100 Gallon Mix Station Upgrade

[ifreefingwasaperson]

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the old mix station which consisted of two brute trash cans stacked on a diy 2x4 stand. I figured i would start now with a rebuild.

The Equipment plan: 2-100 gallon norwesco storage tanks (Ntotanks) pickup
Spears three way ball valve (blackhawksupply)
DOS
EB832
PM2
Temp/Salinity probe
FMM
2- optical sensors
2- float valves
Sch. 80 fittings (SupplyHouse)
7 stage rodi
Sediment filter for bin (1/2’’)
DIY inline heater/probes
Solenoids
Rigid Ro tubing (Avast)
Eheim Jager heater
External pump
colored pvc (red) (pvcfittingsonline.com)
Leak sensors
Aquabus cable (usbfirewire)

A few reasons for the change is:
1.I didn’t like the height
2. Hard to clean
3. Overflows
4. Brute smell
5. Didn’t look attractive
6. Under sized in case of emergency
7. Container penetrations

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[ifreefingwasaperson]

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

Current tank penetrations.
1/4’’ bulkhead for dos awc,opposite side will be connected with rigid Ro tubing
1/2’’ bulkhead return from sediment filter
still needed:
mount float valve
mount 1’’ bulkhead from return
wire pass thru with Uniseal and pvc pipe w/cap or locking wire grommet. Still in the air???

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

Cord grips from delcity 1-heater, 2- probes, cord pass thru grommets

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

Rough sketch.

Program:freeform

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

Rigid tubing and connectors to reach bottom of bin for dos awc

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

Tips and tricks

tubing cutter
try to keep Ro tubing connection free
sediment filter
Add a line compression fitting for supply
diy tank mop (pvc pipe,t,45)
Ro filter auto flush
brutes don’t seal well
prevent cross contamination; don’t use the transfer hose for draining
if you use the same pump as your return it could be a backup

 

[twentyleagues]

Last time I did this I got nice water storage tanks like those. This time I'm "balling on a budget" or really it's the fact those things have doubled in price. I was looking at almost $1000 to get just the containers. This time I went with (so far) 2 55g brutes. $60 each. I do see what you are saying about sealing that was a pain. The ro one dripped for what felt like hours. I got it eventually. 6 weeks no issues. Currently I just have a temporary tank 30g for my angler. I am in the process of finishing the room modifications for my 90 cube and building the rock structure for it. So 55g of salt water is fine but I plan on adding another 55g of salt. When I set up the 180 I'll have to figure out something else. Maybe if I can fit them in the basement or house in general 2 of those ibc totes. The cage looks modular wonder how flexible the plastic is.....
Looking good! updates?

 

[ifreefingwasaperson]

I’ll be ordering some parts this week got a little side tracked with research and getting a few frags to qt. Stuck on which pump to go with thinking about throwing in a mag pump just to get it started back mixing since i have it on hand. I was able to get a nice process for auto refill with the apex that i will post also.