Mixing Stations

[Travis Stewart]

Interested in seeing some medinc stations and a little explanation on how they work. From what I’ve seen, an external pump moves RODI water to the next container where you then add salt, close valve and use same pump to mix? Do you have to keep this mixing all the time? Have to use a heater?

 

[Jbell370]

The bin on the right gets rodi, add my salt and mix with the pump both vales right side open. Once mixed I open the top left and close the top right. The left bin feeds my AWC which consumes 5g per day. I don't heat it, room temperature.

 

[Gtinnel]

I can't post a pic right now, but my mixing station is just two brute cans with one over the other. I drilled a hole low in the side of them and attached them together with pvc. The top is rodi and the bottom is salt, so when I need to add water to mix up saltwater I just open the valve and let gravity do its thing. I keep a cheap powerhead in the bottom brute to mix up the saltwater.

I use mine for an AWC, so I don't heat my water and I run the pump to mix the salt and then have it set to run the pump only a few hours a day (which is probably not necessary).

Mine is ugly but it's easy to setup and functional. Also with it being vertical it doesn't take up as much floor space.

 

[polyppal]

I just got an industrial 55g food-grade drum off craigslist, installed a float valve in the side, and connect that straight to the RO. I just use whatever pump/heater I have lying around, plug it in, add salt and test till its 35ppm. Usually lasts me about a month on a 68g and 18g. I don't run a separate tank with just RODI because my RO unit is pretty fast and I don't have the space.

 

[ReefCheef]

The bin on the right gets rodi, add my salt and mix with the pump both vales right side open. Once mixed I open the top left and close the top right. The left bin feeds my AWC which consumes 5g per day. I don't heat it, room temperature.

This is how you do it. Id post a pic of mine but its just a bigger version of the exact same thing. If you analyze the picture long enough to copy/build your own youll know how it works. Thats my advice.
The one thing i have different on mine is i have it elevated a foot off the floor with valves on each tank i can turn to fill 5g buckets of fresh or salt which i use a surprising amount for various tasks

 

[Jbell370]

I have mine elevated but that was to prevent the cold from the floor, the center pipe has a valve, so either salt or rodi. You're right, use it more than I thought.

 

[Travis Stewart]

Ya I will have to study more on the pics. Appreciate the info and pics guys!

 

[rhostam]

Here are pictures of my build. First is my initial scribbles based off designs from this very site. The second is one is where things are now. Still need to find a better stand, but I want to make that whole corner a station. It’s looking like I may have to build that. When I move that station, I will fix a few quality of life mistakes I made with this first attempt.

 

[Jbell370]

Looks good, my drawing was almost the same. I work at a steel shop, so a stand was easy for me out of HSS tube, couple welds and a board to top it off.

 

[ripcord]

Best thing I ever did!

 

[Quiverfull]

The bin on the right gets rodi, add my salt and mix with the pump both vales right side open. Once mixed I open the top left and close the top right. The left bin feeds my AWC which consumes 5g per day. I don't heat it, room temperature.

@Jbell370 - a couple of questions as I build my mixing station…

Why do you have a return into the top of your RO/DI container?

Why did you choose a pan world pump?

thanks.

 

[Jbell370]

@Jbell370 - a couple of questions as I build my mixing station…

Why do you have a return into the top of your RO/DI container?

Why did you choose a pan world pump?

thanks.

The tank on the right is where my fresh RO/DI enters and fills, the return on the top is to allow mixing in the barrel as my Auto Water Change feeds from the tank on the left. Typically once the left barrel is half full I will mix the 2 together to balance out the salinity as I change 5g per day.

I went with that pump as at the time it was the only one available with the size of input and output that I required, it runs very well and certainly mixes the salt with ease.

 

[Quiverfull]

So you mix salt in both containers?

 

[Jbell370]

So you mix salt in both containers?

I fill then mix salt in the right hand container, usually 45g at a time. Then pump it to the storage container being the left hand side which feeds my auto water change. I have another container for just my ro/di top up.

 

[Thetankdoctor]

I have 2 100g containers side by side. I fill 1 with rodi and use that for my top off container. I have my rodi plumbed to it with a solenoid valve and a float valve and a hi low and mid optical sensor. I have a single pump in the container that is plumbed to the other 100g container where I measured out 100g exactly the first time and malted it on the tank so I just use the pump in the rodi container to fill the salt mixing container to the marked line. I then weigh up my salt dump in the container and I have an apex wav in the container that mixes the salt for about 2.5 hrs. While this mixing is going on my AWC does not function. After the 2.5hr mix back to the AWC automatically. This last about 2 weeks for my systems. The rodi vat is basically always full. When it gets down to the mid sensor, it refills the vat to the hi sensor. So I never worry about having enough water. This seems to work great for me. I'm not home so I cannot post pics. But it works great and has been for a while

 

[Quiverfull]

I have 2 100g containers side by side. I fill 1 with rodi and use that for my top off container. I have my rodi plumbed to it with a solenoid valve and a float valve and a hi low and mid optical sensor. I have a single pump in the container that is plumbed to the other 100g container where I measured out 100g exactly the first time and malted it on the tank so I just use the pump in the rodi container to fill the salt mixing container to the marked line. I then weigh up my salt dump in the container and I have an apex wav in the container that mixes the salt for about 2.5 hrs. While this mixing is going on my AWC does not function. After the 2.5hr mix back to the AWC automatically. This last about 2 weeks for my systems. The rodi vat is basically always full. When it gets down to the mid sensor, it refills the vat to the hi sensor. So I never worry about having enough water. This seems to work great for me. I'm not home so I cannot post pics. But it works great and has been for a while

@Thetankdoctor - that sounds great. Several Questions:

1. What are using for the optical sensors - the Apex sensors and an FMM ?
2. Do you have an autoflush on your RO/DI unit that flushes before you fill after the solenoid (Apex I assume) opens?
3. Sounds like you have an internal pump in your RO/DI tank - is that correct? If not, what external pump are you using?

I am setting up mine with 2 75g vertical tanks. I have not settled on the external pump - I am trying to decide between a vectra M2, a Sicce 7.0 SDC syncra or just go with an Iwaki AC pump (40XRT) which could act as a back up if my system pump goes out (I have my Iwaki running for close to 10 years continuously 24/7 except for the 2 times I performed routine maintenance). I am concerned that I will be turning the pump on and off as I do not want it to run continuously in the mixing station which could burn on the motor faster than on a DC pump.

Appreciate your opinion.

Best,

Q

 

[Quiverfull]

I fill then mix salt in the right hand container, usually 45g at a time. Then pump it to the storage container being the left hand side which feeds my auto water change. I have another container for just my ro/di top up.

@Jbell370 - Got it. So you never mix in your AWC tank... Do you run your newly mixed water through a filter before storage in the left tank?

Thanks,

GW

 

[Jbell370]

@Jbell370 - Got it. So you never mix in your AWC tank... Do you run your newly mixed water through a filter before storage in the left tank?

Thanks,

GW

I don’t run it through a filter and I always mix in the right hand side tank. With my work schedule, today for example I just added my salt and have the pump running, I’ll leave it overnight and early tomorrow before I leave for work I will check the salinity to make sure it is close to the left tank. When time comes and the AWC tank needs filling I will open all valves let it mix together and then close the appropriate valves to fill the AWC tank. Sounds much more than what it is, pure joy compared to buckets and all the rest. My AWC changes 5g per day, tank is 220 or so and sump is 60g. I run the AWC 6pm - 10pm and dose 1am to 5pm. Has almost been a year this way and although there could always be changes and such, I don’t have a need too.

 

[mrpontiac80]

Eventually I’d like to upgrade with a pump and plumbing but for now I have two 55 gallon barrels side by side on a platform. One is for my RODI and the other is saltwater. I just have been doing the 5 gallon bucket method of moving water but my saltwater barrel has a heater and a cheap power head for mixing.

 

[Jeffcb]