I'm in the final stages of acquiring equipment for my new tank build and the last two things to buy are the RODI and saltwater mixing containers. The plan is to build them very similar tho the water change station in Walter White's "200 gal forever and a day" build thread... two large containers with an external pump plumbed together, and to the sump, controlled by ball valves... anyway... Is there a rule of thumb on how much saltwater and RODI water to keep on hand? In the past, I have always had 40 gallons ready(limited by the size of my Brute trash can). My thought for this build is that I would have 50% of my total system volume ready in the saltwater container and the same amount again in the RODI container. That way, in the case that I needed to do an emergency water change, I could do 50% right away and have enough RODI to quickly mix up for another 50% water change. My only hangup in my thought process is this would require two 175 gallon containers, which seems excessive! What do you guys think?
Water mixing/changing station: What size to go with?
- Thread starter BrianH
- Start date
I'm sure others will chime in but my question is: what's your burn rate?
I have a 150 gallon DT + a 20G refugium + 25G useable in the sump so ~195 total. I keep 20 gallons of RO and enough salt to mix it up all the time these days. From what I have heard and understand, calcium carbonate forms quite quickly in mixes kept over 24 hours which doesn't easily go back into solution. The fritz salt (and my previous AquaVitro Salinity) mixes up clear within an hour and is ready to go. The only time I've needed a quick mix with this system was with a faulty external protein skimmer which decided to overflow. Once I removed that from the system, I've been far more stable. Of course now that I've said this something terrible will happen and I'll wish I had more on hand.
This is probably a stupid question but why would you want/need 50% available at all times? My thought process is if I felt I needed that on hand I'd need to look at the overall system and understand what was weak. Sorry for being dense -- educate me!
I have a 150 gallon DT + a 20G refugium + 25G useable in the sump so ~195 total. I keep 20 gallons of RO and enough salt to mix it up all the time these days. From what I have heard and understand, calcium carbonate forms quite quickly in mixes kept over 24 hours which doesn't easily go back into solution. The fritz salt (and my previous AquaVitro Salinity) mixes up clear within an hour and is ready to go. The only time I've needed a quick mix with this system was with a faulty external protein skimmer which decided to overflow. Once I removed that from the system, I've been far more stable. Of course now that I've said this something terrible will happen and I'll wish I had more on hand.
This is probably a stupid question but why would you want/need 50% available at all times? My thought process is if I felt I needed that on hand I'd need to look at the overall system and understand what was weak. Sorry for being dense -- educate me!
This system will be about 350 gallons. The main reason I was thinking these 50% / 50% amounts is to have enough to try to handle a major catastrophe. Over the last few months I heard some stories that have gotten me thinking... from the Texas state aquarium nuking their tanks because of a mismarked medication bottle, Peter on RC's gazillion dollar reef tank bursting a seam, to local experienced masc members: alk dosing pumps stuck on, a disgruntled roommate adding bleach to their tank, a confused tank sitter putting a bottle of hand lotion in the tank.... Total unpredictable crazy events that all would have benefited from a decent volume of prepared water on hand. I will be using an apex to help with everything it can do, and my tank sitter is legit (thanks Neil), but there are lots of other things that can and do happen. I'm thinking back up plan.
Makes sense, it's relatively cheap insurance. My tank sitter is the neighbors across the street who have historically had tanks. I have them some very specific instructions and they've always done well. Sad about the TX State Aquarium -- they have a great setup. I read the RC thread about Peter's tank -- wow.
Truth be told, I'm far more comfortable with my APEX than I ever have been. I know what's going on all the time, there are failsafes and a few backups as well as handy and educated neighbors/friends who can help out when we're out of town. With this build I went high end. The last build I had (almost a decade ago) I did on a budget. No more.
Good luck and please keep this thread and your build thread updated!
Truth be told, I'm far more comfortable with my APEX than I ever have been. I know what's going on all the time, there are failsafes and a few backups as well as handy and educated neighbors/friends who can help out when we're out of town. With this build I went high end. The last build I had (almost a decade ago) I did on a budget. No more.
Good luck and please keep this thread and your build thread updated!
I think the reality is that its rare to catch that big of a problem in time. A seam leak, sure. Bleach.... tank is dead, depending on the dose, you cant fix something like that, don't care how much water you have. Last night I shut down my return pump to feed, do it every night, except last night I forgot to turn it back on. This morning I had SPS that had a couple inches of branches out of the water for the last 8 hours or so. Dumb luck, it looks like they'll make it. Its hard to prepare for everything, but I say if it gives you piece of mind, and you have the room, why not.
This is a bit of a wacky idea, but instead of building a huge water change station that you hope to never need, maybe buy some of that premixed salt water. It would be a lot to store and probably pretty expensive, but I think it lasts a number of years without going bad. I'm not a huge fan of Tanked, but I believe this is the stuff they use: http://www.naturesocean.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-saltwater.html
Maybe a vendor could help you get a pallet! I have a couple jugs of this on hand in-case I'm out of town and need water mixed in an emergency.
Just throwing another idea out there :crazytown:
Maybe a vendor could help you get a pallet! I have a couple jugs of this on hand in-case I'm out of town and need water mixed in an emergency.
Just throwing another idea out there :crazytown:
Im sure you have but remember your rock and sand will displace a significant amount of volume.
Personally i have 125 ish gallon system. I have a 25 gal mixing tank and routinely do 25 gal water changes. But I have a 80 gallon rodi tank. I figure the rodi is the slow part in the system, so in an emergency I can mix pretty fast. I always like to mix overnight and I know thats best but I figure I could cut that back if necessary.
And i would agree the APEX if programmed properly can avoid alot of disaster.
Personally i have 125 ish gallon system. I have a 25 gal mixing tank and routinely do 25 gal water changes. But I have a 80 gallon rodi tank. I figure the rodi is the slow part in the system, so in an emergency I can mix pretty fast. I always like to mix overnight and I know thats best but I figure I could cut that back if necessary.
And i would agree the APEX if programmed properly can avoid alot of disaster.
Interesting alternative idea. 4.4 gallons per box, 45 boxes per pallet (198 gallons)at 13.50 per box = $607.50 +shipping. I found the FAQ on shelf life ( http://www.naturesocean.com/aquarium-saltwater/) they say 12 months.
For sure the RODI unit speed is the limiting factor in the process, saltwater can be mostly dissolved in 15 minutes or so with a big pump ( obviously not ideal, but in an emergency would be OK). Temperature would be an issue. Just talking out loud but maybe an appropriately sized, insulated, heated RODI container...
SynDen
Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
M.A.S.C President
M.A.S.C Webmaster
I like to keep enough water on hand to do a major 75% or larger water change in case of emergency. I am also lazy and hate mixing salt and mixing large batches is easier, and it doesnt go bad.
My current tank 75g with 20g sump and I keep 25g rodi water and 55g of mixed saltwater in the basement. When I build my big tank I will be upgrading that to keep at least 200g of mixed salt water on hand and 75g rodi water.
My current tank 75g with 20g sump and I keep 25g rodi water and 55g of mixed saltwater in the basement. When I build my big tank I will be upgrading that to keep at least 200g of mixed salt water on hand and 75g rodi water.
I just set up my rodi for my system. I wouldn't worry about temp. I just did a water change and put a heater in it and it got way to hot. I let in run over night with the pump and its was 90, when I got to it the next morning. U should be fine if u let it run all night before u do a water change. here is a pic of my set up of my piping with an external pump. I only did 14 gallon drums because my system is on 70 gal. sorry the picture isn't the best wasn't planning on showing it to anyone really.
Wow, you must have a lot of space for a 200 gallon saltwater storage tank, are you going to use one of those IBC food grade square totes, or a vertical cylinder? I am thinking of doing a saltwater test thread with a 5 gallon bucket of fresh mixed saltwater and see if the parameters change week to week... lots of mixed opinions on the subject. I cant imagine that some of the ions in solution will suddenly precipitate out, but who knows.