Nano Mixing Station

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Hey there R2R. Calling all nano reefers

how many of you guys invested in a mixing station ?

how is your system plumbed ?

how much did you invest ?

was the investment worth it over 5 gallon buckets ?

let me hear your guys’ thoughts and ideas !

 

[afrokobe]

I just use buckets and was only planning on building a mixing station once I upgraded to a large tank. Curious to see what other people have done.

 

[Aaron75]

5 gallon buckets here. When a water change is 4 gallons and I can produce that in 30 minutes, I see no reason to do otherwise. If I had a larger tank, I'd 100% set up a station.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

I just use buckets and was only planning on building a mixing station once I upgraded to a large tank. Curious to see what other people have done.

What size tank do you run and how often ydo you change out water ?

i wanted to build a 15 g station, however, most containers out there are $100+ Per container.

I’m thinking about engineering a 5 g mixing station connected to my RODI. Small enough to get near the DT and connect to MS. I’m sure with 5 g a small Jebao pump with very cheap pvc would be more than enough to have a similar operation as to those with larger tanks.

RODI on, Fill, Transfer, Add salt, Heat & Mix, Add, Done.

 

[Fish_Fry]

I’m thinking about engineering a 5 g mixing station connected to my RODI. Small enough to get near the DT and connect to MS. I’m sure with 5 g a small Jebao pump with very cheap pvc would be more than enough to have a similar operation as to those with larger tanks.

RODI on, Fill, Transfer, Add salt, Heat & Mix, Add, Done.

I like your idea.

IMO 5 gallon buckets are great for tanks under ~20-25 gallons.

I don't want to carry multiple buckets so I held off on getting a larger tank until I had the room to install a mixing station in the basement with the ability to pump water up to the main level of my house.

I also have different size trash cans on dollys so I can easily transport water to & from my tank. You could probably do the same thing with a cart that could hold two 5 gallon buckets, one for new water and one for old.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

I like your idea.

IMO 5 gallon buckets are great for tanks under ~20-25 gallons.

I don't want to carry multiple buckets so I held off on getting a larger tank until I had the room to install a mixing station in the basement with the ability to pump water up to the main level of my house.

I also have different size trash cans on dollys so I can easily transport water to & from my tank. You could probably do the same thing with a cart that could hold two 5 gallon buckets, one for new water and one for old.

Definitely.

i live in an upstairs room that isn’t the biggest, with a closet.

the closet is very small as well. Even if I wanted a bigger tank, the space wouldn’t allow it.

I’ve been told that I could easily add a power head, heater , and a pump to the bucket and Change out the water which is how I have done it in the past, however I don’t want to be hauling any buckets what do ever or having to make water the day before

not sure what I’ll come up with but I’ll bring the idea here once it’s set

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Okay guys I’ve made a plan for a 5 gal nano mixing station.

I believe I have the plumbing down. This is a great way I believe one can save loads of space while having the convenience of making water changes as easy as dropping RODI water in, adding salt, mixing with pump, and adding fresh SW into DT via the same pump.

this is my first time attempting an idea of creating a mixing station, or even thinking about plumbing in general. Let me know if there are ways this could be better, or if I even have the idea in the right spectrum.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Also the ‘T’s’ would be ball valves. Opening and closing the appropriate valves would divert the water in the direction you want it to flow

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

I have a 10 gallon brute trash can with my RODI plumbed to a float valve drilled into the can. As extra insurance the can is sitting in a Rubbermaid tray that has the cotton pad safety valve to prevent damage if the float valve fails.

I mix in a bucket with a powerhead overnight. I keep my house at 68*F, and the powerhead by itself generates enough heat overnight that the saltwater reaches around 75*F.

 

[afrokobe]

What size tank do you run and how often ydo you change out water ?

i wanted to build a 15 g station, however, most containers out there are $100+ Per container.

I’m thinking about engineering a 5 g mixing station connected to my RODI. Small enough to get near the DT and connect to MS. I’m sure with 5 g a small Jebao pump with very cheap pvc would be more than enough to have a similar operation as to those with larger tanks.

RODI on, Fill, Transfer, Add salt, Heat & Mix, Add, Done.

I have a 25g cube and 20g im pennisula. I usually alternate weekly water changes for the tanks (if i can keep up with my schedule, its honestly more like every two weeks at this point). If I feel the need to change water out of both tanks, I will usually take out the 20g brute to make water to wheel it around.

If I had the space, I would much rather set up an awc system along with the mixing station. I just don't like doing water changes in general lol

 

[jkcoral]

I have a 30g tank (with a larger system in the making) that gets a 10 gallon water change about every 2.5 to 3 weeks.

The very basic setup for my water changes uses two of the 10g Brute trash cans and one of the 14g Brute “totes.” I make Rodi water that sits in the 14g Brute tote that sits on a shelf in the garage. I got a $2 Uniseal and put it on the (lower) side of the tote and put a small PVC ball/shutoff valve. When making new salt water, I just take the 10g Brute trash can that is dedicated to mixing, set it under the tote and open the valve to fill it up. A cheap $10 pump gets tossed in and everything is good to go. I then just refill the Brute tote so that there is water for top off and enough for the next batch of saltwater. The second 10g trash can is only used for removing water from the tank, and sometimes to store additional fresh Rodi water.

All in all, my primitive (but easy) setup cost $20 for the 10g Brute, $15-$20 for the Brute tote, $2 for a Uniseal, and maybe $5 in some PVC.

I’m interested to see other peoples’ approaches. My little setup is something I’ve only been using for about 6 months, but for small tanks in the past, 5 gallon buckets worked just fine too.

 

[Tiny Reef]

@jkcoral do the sides of the 14g Brute tote bulge when it's filled with water? I tried something similar with a larger tote and I was uncomfortable with how much the sides bulged.

 

[jkcoral]

@jkcoral do the sides of the 14g Brute tote bulge when it's filled with water? I tried something similar with a larger tote and I was uncomfortable with how much the sides bulged.

A little bit, but not to the point where I’ve ever been really concerned. A friend of mine did the same thing and he has a bungy cord wrapped around his that basically removed any of the flexing.

 

[jkcoral]

@jkcoral do the sides of the 14g Brute tote bulge when it's filled with water? I tried something similar with a larger tote and I was uncomfortable with how much the sides bulged.

Edit:
Forgot to mention that I use the 14g tote, but there is a larger brute tote (20g I think) that I think would have more of an issue with bulging.

And in case it might be helpful, here is a picture of inside the tote. The small mark on the side is the water line with 10 gallons in the tote.

 

[Tiny Reef]

Thanks, I'll have to pick up a 14 gallon tote and give it a shot.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Hey guys. Currently finished building a stand for my nano build (build thread coming soon).

been designing some WC Stations for a nano and I’ve opted that’s it’s easier utilizing brute cans with pumps and power heads to do the job.

i have used a design in the pst with great success, however, only had the RODI portion semi automated.

going to build a new design soon utilizing one 20 gal brute can with a cheap pump on Amazon and vinyl tube. This Can will be connected to the RODI unit which will be l topped off using a float valve.

i will utilize a smaller 10g brute to mix SW. The lid will have a barbed fitting where I can connect the RODI tube to the lid and turn on the pump to add RODI.

i will add an acrylic tube that indicates water level as well on the RODI (to determine how much water I need, all I have to do is look at the indicator and see how much water was drained)

I plan on adding a power head, and heater along with the sicce utility pump to then add water to the DT.

all this will be connected to an extension outlier with switches, making WC as easy as a flip of a switch.