RODI/Saltwater Mixing Station Advice

[Mattiejay6]

This one is kinda like yours

[howaboutme]

I think I can make it working by mounting 2 of these or maybe a little smaller tanks to my ceiling in my utility room..

 

http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/912/50-gallon-portable-utility-tanks-sp0050-rt

 

You mean hang them from the ceiling w/ no support on the floor? I wouldn't do that. You're asking for disaster. The brute on top of wheels is popular. I have come across threads where other wamas members have used this. Of course, this only works if you have everything on one floor, which is not the case for most people. I'd love it on 1 floor personally.

[Mattiejay6]

I figured if I hang directly to a load bearing Joyce that might hold the weight..

[howaboutme]

The beams or joists (but not roof) probably .... But it's what you would use to hang the containers that worries me. Those are critical and require careful selection of material and connection.

 

Save yourself heartache and money. Keep it on the ground.

 

 

 

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[howaboutme]

Ok. I have made some updates to the design. After speaking w/ another very helpful wamas member, I realized I can put the mag 12 pump external.

 

The updated concept will assume the mag 5 is still inside the bottom brute for circulation/mixing.

 

I have labeled every plumbing parts that I can think of on the image below. Would anyone please comment and let me know if I am on the right track with the plumbing design? I plan to use sch. 40 pipes, fittings and valves as much as I can but will probably use a few sch 80 fittings because of the latest BRS GB, which makes it not too expensive since I want to maximize shipping or else I would have to order the sch 40 fittings somewhere else and pay for add'l shipping.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mattiejay6]

Can you really use a mag drive external?

[monkiboy]

Can you really use a mag drive external?

it's not ideal but yes.

[howaboutme]

Yeah but since I am only turning it on during water changes it's a moot point.

 

If you are going to use it 24/7 for circulation, get a true external.

 

Marco! Comment on my plumbing, please. I respect your opinions. Thanks! :D

 

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[TheyCallMeMr.703]

Amazing Designs, i.m quite impressed.

[howaboutme]

After over a year in the making, I finally completed this project!

 

It's more or less what I originally planned except I went w/ uniseals instead of bulkheads on Marcos advice and I chose to use a larger, 32 G Brute rather than a 20G to hold more water in preparation for a larger tank, whenever that happens. I still have the Mag 5 as a circulation but I think that's way too powerful in such a small container. I may stick my MJ1200 in there instead. I have a timer on the circulation pump to run a few times a day for an hour or two. No need for continuous circulation IMO. The Mag12 that I am using to pump SW upstairs works great and is still external. The back pressure that happens when I keep the ball valve closed while I run up the stairs to the tank was something I was concerned about but it doesn't seem to be an issue. The ball valve only stays closed while the pump is on for no more than a few seconds. I have to keep an eye on this over time. I may or may not use a heater, probably not in the summer. The amount of water I change will barely put a dent in the DT temperature.

 

Also excited to touch plumbing a bit. I will fee more comfortable plumbing a tank now.

[monkiboy]

good for you jack. i'm not a fan of a mag pump for any substantial head height and never really been fans of them for external use but you're making it work and i hope it does long term for you. definitely keep us updated and i'm sure it's nice to have a solution in place to make maintenance easier on you. thanks for the update, sir.

[howaboutme]

good for you jack. i'm not a fan of a mag pump for any substantial head height and never really been fans of them for external use but you're making it work and i hope it does long term for you. definitely keep us updated and i'm sure it's nice to have a solution in place to make maintenance easier on you. thanks for the update, sir.

 

Thanks! I will give the mags a try and see what happens. They were very cheap and bought used so I feel that I have to give it a shot. I may, in the future, exchange the Mag12 for something else, like you mentioned. Ideally I'd love to hard plumb the water source upstairs but it's not as easy. Again, thanks for the advice in the past year!

[Der ABT]

if you dont like running it with the ball valve closed, before you turn it off have it almost shut off so only a little water comes out,...would allow water to go thru the pump and not dry run which is what im guessing your afraid of.

 

other thing, why not throw the mag in the water...get you a free heater.

 

otherwise i like...had teh same plan and have never gotten around to it.

[Jon Lazar]

From the drawing, it looks like you want to be able to gravity fill a bucket from either Brute. 

 

I don't see how you can fill a bucket from the bottom Brute, unless the Brute is full to the top.  Seems you wouldn't be able to start a siphon.  Can you elaborate?

[howaboutme]

if you dont like running it with the ball valve closed, before you turn it off have it almost shut off so only a little water comes out,...would allow water to go thru the pump and not dry run which is what im guessing your afraid of.

 

other thing, why not throw the mag in the water...get you a free heater.

 

otherwise i like...had teh same plan and have never gotten around to it.

 

Thank you!

 

Not sure what you mean by "almost shut off"..Water would still be trickling out and I would be getting everything wet.

 

Actually, I'm not sure what I am afraid of. I am afraid of throttling back a Mag12 pump completely while it's turned on. It just seems like not the best situation. It's technically not running dry because there is water in it, it's just not moving because the ball valve is shut. I don't have much experience w/ this so a better understanding of what you mean would be helpful.

 

And, I do have the Mag5 as a circulation pump inside the SW barrel, so that will help w/ some heat.

 

From the drawing, it looks like you want to be able to gravity fill a bucket from either Brute. 

 

I don't see how you can fill a bucket from the bottom Brute, unless the Brute is full to the top.  Seems you wouldn't be able to start a siphon.  Can you elaborate?

 

I only want to have the option to fill a bucket of the RODI water from the top container. This is for the top off container, little RODI container I use for cleaning stuff, etc. The SW will be pumped upstairs via the flex tube or into a 5G bucket w/ that same tube if I need it but I don't think I will.

 

Also, just to elaborate a bit more. I was initially concerned that choosing only a 1/2" pipe is too small (it is 3/4" to the Mag12). But the water runs pretty well from the top container down. Sure, it would have been better and faster w/ a 3/4" or even a 1" but the 1/2" more than suffices for this purpose.

 

Another concern is how would I know how much water is in the top container. I know I could have put 2 more uniseals and a flex tube along the sides but I chose not to for now. I will just have to deal w/ it but may retrofit the level indicator later.