Salt Mixing Pump?

[adamf83]

Hi,

I'm just getting into mixing my own salt water and the current pump I have (Hydor Pico 600) is not that great, although it doesn't seem to be clogged up, the impeller just stops spinning and it needs some encouragement to actually work.

What do other people use? I'm only mixing in farily small quanities, 25l at a time due to space constraints.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JoshO]

Following!

 

[joseserrano]

You can use any pump really, smaller pump will just take longer. Hydors are known to do that, especially older models. I would get an AC tunze, those will last for a long time.

 

[danieyella]

I do 6g batches and use this cheapo from Amazon: FREESEA Aquarium Wave Maker Power Head Circulation Pump with Magnet Suction Base for 20 to 60 gallons. It was $20 and works great so far. RODI into bucket, salt into bucket, power head suctioned to side pointing down, lid on. I let it mix a few hours, check on it, test salinity, and go from there. I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt which pretty much melts into the water as well, I'm not sure how it compares to other brands.

 

[Zoaologist]

I have 2 210 gallon drums for my water station and use a EcoTech L2 pump. No complaints, works great.

 

[JoshO]

I do 6g batches and use this cheapo from Amazon: FREESEA Aquarium Wave Maker Power Head Circulation Pump with Magnet Suction Base for 20 to 60 gallons. It was $20 and works great so far. RODI into bucket, salt into bucket, power head suctioned to side pointing down, lid on. I let it mix a few hours, check on it, test salinity, and go from there. I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt which pretty much melts into the water as well, I'm not sure how it compares to other brands.

I've just bought a tub of this salt so that's promising to hear!

 

[W1ngz]

I use a dirt simple Cobalt Maxijet 1200. Works for mixing with the included hanger-arm over the rim of the bucket, then you can put a length of 1/2" vinyl tubing on the end of it and pump it right out of the bucket into the sump or tank.

 

[danieyella]

I've just bought a tub of this salt so that's promising to hear!

I love it! I don't have experience with any other salts to give an honest comparison, but the tank responds very well and it's super easy to use so I don't feel a need to test anyone else.

 

[bacc2bacc]

i use a old stock return pump from a biocube29 to mix up saltwater in a 5g bucket. works great!

 

[WVNed]

Maxijet 1200

 

[lpsouth1978]

I do 6g batches and use this cheapo from Amazon: FREESEA Aquarium Wave Maker Power Head Circulation Pump with Magnet Suction Base for 20 to 60 gallons. It was $20 and works great so far. RODI into bucket, salt into bucket, power head suctioned to side pointing down, lid on. I let it mix a few hours, check on it, test salinity, and go from there. I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt which pretty much melts into the water as well, I'm not sure how it compares to other brands.

I use this same pump with IO Reef Crystals and it works well in a 5g bucket of water. It is also effective in a Brute can, but take longer to fully mix.

 

[mike550]

I have a small Sicce Syncra pro that I put in my Brute. Fashioned a small pvc tube (straight and an elbow) that attaches to the outflow to help with circulation and mixing.

 

[Slim64684]

I use a cheap Ebay power head in a 5 gallon bucket. Was using a small tetra pump for mixing and transfer to tank, but it took forever to mix.

 

[texdoc77]

Hi,

I'm just getting into mixing my own salt water and the current pump I have (Hydor Pico 600) is not that great, although it doesn't seem to be clogged up, the impeller just stops spinning and it needs some encouragement to actually work.

What do other people use? I'm only mixing in farily small quanities, 25l at a time due to space constraints.

Thanks in advance.

Are you asking what pump you use to transfer water from one place to the other or a pump that goes in the water with the salt and actually does the mixing?

for water transfer I have used maxijet pumps which are super cheap and reliable. A step up from that would be a Sicce pump.

As far as mixing the saltwater in a tub, I use two rossmont powerheads moving the water in a circular pattern around the storage tank.

 

[yeldarbj]

Tunze 6045 works great for mixing. I use an Eheim for pumping into the tank.

 

[MTBake]

I use a dirt simple Cobalt Maxijet 1200. Works for mixing with the included hanger-arm over the rim of the bucket, then you can put a length of 1/2" vinyl tubing on the end of it and pump it right out of the bucket into the sump or tank.

Good luck finding one these days. Haven't looked in a couple weeks but these have been out of stock for the better part of 2 months or more. Like out of stock everywhere. BRS told me they had no eta on these either. Suggested a small Sicce to me instead


I've been using 2 Tunze 6025 in my Brute can. Works well and mixes clear fast.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

For a small salt mixing tub I wouldn't spend more than $10 on a pump. Ebay has some cheap options that'll work just fine

 

[Tastee]

I use a cheap Aqua One 150 powerhead in my current 30l (8g) barrel. In the new SW mixing station I’m working on I will be using an Eheim CompactON 600 as my SW container is about 1m/3.3’ tall and holds about 80l (21g). I figured I needed something that could push that head height otherwise I’d just be mixing the bottom section.