Heating RO reservoir?

[Raul-7]

For those that have large vertical reservoirs; how do you heat/aerate the water - I don't think the cords would be long enough to break the waterline?

[d2mini]

I don't and mine is in my garage. Cold in the winter, and like bath water in the summer.
Doesn't matter because the top-off amount is so little each time it has zero effect on my tank water's temp.

[Johnseye]

Originally Posted by d2mini

I don't and mine is in my garage. Cold in the water, and like bath water in the summer.
Doesn't matter because the top-off amount is so little each time it has zero effect on my tank water's temp.

Same, although mine's in the basement and barely warms to room temp. I originally bought a heater for this, but never needed it because of the slow drip. No effect on sump/display temp.

[Raul-7]

What about SW reservoir?

[Johnseye]

Originally Posted by Raul-7

What about SW reservoir?

Both sw and ato. Same thing.

[LinkinReef]

My ato reservoir has no pump or heater.

I thought saltwater needed to be at a certain temperature to have the salinity stable? At least that's what I was told.

If a heater isn't needed in a sw reservoir that's awesome for my upcoming automatic water changes! So all that would be needed is just a pump for circulation correct?

[Johnseye]

Correct. I just have a small Koralia pump in my sw res.

I know it's better to mix salt in before warming water for absorbsion but never heard of salinity changing with temp. Entirely possible though, but may be miniscule as I have not seen salinity issues from my res.

[slief]

I use 100 gallon vertical water storage containers. I don't heat my RODI or aerate it and there is absolutely no reason to do so in my opinion. My containers have screw on lids so they are well protected from the elements. I also don't heat or aerate my salt water holding tank but my mix pump turns on every 3 hours and runs for 15 minutes. I do have a heater in the mixing tank which I only use if I plan on doing a really large water change. My holding tanks are outside in a shed and the water is really cold but with my 5 gallon a day automated water changes, the temp difference doesn't impact my tank at all. I don't even bother to heat my mixing tank if I do a larger 30-40 gallon change because the Renew I use for water changes does a gallon or so every 2 minutes which won't cause a rapid change in my temps and even 30 gallons of 60* water wouldn't drop my temps much more than 1/2* which isn't a concern to me.

The only reason I would even heat the mix tank is if I were to do a 50+ gallon water change in the winter that used a hose and pump instead of my Renew. For my heater, I drilled small hole in the top of the holding tank, cut the power plug off the heater, dropped the heater in the tank and ran the power cord out of the tank through the hole. I then used an appliance grade screw on power plug to replace the power plug I cut off. While the heater doesn't go all the way to the bottom, it does reach 2/3 the way down which is more than enough. Especially with the mix pump running which I run continuously in the rare event that I need to heat the water.

Originally Posted by LinkinReef

My ato reservoir has no pump or heater.

I thought saltwater needed to be at a certain temperature to have the salinity stable? At least that's what I was told.

If a heater isn't needed in a sw reservoir that's awesome for my upcoming automatic water changes! So all that would be needed is just a pump for circulation correct?

I think you were misinformed. As far as I'm aware, the salinity even in colder oceans is perfectly stable.

The key is having a refractometer that has temperature compensation. Without that, you will not get accurate salinity readings. It also helps to have the refractometer at the same or close to the same temp as the water you are testing. This means if your water is close to outside air temp, then the refractometer should be close to that temp. This is a reason why mechanical hydrometers aren't very accurate. They don't compensate for temperature and as such are never terribly accurate when it comes to varying temperatures.

For my mixing tank, I use a Pinpoint monitor that has temperature compensation. I've been doing this long enough that I can look at how low my mixing container is before adding water and dump is salt eye balling it and get within .001 pretty much every time. The one thing about cooler water is that salt doesn't dissolve as fast but that isn't a concern for me.

[sowildpaul]

Originally Posted by slief

I use 100 gallon vertical water storage containers. I don't heat my RODI or aerate it and there is absolutely no reason to do so in my opinion. My containers have screw on lids so they are well protected from the elements. I also don't heat or aerate my salt water holding tank but my mix pump turns on every 3 hours and runs for 15 minutes. I do have a heater in the mixing tank which I only use if I plan on doing a really large water change. My holding tanks are outside in a shed and the water is really cold but with my 5 gallon a day automated water changes, the temp difference doesn't impact my tank at all. I don't even bother to heat my mixing tank if I do a larger 30-40 gallon change because the Renew I use for water changes does a gallon or so every 2 minutes which won't cause a rapid change in my temps and even 30 gallons of 60* water wouldn't drop my temps much more than 1/2* which isn't a concern to me.

The only reason I would even heat the mix tank is if I were to do a 50+ gallon water change in the winter that used a hose and pump instead of my Renew. For my heater, I drilled small hole in the top of the holding tank, cut the power plug off the heater, dropped the heater in the tank and ran the power cord out of the tank through the hole. I then used an appliance grade screw on power plug to replace the power plug I cut off. While the heater doesn't go all the way to the bottom, it does reach 2/3 the way down which is more than enough. Especially with the mix pump running which I run continuously in the rare event that I need to heat the water.

I'd like to know whether or not your storage tanks need to be vented in order for the pumps to pull water out of those tanks during ATO/AWC. Would the lids with a vent cap work or a bigger hole need to be drilled for vent? Thanks in advance.

[slief]

Originally Posted by sowildpaul

I'd like to know whether or not your storage tanks need to be vented in order for the pumps to pull water out of those tanks during ATO/AWC. Would the lids with a vent cap work or a bigger hole need to be drilled for vent? Thanks in advance.

My lids have the vent caps built into them. I suppose if you didn't have a vent cap, a 1/4" hole in the lid would do the trick if your lid seal was air tight. Since most of the vertical storage tanks that I've seen don't use an o-ring on the lid, I'm not sure the vent cap is really needed as these tanks aren't air tight to begin with.

[sowildpaul]

Originally Posted by slief

My lids have the vent caps built into them. I suppose if you didn't have a vent cap, a 1/4" hole in the lid would do the trick if your lid seal was air tight. Since most of the vertical storage tanks that I've seen don't use an o-ring on the lid, I'm not sure the vent cap is really needed as these tanks aren't air tight to begin with.

So a vent is a must to prevent pump damage. Is that correct?

[slief]

Originally Posted by sowildpaul

So a vent is a must to prevent pump damage. Is that correct?

If your storage tanks and sealed tight, I'd recommend a vent. Otherwise, the tank would act similar to a straw when your hold your finger over the end. When water is removed, you need to be able to displace that water with air. If the tank is sealed shut, there will come a point where the pump can't draw water. As such, a 1/4" hole in a lid would do wonders for venting an otherwise tightly sealed storage tank. This assuming the lid doesn't have a vent cap or vent hole which most do.

[slief]

Originally Posted by sowildpaul

So a vent is a must to prevent pump damage. Is that correct?

I just went out and looked at my tanks. Only my mixing tank has a vented lid. My RODI tank doesn't have a vent and that is where my top off dosing pump draws from. That tank doesn't have extra holes and my RODI fill lines and my top off suction line are run through 1/4" John Guest style push lock bulk heads. As such, that tank is sealed fairly tight but the lid on that tank isn's sealed with an o-ring or gasket. As such, enough air obviously can pass through the threads of the lid to allow air in to displace the water that is added via my RODI or the water that is removed from my top off pump. Point being that a vent is only needed if your tank is really sealed shut. The lids for these tanks aren't designed to be air tight or water tight. At least mine aren't anyway. If you have larger pumps for your water change that can move water faster than the air can get in the tank, then the vents become a necessity. As such it really depends on your storage tank but a small vent hole is probably a good idea. Especially if your not sure how air tight your lid is.