Salt mixing station questions

[Bradley Keck]

Hello there!

Progress on my first ever reef aquarium has been at a snails pace to say the least. I have finished my 150g DT build, and am now ready to build my salt mixing station. I have decided to use a similar set-up as the one done on the "Let's mix it up" thread. I thought I would have enough room in our laundry area for it, but after going with 55g Roto's and accounting for how far the plumbing will stick out, there's no way. I am going to have to put the station in the garage. I have a insulated garage, but living in Indy, it gets really cold for about 5 months of the year. My first question is, if I keep my garage air temp above freezing in the winter, will there be any issues that arise? My 2nd question is related to obtaining and installing RV tubing to the station to run to the DT. I cannot seem to find any RV tubing that does not already have hose fittings attached to it. Where can I get just the tubing? Also, what is the best way to connect the tubing to the ball valve on the mixing station? Thanks to everyone for all your help here on R2R! Cannot wait to start my build thread!

 

[DeniseAndy]

I cannot comment on the mixing station as I do mine all manually. I can comment on the cold. Find buckets that are well insulated and make sure to have a heater in them. It can get below freezing in an insulated garage easily as you already know. Maybe build a little room for the mixing station to further insulate it. You may have to use a heater at the worst times of year. Good luck and show pics. I would love to see what you come up with.

 

[reefwiser]

I am in Louisville so a little south of you. My whole water system is in my garage. I have not found any issue with the water freezing in my holding tanks. If I did I would just in stall a heater for the winter months to keep the water from freezing. I do use a 5 gallon bucket to mix my salt. I use a power head and a small heater to get the water to temp then mix the salt in the water. Automatic water changes and use 5 gallons every 5 days. So I keep a bucket mixing all the time. I could mix a bunch up at a time but I like to keep a watch on my water parameters so I like to make sure everything is right. I have seen way to many bad things happen during water changes down thru the years of keeping aquariums.
On the hose part you just buy the hose and cut off the end and install a plastic fitting on the end of the hose and secure with a hose clamp.

 

[Bradley Keck]

Thank you for your help! I plan to keep a space heater in the garage, but as long as I keep the garage door closed, it should stay above freezing. I know in the winter when we park our cars in the garage with snow all over them, the snow melts. I have a heater for the saltwater holding tank that should be more than enough to heat 55 g to DT temp. I love the idea of building an insulated room, but I don't see me being able to make that work in the space. Thanks again! I will be sure to get my build thread going soon!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I have a heater for the saltwater holding tank that should be more than enough to heat 55 g to DT temp.

I would not assume this is the case unless you have verified it to be so. The ability of a heater to heat water also depends upon how much heat is escaping into the environment. When you move the water out to the garage, heat is going to escape to the environment much more quickly because there is a much greater temperature differential between the water and the environment. You will likely need a ridiculous amount of heaters to keep the water in the garage at display tank temperature. Unless the garage is only a few degrees colder than your house, which from your description, does not sound like the case.

As long as the water doesn't freeze, there is no impact to the water chemically. You just may need to put a bit more thought into how you heat the water before performing a change.

 

[George Lopez]

Yes don't forget you need to get that water to tank temp when doing a water change. Id keep one heater in there set lots just to keep it from freezing and when you go to do a water change have like 2 more to turn on the day before (for cold days obviously)

 

[jsker]

Here is a good read Let's Mix it up

 

[Bradley Keck]

Here is a good read Let's Mix it up

Yes! This is the thread I read to set up my station! I know he mentioned to set it up in a climate controlled area, but that is not going to be an option, and I'm hoping I can make it work in the garage. It's going to be trial and error. I have no idea what it's going to take to keep the salt water @ 77 degrees while it mixes.

 

[jsker]

Yes! This is the thread I read to set up my station! I know he mentioned to set it up in a climate controlled area, but that is not going to be an option, and I'm hoping I can make it work in the garage. It's going to be trial and error. I have no idea what it's going to take to keep the salt water @ 77 degrees while it mixes.

Heater??

 

[Bradley Keck]

Heater??[/QUOTE Well, yes. Obviously a heater, or two, or three. Maybe a 200w, maybe a 500w. That is what I am not sure about. Easy to figure how many watts for indoors, but heating water in 40-50 degree room temp is going to be a different story. Thus the trial and error. I was thinking I could buy insulation wraps they make for hot water heaters and wrap those around the storage tanks to help with heat loss while the salt mixes. That should help some. From what everyone is saying, it doesn't sound like the performance of the RODI unit will be the issue here. The main concern for me will be getting the water to temp and keeping it there to mix, measure salinity, and transfer @ DT temp. I should be able to make that happen with a combo of heaters, and increasing the Watts/gallon significantly during those cold spells. I guess I will just have a couple of heaters on hand to use as needed. Thanks everybody! I'm going to move forward with building this station in the garage.

 

[jsker]

Just a thought, is to wall off the area around the mix station and heat and cool that area with a mimi split.

 

[Bradley Keck]

Just a thought, is to wall off the area around the mix station and heat and cool that area with a mimi split.

Great idea! That would work. I have easy access to our HVAC in the same area as well. I will have to see if I can make it work without it looking terrible. I would want it to look like the room was built that way in the garage, or make it easy to take it down. Thanks again for your help. I am so ready to get through this phase of it all and actually have water and livestock in the tank!