RO/DI & SW Mix Station - Tank Size? (1 Viewer)

[TriggerFan]

About to purchase some tanks for my mix station. I have read I should get a tank that will cover my change water requirement (20%).
Being new to all this, I wonder if there is any advantage of going to larger tanks (Besides the obvious less time to refill/changes)?
I was initially thinking about getting some 55Gal Ace-Roto tanks, but many sizes are not available locally, so I was planning on going with 175Gal tanks.
Thoughts? I am heading out later Today to see if I can find/pick them up.

 

[Rio1969]

About to purchase some tanks for my mix station. I have read I should get a tank that will cover my change water requirement (20%).
Being new to all this, I wonder if there is any advantage of going to larger tanks (Besides the obvious less time to refill/changes)?
I was initially thinking about getting some 55Gal Ace-Roto tanks, but many sizes are not available locally, so I was planning on going with 175Gal tanks.
Thoughts? I am heading out later Today to see if I can find/pick them up.

Have you check Pro Tanks off 59 in Humble? I am headed there today to see if they have a 100g or 150 g tank that I can use for my NSW. Currently I am use a brute that lasts about a week doing AWC for my 265g DT. I would say get the biggest tank that you can fit where you have your mixing station.

 

[TriggerFan]

LOL - That's where I am heading towards to in about 1.5 hours. 100g is available. 50g and 105g are not.
I need to check if the 175s are in stock.

 

[Bullitt519]

How big is the main tank going to be?

 

[TriggerFan]

2 x 750XXLs = 160g each tank / 200g system = 320g tanks /400 systems

 

[Tenny]

I say bigger is better [right?].

Perhaps a higher GPD RO/DI could compensate for smaller tanks if you can't find what you want.

Personally my system is much smaller (even when in CA I think at it's biggest it was around 380g) and I've gotten by just fine with a brute for mixing and a 60g water drum for RO/DI storage.

 

[Bullitt519]

Depends on how much space you have. Are you going to have all the systems plumbed together and do auto water changes?

Mines only about 150 gal total so the brute trash can works for me.

 

[TriggerFan]

At ProTank. 100s are gone. 75s, 160s, 175s in stock. I would have preferred 160s due to size, but 175s are cheaper, believe it or not.

Ask for Ryan. He’s great. Waiting for tanks to be picked up, drilled and washed.

 

[TriggerFan]

Due to station location, I still have to thoroughly think this through, hence I am asking for a little mentoring on how to plumb and make this work in my space.

I’ll share more details later when I finally get home. Anyone close to me, feel feee to stop by and we can meet and talk about this. Drinks and food on me.

 

[Rio1969]

At ProTank. 100s are gone. 75s, 160s, 175s in stock. I would have preferred 160s due to size, but 175s are cheaper, believe it or not.

Ask for Ryan. He’s great. Waiting for tanks to be picked up, drilled and washed.

Looks like I will be getting a 160 or 175 depending on the size.

 

[Tenny]

How much are these tanks anyways?

 

[TriggerFan]

I wanted the 160s as there's more room to work with, but ended up with the 175s. I just got home a moment ago.

160g - $250
175g - $210

 

[TriggerFan]

I have an idea for the plumbing to go from the station to the tanks, but I am not sure if that is too risky or just a crazy thought.
From the garage, the output from both thanks via pump up to the attic, then run a pipe or hose down a wall corner, and into the sumps.
Thoughts? (I can't run it inside the wall as that is an exterior wall and the interior side is stone)

If not possible, then I will have to forget about auto change/top-off and will just run a hose from the garage into sumps every week.

 

[Rio1969]

I have an idea for the plumbing to go from the station to the tanks, but I am not sure if that is too risky or just a crazy thought.
From the garage, the output from both thanks via pump up to the attic, then run a pipe or hose down a wall corner, and into the sumps.
Thoughts? (I can't run it inside the wall as that is an exterior wall and the interior side is stone)

If not possible, then I will have to forget about auto change/top-off and will just run a hose from the garage into sumps every week.

I ran 3 1/4" polyurethane lines from the garage through the attic to the tank.

 

[TriggerFan]

I just finished re-organizing my garage. It turned out much better than expected!
The idea of running line(s) from garage looks very promising. I just may need someone to tell me what exactly needs to be done so I can bring a plumber to do the work.

I was also thinking that besides the RO/DI, I will need some more gear on that wall, so a 1/4” plywood should help to get whatever equipment there.

I’m glad I got the 175s. Height is about right without needing a ladder. If the 200g were also 31” diameter and just taller, I would have gone that way for sure, but I am satisfied with these instead of the 75g I originally thought about.

 

[TriggerFan]

@Rio1969: Did you end up getting the tanks Today? If so, what did you buy?

 

[Rio1969]

@Rio1969: Did you end up getting the tanks Today? If so, what did you buy?

I ended up getting a 175.

 

[TriggerFan]

Nice. I probably missed you by a little bit. I got there earlier than I expected.

I see several designs for the mix station. Can someone point me to the proper design I should use?
Or does anyone knows of a good plumber that has dealt with aquariums?

 

[TriggerFan]

Well, the more I read, the more confused I am on how to properly plumb the mix station. I also want to automate the water changes when I finally get a Neptune Apex and a DoS, but wonder how exactly the tubing comes from the mix station to the DoS inside the house to both tanks. As I understand it, one head of the DoS will be used for removing water from the tank and the other to get water into the tank. (This will double as I have two tanks).

DoS uses RO tubing. I assume one nozzle will get water from the tank, while the other nozzle (same head) sends it out / flushes it out? Then one nozzle from the other heads gets the SW from the tank and the other nozzle dumps the water into the sump? Regardless, is there a way to reduce from the 1" pipe from the station into 1/4 RO tubing to feed the DoS?

Apologies if this is a stupid question. My brain works by visualizing and understanding how things work (IT guy here) so I am having a hard time until I figure out how this should get plumbed and I have all the details. Again, if anyone is good at this that can explain or even better can do the work for a reasonable fee or can recommend someone to do the work, please contact me.

 

[gregg]

2 things you should consider... tubing length, both should be exactly the same length. And about the apex, I’d suggest leaving that to just dosing and get a stenner pump for the auto water change. @Cody installed my awc system and it works great. You should reach out to him!