Protect closet floor for water mixing station?

[SallyWho]

All this time, I've been planning on putting my water mixing station in the garage because that's where the hot water heater is (and thus, easy access to the cold water line), it wouldn't matter so much if I overflowed or leaked water, and there's room to stack a couple of brute containers. However, a friend came over today and asked why I wasn't considering the closet that's literally three feet from where the tank will go, and shares a wall with a bathroom sink. If I can find a place for all the stuff currently in that closet, it could be ideal- just pop through the drywall and access the water line for the bathroom sink, and attach the waste water line to the sink drain. And I wouldn't have to worry about anything freezing during the winter. BUT. Just before I bought the house, the previous owner installed some rather nice wood laminate flooring. I just know there's going to be drips, leaks, and occasional spills (hopefully no big floods). How can I protect the floors in that closet from water damage? A mat of some sort seems a little insufficient. Is there some kind of tray or something big enough for two brute trash cans that I could set them in? Any thoughts on keeping my floor dry in the face of inevitable drips or oops-I-forgot-to-turn-off-my-RODI? Thanks!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

The BEST way to protect those laminate floors that will bow up and warp at the first signs of a spill, it to get a heater for the water mixing station you're fixing to build in the garage. Ask me how I know.... better yet, ask my future wife. She was ecstatic when I told her I was moving the RODI to the garage and showed her pictures of mixing stations. No more "oh ----, I forgot the RODI was on" moments.

 

[SallyWho]

The BEST way to protect those laminate floors that will bow up and warp at the first signs of a spill, it to get a heater for the water mixing station you're fixing to build in the garage. Ask me how I know.... better yet, ask my future wife. She was ecstatic when I told her I was moving the RODI to the garage and showed her pictures of mixing stations. No more "oh ----, I forgot the RODI was on" moments.

The trick in the garage will be keeping everything from freezing during the winter! Not to mention, I have no easy access to a drain for the waste water line in the garage. And I'd need about 40' of tubing and a heckuva pump to get the mixed saltwater from the garage to where the tank will be. I've hauled enough 5g buckets over the years with my freshwater tanks that I categorically refuse to do so with my future reef tank! If there's a way to move the mixing station to the closet, that'd be ideal, but like you said, I don't want water damage to my floors, either.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

40' of horizontal pipe is only about 4' of vertical pipe(I think)... You won't need that strong of a pump. A standard cheapo AC return pump and some flexible hose should be just fine. Heating is another problem entirely, that I don't have to worry too much with here in SC. I guess it gets a bit colder in MO? I was going to get a heating pad to sit under the salt water container and run it on a thermostat to keep it up to tank temp. The RODI can be cold, doubt it'll freeze in my garage... It's just going to be going in ATO and mixing up salt every now and then.

 

[DLHDesign]

There are various drip pans for A/C units (for example; those located in an attic). If you are planning on a controller (such as an Apex or the like), you could add a float switch and shut-off solenoid. If no controller, at least the pan would catch the drips.
[edit] There are also manual-shut-off options.

You'll also want to make sure that the nice flooring is supported enough. With the DT and mixing station both on the same wall, you'll want to make sure that the wall in question is reasonably "load bearing" so that the flooring is strong enough for all that water (however much it may be).

 

[SallyWho]

AH, yes, perfect! Drips pans and that manual shut-off you linked to are just what I was looking for! Thank you! And I'm for sure going to employ a float valve, too.

SW MO can be hit or miss during the winter. We've had bitterly cold winters where you don't risk ever turning your faucets all the way off, and some winters that didn't even get cold enough to kill off the bugs. But since this will be my first winter in this house, I don't know how cold the garage will get. I've done my best to fix the gap under the garage door, and the door to the back yard is going to get replaced with something more energy efficient (and not rotted...). I'm going to run "freeze tests" this winter using five gallon buckets and straws to test whether or not RODI tubing or big buckets of water will freeze up. I'm hung up on the closet now, but I'll probably run those freeze tests this winter anyway, just in case.

And I should be good on the floors. The closet is about two feet from the main support beam that runs the length of the house, so it's practically right on top of it. The friend who came over today and asked me why I wasn't going to use that closet is actually the friend who's helping me reinforce my floors for the tank. Unfortunately, because of the floor plan, there's really only one decent place for the tank, and it's parallel to the floor joists against a non-loadbearing wall. We couldn't find the particular kind of a block we needed, so next weekend we'll finish it up, but there's going to be a couple extra boards and a few jacks to keep the floor under the tank stable. Not taking any chances with both my first house and my first reef tank!

 

[DLHDesign]

Sounds good! Be sure to post up a build thread so we can follow along.

 

[SallyWho]

Sounds good! Be sure to post up a build thread so we can follow along.

Hahahahaha! It'd be the slowest build thread EVER! I'm not likely to get a tank going until next year- I'm just taking opportunities as they come to get the "infrastructure" as it were taken care of! Floors getting reinforced, then electrical work, and then more and more planning. My house needs a new roof more than I need a tank, so that will have to come first. I'll start a build thread once I actually have a tank and am curing some rock!