BrianB Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 It should not be any worse than drinking a glass of water outta the faucet without a filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 It should not be any worse than drinking a glass of water outta the faucet without a filter. in theory it would be concentrated. if your removing the good water out of the old and storing up the waste, the TDS would be much higher in one cup of waste vs one cup of original water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 I save all my water from water changes in the freshwater tanks and water my plants and garden with that. Plants seem to love it. I even squeeze my filter sponges in the water when cleaning. It looks nasty and brown but for the plants it's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 yea i throw all my calcium sand, corals, fish, etc into the compost and mix it into the garden soil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Grassi I picked my blue barrel up at a local feed store for $12 it was used to store some food product so I had to clean it up but that was about 7 years ago I have had it along time. The place is called Burns feed store it's on Orient drive in Gresham. Thanks Brian. I will check it out! As for the drain for plants I think it works great. Just don't use it for some expensive bonsai My water station is running well, it is a cheapo ghetto kind of thing but it is working. There is a pic of it here: http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13252 I made the bulkheads with some grey fittings with some o-rings in between. I think the are the ones used for electrical projects. I just need a bigger barrel with a lid. The blue ones seems to be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Thanks Brian. I will check it out! As for the drain for plants I think it works great. Just don't use it for some expensive bonsai My water station is running well, it is a cheapo ghetto kind of thing but it is working. There is a pic of it here: http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13252 I made the bulkheads with some grey fittings with some o-rings in between. I think the are the ones used for electrical projects. I just need a bigger barrel with a lid. The blue ones seems to be perfect. http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/grd/1821765782.html blue barrels $18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/grd/1821765782.html blue barrels $18 Thanks man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 Here is todays progress so far.. Not stopping just taking a little break. I will have this done tonight. (laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 One more pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 is the blue barrel for the saltwater mixing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 is there plumbing inside the white container that goes to the bottom? was wondering why its so high up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 It's up so high so that I can open the top valve straight into the 55 gallon barrel and get around 40 gallons into it. That way I can add 40 gall of water and use a 50 gallon bag of salt to get my salinity to right around 1.025. The lower valve is for top off water from the R/O and for water changes on the freshwater tanks. No plumbing in the white tank other than the valves. Tops of both barrels are also sealed up. If I decide I need more water I can add a reverse stand pipe to the bulkhead and set it to the desired amount of water. I also wanted the stand to sit high to have storage under it for buckets of salt etc. I can fit 4 to 6 200 gallon buckets of salt under the stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 do you have a circ pump in the large barrel? whats going to keep the freshwater fresh if your only pulling from the top for the major water changes, or do you think the top off water will do that enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 Top off water and the water for my freshwater aquarums will be enough to keep it fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 so exactly what does happen if you use straight tap in your system? I'm just trying to figure out which of my problems can be attributed to not doing all this LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 so exactly what does happen if you use straight tap in your system? I'm just trying to figure out which of my problems can be attributed to not doing all this LOL tap water has tons of chloramines, metals, chemicals, even things like fluoride have been ore are in public tap water. These things make up what is called TDS or total disolved solids. our water here in vancouver has a rating of 140-160 TDS in the water. thats not good. i've heard portland is in the 14-20 range but i can't confirm that. You will have algae problems if you stick water in your tank with high levels of TDS. plus you don't know what other kinds of things your feeding your corals. copper maybe? anyways this is how i understand it. feel free to correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 How do you test TDS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 with a test meter. my RODI unit has a dual inline TDS meter. it tests the incoming water and the outgoing water. you need to know those factors so you can determine if you need to replace filters or membranes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 I have been told that a lot of car wash places will give away their 55 gal barrels (similar to the blue one) for cheap (<$10) or free. The soap they use comes in those barrels. Haven't tried it around PDX, tho. If you do get one from a car wash, you'll want to give it a really thorough rinsing. Many detergents have high phosphate content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToxicPoison Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 I have been told that a lot of car wash places will give away their 55 gal barrels (similar to the blue one) for cheap (<$10) or free. The soap they use comes in those barrels. Haven't tried it around PDX, tho. If you do get one from a car wash, you'll want to give it a really thorough rinsing. Many detergents have high phosphate content. In my experience, while the blue barrels are great for storage, they're a pain in the *** to plumb. You cannot get your hand in there to attach a bulkhead, and finding a pump small enough to fit in the opening, yet powerful enough to overcome the head-loss is also near-impossible. I prefer Brute containers since they're much easier to work with. I do still have my 2 25gallon barrels for emergencies though. I just find them too annoying to use daily. Just one guy's opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToxicPoison Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 tap water has tons of chloramines, metals, chemicals, even things like fluoride have been ore are in public tap water. These things make up what is called TDS or total disolved solids. our water here in vancouver has a rating of 140-160 TDS in the water. thats not good. i've heard portland is in the 14-20 range but i can't confirm that. You will have algae problems if you stick water in your tank with high levels of TDS. plus you don't know what other kinds of things your feeding your corals. copper maybe? anyways this is how i understand it. feel free to correct. I can confirm that Portland has approx 15 TDS straight from the tap (rock2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Re: Need advice asap Drilling water storage I DO and have been since moving here 2 years ago...use straight tap.....biggest problem for me is....uh....hmm....zoas grow to fast maybe.....I dunno....don't have problems to speak of. Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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