Tim's (lakelivin) RSM 500 build

[ziggy]

I agree with Greg.

As far as moving water each week for WC, a number of creative folks here merely put a pump in their container and bring the hose to the aquarium and fill it that way.
They do the revers in removing water from the aquarium so no heavy lifting/spilling of water happens.

Don't know if you are able to set something like that up but it make water changes happen in about 10 - 15 minutes

 

[Choff]

Hey Tim, I know ft devons well. We have lacrosse tornaments there and my son attended camp there as well. I'm originally from buffalo, but came here to go to BU and stuck around. Lived in Charlestown for ages until it was time to have kids. We are in the burbs now in Westford.

As for the tank, sounds like you are in good hands with the LFS. A rarity.

The BRS 5 stage Rodi as linked is excellent. I own it. I initially used 2 55G blue rain barrels. Those are excellent and you can easily find those online and locally. I want to say I paid around $100. I have since replaced those with 2 55G opaque graduated barrels. Being able to see through the barrels is pretty nice. I got mine for $20 from a local brewery. But sure how available those are. 2 barrels is nice. 1 for Rodi and 1 for mixing.


Edit : just saw you want more of a rolling water station. I would then get 1 static barrel to make/store your Rodi then SW mix it in a brute trash can with a dolly.

I don't know how far the garage is, but you can run a pretty long hose. Rolling 40G water weekly is at some point going to be both a hassle and messy.

...stupid auto correct

 

[LakeLivin]

I'm going to definitely try pumping the water from the water station to the tank, but it's going to be a pretty good distance, but I think I can make it work with plenty of hose and a good pump. That being said, I want to get some fairly rigid storage drums that I can move around when needed and can be sealed well enough so I don't have to worry about dirt and insects getting into the water too easily. The water station is going to be setup in one of my garages that can get pretty hot during the summer. The good news is I most likely will not have to worry about heating the water up, but I don't know how warm the water will get either. My hope is that it will get to a good temp without needing to heat or cool. Only time will tell…

 

[Choff]

I made some edits you may have missed.


Def look at the Blue rain barrels. They come with lock rings that seal the drum tight.

...stupid auto correct

 

[ziggy]

I'm going to definitely try pumping the water from the water station to the tank, but it's going to be a pretty good distance, but I think I can make it work with plenty of hose and a good pump. That being said, I want to get some fairly rigid storage drums that I can move around when needed and can be sealed well enough so I don't have to worry about dirt and insects getting into the water too easily. The water station is going to be setup in one of my garages that can get pretty hot during the summer. The good news is I most likely will not have to worry about heating the water up, but I don't know how warm the water will get either. My hope is that it will get to a good temp without needing to heat or cool. Only time will tell…

I agree the pumping shall make things easier. BRS has a great video on their site showing the DIY install of the BR 5, "TEEing" it to go into 2 barrels with automatic shut off floats.

I would think if you're able to do you WC in the A.M. the water in the barrel should have cooled a little overnight and might be the temp your looking for.

GOMA lives in hot weather and maybe he can share his experience... Greg?

 

[LakeLivin]

Hey Tim, I know ft devons well. We have lacrosse tornaments there and my son attended camp there as well. I'm originally from buffalo, but came here to go to BU and stuck around. Lived in Charlestown for ages until it was time to have kids. We are in the burbs now in Westford.

As for the tank, sounds like you are in good hands with the LFS. A rarity.

The BRS 5 stage Rodi as linked is excellent. I own it. I initially used 2 55G blue rain barrels. Those are excellent and you can easily find those online and locally. I want to say I paid around $100. I have since replaced those with 2 55G opaque graduated barrels. Being able to see through the barrels is pretty nice. I got mine for $20 from a local brewery. But sure how available those are. 2 barrels is nice. 1 for Rodi and 1 for mixing.


Edit : just saw you want more of a rolling water station. I would then get 1 static barrel to make/store your Rodi then SW mix it in a brute trash can with a dolly.


…stupid auto correct

I'm originally from Olean, NY not far from Buffalo. Was born and raised there, but left after HS and have lived pretty much all over the US and a few other countries since. Finally settled here in Orlando going on 9 years ago.

I'm going to build a permanent water station in my garage and haul out a hose and pump when I need to pump either fresh water to the "top off" tank or mixed saltwater to the sump. Consequently, I'm looking for a couple well built food grade barrels for the job. I also want to be able to move them around if needed. If it gets too hot in the garage I may need to bring the saltwater into the house and let it cool off a bit before I can use it. I have no clue how hot the water will get in my garage during the summer time. I think I will be fine and the heat will probably work in my favor by heating the water up, but we will see.

 

[LakeLivin]

I agree the pumping shall make things easier. BRS has a great video on their site showing the DIY install of the BR 5, "TEEing" it to go into 2 barrels with automatic shut off floats.

I would think if you're able to do you WC in the A.M. the water in the barrel should have cooled a little overnight and might be the temp your looking for.

GOMA lives in hot weather and maybe he can share his experience... Greg?

Yeah, I think the heat in the garage will probably actually be helpful. I'll look for the video on BRS… thanks for the info

 

[goma]

I live on the east coast of Florida and have my water making equipment in my garage as well. One thing I can tell you is you will not have to heat the water, ever! I don't even own a heater!!

The biggest problem I have is cooling the water. As you know garage temps here can get pretty high in the summer. When I make RO/DI water, as it sits in the holding tank (Brute trash bin) the temp of that water can get in the vicinity of 90 degrees. Once I add salt and get the salinity correct, I have to put the water into 5 gallon drums and let it sit inside the house overnight so it comes down to the ambient house temp of 76 degrees. I think your biggest problem is going to be cooling the water enough to get it down to proper temps to do water changes. If you have a good idea on how to do this, let me know as I'd love to implement it as well!

 

[LakeLivin]

I live on the east coast of Florida and have my water making equipment in my garage as well. One thing I can tell you is you will not have to heat the water, ever! I don't even own a heater!!

The biggest problem I have is cooling the water. As you know garage temps here can get pretty high in the summer. When I make RO/DI water, as it sits in the holding tank (Brute trash bin) the temp of that water can get in the vicinity of 90 degrees. Once I add salt and get the salinity correct, I have to put the water into 5 gallon drums and let it sit inside the house overnight so it comes down to the ambient house temp of 76 degrees. I think your biggest problem is going to be cooling the water enough to get it down to proper temps to do water changes. If you have a good idea on how to do this, let me know as I'd love to implement it as well!

Yeah, the potential of too much heat is the only problem I can think of that I will need to try and resolve during the summer. No ideas yet, but I will let you know if I think of something. What is the maximum amount of water I will need at one time for WC's for the 500? I would like to keep the barrels as small as possible because I may have to do what you are doing and would prefer to just slide a hand truck under the barrel and move it into the house overnight. I would prefer not to have to fill and move multiple 5 gallon buckets if I can avoid it.

 

[goma]

Your water changes should be approximately 10%, so a10-15 gallons at a time. I use the 20 gallon Brutes from Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubberma...ithout-Lid-FG-2620-GRA/100642677#.Uqij37SmZBI

 

[billefrafra]

I bought a clearance rain barrel but later read that they're made with resin and I didn't know how safe they'd be holding reef water. I was worried about trash cans, too, for the same reason. Eventually I found water storage containers meant for to hold drinkable water. They have options that go up to I found decent prices including shipping from Emergency Essentials, LLC. The website is beprepared.com. They have up to 160 gallon containers for sale. I ended up buying 3 15-gallon so I could move them more easily; I had considered the 55-gallon or two 30-gallon....

 

[LakeLivin]

yeah, I figured about 15 gallons every two weeks for the 500 would be good. I'll go to home depot and look at the 20 gallon brutes. I still would like to find something with a better lid/cap so I can just move the entire barrel when the temps are too hot. The lid that just sits on top is a little scarey and I don't want to have a major spill trying to get over the threshold of the front door if you know what I mean.

 

[goma]

There is this for the Brute:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100026...1z13xikZ1xr5Z5yc1v&R=100026995#specifications

Though it still doesn't solve your concern about the lid.

 

[LakeLivin]

I bought a clearance rain barrel but later read that they're made with resin and I didn't know how safe they'd be holding reef water. I was worried about trash cans, too, for the same reason. Eventually I found water storage containers meant for to hold drinkable water. They have options that go up to I found decent prices including shipping from Emergency Essentials, LLC. The website is beprepared.com. They have up to 160 gallon containers for sale. I ended up buying 3 15-gallon so I could move them more easily; I had considered the 55-gallon or two 30-gallon....

I was just looking at the those on Amazon that are sold by emergency essentials. I want to mount a float valve on the barrel that will be connected directly to the RO/DI and was wondering how hard it will be with only having access to the inside of the barrel through the hole/cap in the top. Might have to cut a larger hole and cover it after the float valve is installed. I will probably order two 30 gallon ones. With a small hand truck and by only filling them with about 20 gallons at the most the 30 gallon one should not be too hard to move around.

 

[LakeLivin]

I live on the east coast of Florida and have my water making equipment in my garage as well. One thing I can tell you is you will not have to heat the water, ever! I don't even own a heater!!

The biggest problem I have is cooling the water. As you know garage temps here can get pretty high in the summer. When I make RO/DI water, as it sits in the holding tank (Brute trash bin) the temp of that water can get in the vicinity of 90 degrees. Once I add salt and get the salinity correct, I have to put the water into 5 gallon drums and let it sit inside the house overnight so it comes down to the ambient house temp of 76 degrees. I think your biggest problem is going to be cooling the water enough to get it down to proper temps to do water changes. If you have a good idea on how to do this, let me know as I'd love to implement it as well!

How about some RO/DI ice cubes made in the freezer? Could fill zip lock baggies or some other container(s) of your choice with RO/DI water and freeze them.

 

[goma]

Hmmmmmmmmm interesting!! Along those lines, what about freezing 1 gallon jugs filled with water and the lids on and then just sitting those in the saltwater holding tank until it drops down to the proper temperate? Doing it this way it won't change the salinity of the water and once it reaches the tank temperature, you can just pump it to the tank!

 

[LakeLivin]

Hmmmmmmmmm interesting!! Along those lines, what about freezing 1 gallon jugs filled with water and the lids on and then just sitting those in the saltwater holding tank until it drops down to the proper temperate? Doing it this way it won't change the salinity of the water and once it reaches the tank temperature, you can just pump it to the tank!

I like it, the only problem for me is that I plan to use storage barrels that will not have a large enough opening for that, but I think we may be on to something.

 

[goma]

Oh ok, it will work for me though since I'm using the 20 gallon Brute bins. I'll keep thinking on this and let you know if I come up with anything!

 

[Choff]

Honey. We need to put AC in the garage.

Bottom line, you are changing 10 pct of the water. 15 gallons of 90 degree water is not going move your water temp much. Routinely add 65 degree water to my 79 degree tank and at most it drops half a degree

...stupid auto correct

 

[LakeLivin]

I'm sure you are right, but you can't blame us for tying to achieve perfection.