Saltwater mixing station

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by scajeo, Feb 18, 2015.

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  1. scajeo

    scajeo Sea Dragon

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    Location:
    Port Orchard, WA.
    I've been slowly gathering parts and equipment a little while now and just started to put things together. I'm working on getting everything as close to automatic as possible using the apex controller for quite a bit. I am hoping for 35 gallons of ready saltwater and 12 gallons of RO/DI. Below is a rough idea of what I have planned.

    A few things I'd like to add down the road would be:
    1) I'd like to see about getting some sort of bin that I can mount in the attic and fill with salt. Have that come through the ceiling and then pull a handle and the pre-measured salt would fall right into the brute. No more having to measure a cup at a time.
    2) Auto water change out. Done though the DOS from apex but I need to do a little more research before I take that big plunge.

    inception.jpg
     
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  3. scajeo

    scajeo Sea Dragon

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    Location:
    Port Orchard, WA.
    Here's the items I currently have
    Blow hole BH1450 for circulation of the water.
    Tunze 3155 Osmolater for ATO
    Aqueon Pro 100 heater
    various pvc fittings and pipes
    unions
    quick disconnects

    What I am thinking is that once this is all set up have the pump come on for 10 - 15 minutes every couple hour to circulate the water and keep the salt mixed.
    The day before a WC have the pump and heater run all day to get things up to speed.

    So here's what I have built so far:
    This is the RO/DI tub. This is the overflow and a way to get some water for my sons freshwater tank.
    IMG_0304.JPG IMG_0305.JPG
    1/2" pipe runs down the side of the wall from the RO/DI tub and into my return area of the sump. IMG_0310.JPG
    The 1/2" pipe that runs from the RO/DI to the sump IMG_0313.JPG
    I don't know how much water this holds yet. The manual float is for the 4 stage RO/DI. I'm not going to keep the pressure on the RO/DI all the time so I will have to monitor how rapidly the water disappears from the tub. IMG_0312.JPG
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2015
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  4. scajeo

    scajeo Sea Dragon

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    I have started on the mixing station but time ran out today so here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like so far. Hopefully, Sunday or Monday I'll be able to finish this up.

    I'm going to mark the clear tube to show how many gallons are left and also see how the water is doing. I'm also going to mount another smaller tube on the return side of the BH1450 to watch the water movement.
    IMG_0306.JPG The pipe going down the middle is the return line. I'm thinking this will keep salt from settling on the bottom. The white bulkhead is the overflow line. The float come directly from the RO/DI.
    IMG_0315.JPG
     
  5. scajeo

    scajeo Sea Dragon

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    I am one bulkhead shy of finishing this and then filling it and giving it a test drive. Any suggestions on things I should do differently? What do y'all think about the circulating the water at the bottom like this? Do I need to have surface agitation as well?
     
  6. mdbostwick

    mdbostwick Vlamingii Tang

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    I imagine salt will still settle in the center of the bottom of that brute. Maybe a series of small holes drilled all the way to the center pointing the direction it will circulate and downward.

    I have to say I am very intrigued by this and am now following.
     
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  7. scajeo

    scajeo Sea Dragon

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    You gave me a good idea. Correct me if I misunderstand but I think you are talking about drilling a series of holes sorta like a sprinkler pointing in the direction of the current flow? I like it. I could restrict the flow on the ends so that flow is more evenly distributed.

    Thnx md!
     
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  9. mdbostwick

    mdbostwick Vlamingii Tang

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  10. Reefbuilder

    Reefbuilder Scooter Blennie

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    I don't think you will need the turbulence in there at top - if the water will be sitting- or if you mix a few days before you change your water you could add a small heater and air stone or a small powerhead half way up facing down to get it to temperature before your change. I do have a concern with your first picture using the clear container - I used one of those temporary in the beginning and the weight of the water bowed it out - the plastic is not that strong in those. Ideally down the road try to pick up 2 55gallon white food grade barrels with screw lids. they look similar to mine but half the size. If you can go to that size - no measuring salt - one bag makes 50 gallons! I think that is the thing I like best about mine. I get down to 10 gallons - I fill to 60 with RO water - dump a bag of reef crystals in and I am good to go! Mix in minutes.
     
  11. scajeo

    scajeo Sea Dragon

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    Thnx Mike,
    This whole thing is from studying your setup and trying to figure out how to get yours to work for me. I appreciate the advice you have to offer.

    I have a heater that I'll put in at the end. I have a spare mp10 laying around that if things don't circulate enough I could add without any hassle. I have wondered about the bowing on the tote and will have to keep an eye on it. The other thing I have pondered is because it's clear can it and will it produce any algae with the lights being so close.

    I did look at the barrels and I couldn't find one that would fit my size requirements. The spec. guy I spoke with was a bit hesitant about a custom job and said if he could do it that the price would be exceptional. I'm building this with the idea that when I find a better storage container down the road that will fit my size restrictions I can easily remove either of these and add the new one without to much hassle.
     
  12. AnotherMike

    AnotherMike Fire Worm

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    Once the salt is mixed you should not need to continue mixing it. This will just cause precipitation.

    My WC are fully automated. I mix a 60g barrel of salt mix once every 7 to 10 days. I mix it at slightly lower salinity than my tank because by the end of the week the salinity in the barrel is slightly higher than that of my tank so it's evens out. I change 1 gallon of water every 4 hours on my system which is 6g/day 42 g/week on my 330g system.

    This is handled through a Genesis system which I love.