Reef nutrition

saltwater mixing station build....

The black vinyl hose bought from walmart arrived. It has the same flexibility as any clear vinyl tubing. Better than the dripping hose made of plastic I have been using. I am prettyhappy with it.

It has some smell, so filled it with rodi water overnight.
 
Speaking of mixing stations. I got these two 65g containers for rodi and nsw mixing. They will be outdoors and exposed to indirect sunlight. Have any of you with outdoor somewhat transparent barrels had issues with algae growth in nsw storage? And if so, I'm considering placing a tarp over the NSW tank with cutouts for the lid and spigot, or spray painting the whole thing a few times over (except for a narrow strip on the side so I can see the water level). I could also easily build a plywood enclosure that I can hang on the shelving brackets.
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I'd avoid direct sunlight, AND paint them. U may want to test adhesion first to see if u need to rough up the surface with sand paper.

I got a horizontal prism shaped roto mold tank. Yours being cylindrical would waste some space I imagine?
 
Ok I'll try painting. I think that's a good idea. Good tip on testing first and possibly needing sandpaper. Maybe I'll do both paint and an enclosure. I guess I wasn't too concerned about wasted space outdoors.

I went with horizontal because I wanted everything to be gravity driven. Rodi goes into top on a float valve. Rodi can drain directly into mix tank. If I need rodi in buckets I can disconnect the tubing. Second output goes to crawl space ato on float valve. Nsw can open into a bucket and second output will go to continuous water change with dos.

Will run a small maxi jet and heater in the mixing station.
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I wanted tosetup continuous water change. But after 30 min crawling in crwal space I could not find a path between nsw and the display tank. There us concrete wall in between.

Only way is from garage to front yard then to other side of house before going into crawl space. I estimate that will be probably 100+ ft long tubing just one way, considering all the detour and turns. If a rodent chews either nsw line or old sw line, I'd be in trouble.
 
I have a weight bearing concrete "wall" in between right under the wall behind my tank. At some point it becomes a big wood beam under the subfloor. I drilled up through that into the empty space between the drywall, and used light and coat hangers to figure out how to line up the two openings. It was hard because of all the foam insulation under the house too, but eventually got it done. It is possible, and opens up a lot of options.


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Haha knee pads. And I also found a bunch of used gym floor mats at goodwill that go great in a crawl space. Makes it feel positively luxurious!


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I have not looked for the route through the concrete wall in the crawl space yet.

At this time, the known route between nsw station and display tank is 120~150 feet long. 80% of that run will be outdoor, around the parameter of the house, tucked under a groove in the stucco.

I am wondering whether this excessive long run and its outdoor placement can cause issues, such as:
1. Loss of head pressure in both directions due to friction
2. cold nsw in the winter times - won't cause danger since it will be a continuous slow dripping water change? just a heating cost issue?
3. water freezing if whether gets extreme in winter may cause either or both nsw line and drain line to clog? What could happen as a result?
 
I think salt water has a lower freezing point. Might be worth looking into.

If you're using a peristaltic pump like a DOS and there's little change in elevation then I would guess there wouldn't be a noticeable difference.

rygh said:
Well, maybe not the whole thing. You will not be able to easily see water level.
Click to expand...
Maybe leave a vertical stripe along one side.
 
I need to run 1/4" rodi tubing in the ceiling from one side of garage to the other where my sw mixing station is being built.

Need to secure the tubing to the ceiling. It will ve a bonus if I can hide the line. What do u recommend?

I can use some stapler but they get loose and will fall by weight if tubing filled with water.

Thought about wire mgt cover, but they run ~$2/ft and I need 30-40 ft, a bit pricy.
 
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