.

If I have my 5 Stage RO/DI system plumbed into a supply line and "gated" by a ATO solenoid and optical switch to keep the container full of RODI water at all times, am I okay to leave the RO/DI system under constant pressure. I would assume so but love to hear how others handle this.

 

[n2585722]

Can I ask a basic question I don't believe I've seen answered explicitly yet.

If I have my 5 Stage RO/DI system plumbed into a supply line and "gated" by a ATO solenoid and optical switch to keep the container full of RODI water at all times, am I okay to leave the RO/DI system under constant pressure. I would assume so but love to hear how others handle this.

I do not leave mine on all the time but I also had it leak with a canister starting 2 weeks after changing the filters. The solenoid I use for the input cannot be left on 24/7 so I turn it on as needed. Since ai also use the RO side to supply RO water to the fridge with one of those bladder tanks. I turn it on several times a day for 15 minutes at a time to keep the bladder tank refilled. If it has a demand to refill my DI storage tank or mix tank that solenoid is turned on along with the solenoid for the tank needing to be refilled. If you do keep pressure on the RODI make sure it has a ASOV valve on the RODI unit. With the solenoid on the input to the RODI I can turn it off if a leak is detected during any on time.

 

[Geikster]

Great. It looks like since I went with the BRS RO/DI unit it comes with the ASOV. Appreciate the insights and agree on building in lead protection as well.

 

[Tcook]

I leave mine on with a ASOV. It’s in the garage so no risk of flooding the house. You DO NOT want to set it up to always keep it full. You want to set up your floats so that you consume all of the RO before it starts filling the tank again. Otherwise you are going to burn through your membrane more quickly and get tds creep.

 

[Fish Styx]

Here are some pics of mine. Pardon the poor photos and mess. The system will be moved from my laundry room to new fish room soon. The two 55 gallon containers I believe were ordered from tractor supply (?). Happy to walk you through the setup / valveage / automation.

 

[Geikster]

Here are some pics of mine. Pardon the poor photos and mess. The system will be moved from my laundry room to new fish room soon. The two 55 gallon containers I believe were ordered from tractor supply (?). Happy to walk you through the setup / valveage / automation.

Very similar to what I’m planning. Thank you!

 

[Fish Styx]

Very similar to what I’m planning. Thank you!

Of course. Feel free to reach out with any questions. Happy to share / help.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

i go low tech mixing station and just have a big jug for ro/di water.. its got 1/4 lines going to each tank.. plus drilled in a bullkhead thats taller than a 5 gallon bucket so i can fill buckets quickly if needed.

I pull the water from this "mixing station" to the sumps for ato. when i want to do a water change i turn off my return pumps and heaters , turn on a pump that empties the sump . then dump in a premeasured amount of salt and refill the sump./heaters back on.. once its to temp. then turn the return pump back on and the return pump and incoming water from the return does the mixing.

 

[Geikster]

One more question. Do most just have a heater inside the saltwater tank always or drop one in from the top when you need to heat water? Or do you just pump room temp water in the tank and let the display heater do the work?

 

[Jason Scalise]

I don’t use a heater.
Because I am changing small volumes at a time, there is no practical temp fluctuations to the DT.
For me The math is something like a change of .001 degrees even if the new fluid is really warm. I was interested in too warm water actually as here in AZ, my garage mixing station is easily >110 degrees during the summer.
And even 50 degree fluid in the winter has the same negligible effect.
But, if you are changing larger volumes such as 10% or more at a time, you may wish to consider a heater for colder fluid.

 

[Fish Styx]

One more question. Do most just have a heater inside the saltwater tank always or drop one in from the top when you need to heat water? Or do you just pump room temp water in the tank and let the display heater do the work?

I have a heater and controller in mine.

 

[Schulks]

Do not forget to have an airstone in the mixed salt container. Aerated water is good for water changes and you will turn off the heater/pump and leave the airstone running for storage.

 

[n2585722]

One more question. Do most just have a heater inside the saltwater tank always or drop one in from the top when you need to heat water? Or do you just pump room temp water in the tank and let the display heater do the work?

I have never used a heater in my storage tanks but I do auto water changes that run three times a day so the amount each time is low. I have been doing this for 7 years now. I do not use air stone in any of the tanks. The only one with a pump for mixing is the mixing tank.