RO/DI and saltwater mixing station ideas please

[Loki]

I'm needing some ideas on how to plumb this.
The barrel on the left is my RO/DI water holding barrel. The one currently on the ground will be my saltwater barrel.
I am about to build a little stand just like the on pictured for the saltwater barrel. It will be a few inches shorter to allow the water to be gravity fed into from the RO/DI.

That's about as far as I have gotten.

If you have any ideas on how to plumb it for the RO/DI to enter please post it up.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Russellaqua]

I'm thinking just make a square 'U' shape with the PVC pipe and run it into the top of the saltwater barrel. Attach it with a bulkhead. I assume because of the size of the barrel that you're pumping the saltwater out of it. If you don't want the two barrels physically connected, I'd say use the pipe the way you have it now but turn the RO/DI barrel 90 degrees so that it runs in near the side of the saltwater one. This would require the RO/DI barrel to be a bit higher above the saltwater barrel than it is now.

 

[Budman's Corals]

This is what I got going so far

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

 

[Loki]

I wish I would have thought of that! I have mine side my side. I am going to make a T from my RO/DI and have it go into each barrel.

The left will be salt and the right will be RO/DI.

 

[Loki]

Okay some updates. I have the majority of the work done but I still have to fine tune some things.

Got the stand built

I decided to put a Y in the RO/DI line. I tapped the salt barrel to take a float valve. The first one I got leaked so I got a replacement yesterday. I put ball valves on both barrels so I can shut the water off to each one independently if needed.

The way ill do it is ill get 55 gallons of saltwater made up and then turn off the water to that barrel. So when I take some it won't dilute it with RO/DI.

I cut the top off of the salt barrel to give it a removable lid. I turned it upside down and out it back on. The bungs were to small to get the float valve through so it had to go

Once the float valve was corrected and not leaking I drilled a hole for the bulkhead. I have a 3/4" bulkhead with a ball valve to fill buckets easily. I am not able to run hoses through the house to make this an automatic water change thing but I'm okay with that. This will end up making me do water changes have the water mixed up.

Anyways...... I have a heater and powerhead in the barrel now. I put in some salt last night and have 55 gallons of water in there. I just checked the salinity and was at 1.017 so I dumped more in and will check it later.