~Woody's 120 Escapade~

V

vdf8ball

Member
Hi Doni,
I've finally made it to page 161 and I have question about your water storage reserviors. Are those matellic 55 gallon drums?

BTW, your water change setup is the perfect fit to my situation and with your blessing I'm hoping to duplicate it almost in it's entirety. Thanks for your time.

Virgil

125g acrylic - empty
29g sump
12g refugium
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Hi Virgil. I am thrilled to know that someone is benefiting from this thread!
The tall reservoirs are from the Coca-cola company and used to store syrup. They are a very thick food grade plastic and perfect for water storage. I did switch out the FW reservoir with a different style container... one that I could place on a wood stand above the saltwater reservoir in order to free up some space (my 2 car garage is full!). I purchased it at my local Tractor Supply store (they had MANY different sizes of water storage containers to choose from!).

I can't remember if I update my thread with that info.... I'll go back and check....
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Just to be sure I added this update to this chronicle... a year or so ago, I replaced one of my tall 55 gallon reservoirs with a different style to make room for a sink.

OLD SET UP: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/363117-post2376.html




Phyxius made a wooden stand (thanks again Mike!) that the new FW reservoir could sit on. The new reservoir is horizontal and already had a drain at the bottom. It was tricky reaching my arm through the 6" round screw on cap located at the top in order to install the float valve for the RO/DI feed, but I managed to do it :) I purchased it from our local Tractor Supply store. They had a WIDE selection of water storage containers to choose from!

Gravity pushes the water out and through a short vinyl hose that has a ball valve on it. It has worked out great :)

NEW SET UP:
20090926.jpg
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
BigAl07 said:
Doni what's in the Vertical container that's insulated?
Click to expand...

The bottom container is saltwater. I insulated it initially before I added temperature control to the area. The insulation can be removed but I decided to leave it on :)
 
V

vdf8ball

Member
Woodstock said:
The bottom container is saltwater. I insulated it initially before I added temperature control to the area. The insulation can be removed but I decided to leave it on :)
Click to expand...

Doni, when you say that you added temp control to the area...........are you speaking of the garage itself or are you using heaters in the container? Thanks again for sharing your insight :square: :square:
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
We added a window unit that provides cooling/heat temp control to the entire garage now. It works VERY well and I am happy with it. It does pull a lot of electricity but with the deduction of multiple (8 x 300watt) large submersible heaters, it's not too bad in the winter. We also had the garage ceiling insulated which helped a lot.
 
V

vdf8ball

Member
Doni, I've finally reached the end and look forward to following your progress on a daily basis. This is really good stuff!!

So if you don't mind, I have a couple of questions reguarding your water storage and the practice in general.

1. Is there a concern with storing SW or FW for long periods of time?

2. Is the mixing of saltwater basically a matter of putting the appropriate amount of salt in a container with water, a heater and a circulation pump?

I'm considering purchasing a 23" diameter container that's 3.5' tall with an 8" capped opening. My thinking is that this will work perfectly for FW storage but I'm not sure if mixing SW would require me to use a "butter churning - stirring" motion. If so, then I may want a container with a removable lid for my SW. I'd be gratefull for your thoughts and/or guidance. Thanks for your time.

Virgil

125g acrylic - empty
29g sump
12g refugium
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
vdf8ball said:
Doni, I've finally reached the end and look forward to following your progress on a daily basis. This is really good stuff!!

So if you don't mind, I have a couple of questions reguarding your water storage and the practice in general.

1. Is there a concern with storing SW or FW for long periods of time?
Click to expand...
SW is fine as long as you keep a powerhead going for circulation. You do not want it to get stagnant.
FW has stored well for me with no circulation. The conatiner is closed (other than a tiny vent) so contaminants stay out.

2. Is the mixing of saltwater basically a matter of putting the appropriate amount of salt in a container with water, a heater and a circulation pump?
Click to expand...

Yes. Just be sure to add salt to water, not water to salt. You want to avoid any precipitation events that occur when too much salt is added at once. A simple solution is to fill the container with water first, then add the measured amount of salt.

I'm considering purchasing a 23" diameter container that's 3.5' tall with an 8" capped opening. My thinking is that this will work perfectly for FW storage but I'm not sure if mixing SW would require me to use a "butter churning - stirring" motion. If so, then I may want a container with a removable lid for my SW. I'd be gratefull for your thoughts and/or guidance. Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

Having FW and SW stored is a very good idea. You never know when you might need to do a large water change at a moments notice. That container sounds like it will work well for either FW or SW. A small powerhead sitting on the bottom would stir the salt well enough.
 
V

vdf8ball

Member
Hi Doni,

I remember reading several pages back about your water change process. While I'm having a time finding it again, I thought I'd cut the chase and just ask. What pump are you using to get salt water from your storage tank to your display tank and what kind of distance are we talking about?

FYI - my storage tanks will arrive today. My DT is about 40 feet from the storage tank and I'm trying to discover what pump would work for my set-up. Thanks for you input.

Virgil

125g acrylic - empty
29g sump
12g refugium
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
You'll have to remind me... because I forgot! :D I know it is blue but that's all... hehe

My reservoirs are in the garage which is down a flight of stairs (seven steps) and about 40-45 total feet away from my reef tank.

The pump does a great job but I do have to turn the return valve down a bit to increase the out flow. .... That probably makes no sense so I will post a photo...


(Without the pump installed)
You will need to close this return valve if you are pumping water uphill or a long distance.

Also, on a further note, it would be best to add another valve on the bottom so you do NOT have to drain the reservoir to remove the pump (as I did in this case ;) )
withoutpump.jpg





With the pump installed.
This top valve should be closed when you're using the pump to circulate water when mixing new saltwater.
NOTE: I only use the pump for mixing for the first few hours and then unplug it. A submerged maxijet stays on 24/7 to circulate the water.

withpump.jpg



I hope this helps!
:)
 
V

vdf8ball

Member
Wow!! First let me remind you that you brought this up on page 159 and you're using a Gen X 40 external pump. Secondly, I was both surprised and impressed with the fact that you use the Gen X to initialize your S/W mix circulation. Good thinking and a great idea. I really hope you find it flattering as I think I'll do the same. Thanks for the excellent photos ;-)

So, I was thinking that I'd need another ball valve between the tank and the external pump in case I needed to remove the pump. What kind of fitting are you using that allows you to freely remove the pump without one or is the tank empy in this photo?

Lastly....do you ever come to California? :jester:
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Ahhh... a GenX 40, that's right. :D I have three external pumps running and I get them confused~

A 'union' allows for removal of the pump.
A true union ball valve has a union on both ends of a valve.

I travel to Florida frequently but I've never been to California.
 
hma

hma

Well-Known Member
Hi Doni-Marie, just stopping in ;)

Nice reservoir you have, looks very similar to mine ;) . Do you mix your fresh salt water in the tank underneath?
 
V

vdf8ball

Member
Hi Doni,

Just thought I'd stop by to thank you once again for helping me out along the way. I'm about 2 weeks from putting water in the tank and you'll be happy to know that with your guidance I've set up a water storage and change system just about as you have yours. House fumigation takes place at the end of the month and I should be ready for an operational check first week in November. Wanna be like you some day! ;-)
 
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