Dosing pump

[duyvngo]

So i'm planning of setting up a 100+ gallon tank (probably 150gal). I've been in the hobby for like a year but i've been keeping fish and softies only. This time i'm planning for a sps tank and what that means is i'm stepping into those cal and alk issues. Anyways, i'm thinking of going with dosing trace elements and there are many options for dosing pumps. Can anybody give me some advice on what's good on the market, what are the advantages and disadvantages of one comparing to another before i invest my money in this. Thanks a lot.

 

[kpiotrowski]

what is your ca,alk,mg levels and how much do you use(dose) daily?

 

[NanaReefer]

He's talking about dosing his "future" tank. The answer to which is....you won't know exactly how much to dose until you see how much is being consumed. So the amount at this time is unknown.
As for the brand everyone has a preference. Personally I like the ESV.


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.

 

[IPisces]

true, you wont know how much to dose until the tank is stocked and you test for a couple weeks to see what is being used and how much. then there is a handy calculator that most of us know about that will give you an idea as to what and how much to dose. I will have to find it later, or someone else can post it. I have been using Seachem Reef Fusion http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/ReefFusion.html and really like it. So there are many brands, and a couple DIY products like Randys two part. Do a little more research and try one.

 

[IPisces]

I have not used dosing pumps yet. I did pick up a couple bulk reef supply dosing pumps but have not set them up yet. they can be as simple as these or more technical with an apex or litermeter or bubble magus to name a few.

 

[duyvngo]

Yea i have no idea what the system would consume at this point yet. But yea i've been doing some research and looks like the 2part is the one that cost effective to most hobbyists. What pump do you guys use?

 

[spieszak]

I use BRS dosing pumps. Depends a bit on the direction you are going with your equipment. If you plan on running a controller, most can't interace with the multi head pumps as I understand it, so controlling the pumps separately based on params or other things you can monitory with a controller isn't likely to happen. I have an ACIII, so I went with the separate dosing pumps. The only thing I REALLY do is kill any alk dosing if my pH gets over 8.3, but you don't have the option really (to my knowledge) to do that with any of the mulit head pumps.
If you look at the multi head pumps, the litermeter has a add on continuous water change module (don't know about the others) that could be useful, and I have a friend who is really happy with that module.....

Generally though, its likely you won't need to worry about dosing for a while, as water changes will keep you in check until your loads are higher...

 

[duyvngo]

Interesting. Vertex came out with the new Libra. Has anyone had any experience with that one? There are literally too many options out there.

 

[kpiotrowski]

He's talking about dosing his "future" tank. The answer to which is....you won't know exactly how much to dose until you see how much is being consumed. So the amount at this time is unknown.
As for the brand everyone has a preference. Personally I like the ESV.


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.

I was trying to see where the op is at with current dosing and knowledge. He may not have sps yet, but does he testing and dosing in his current system as he should be. especialy alkalinty in his case! from there I suggest people get manual dosing down first...get in touch with your tank. unless he will be stocking the new tank with mass colonies then manual dosing should be used first and the money spent on dosers can be put into light and flow for now. what keyed me to kinda fish out his knowledge level is he stated he wanted to dose "trace" elements.

trying to help you along with the big picture duyvngo!

 

[duyvngo]

Thank you. Everybody start at some point right? Like i said i've had fish and softies only so with regular water changes, i was in shape with what was consumed. But looking forward to keeping sps, that's a whole new picture to me. I've been reading quite a bit about what is needed to grow sps in a system. As far as testing my current system, yes i do just so i can keep the parameters in the range. I'm aware of stability is the key that's why i'm leaning toward the accuracy of dosers. It's is true that i gotta have an idea what the system consumed and do the calculation to know which and how much i have to put in. The question i asked was what dosing pump that is more reliable or better.

 

[kpiotrowski]

peristaltic pumps wich most dosers are, are highly reliable and remain accurate. As far as brand? many good brands in the $500 range.

any pics of your set-up? we all love that here!

 

[spieszak]

i agree, relability doesn't tend to be as much of an issue with them..noise can be... and so can ease of calibration...

 

[duyvngo]

Is it a big difference between dc motor and stepper motor?

 

[spieszak]

in my opinion for the low volumes we use them for, its meaningless

 

[duyvngo]

Yea cuz there's a big price jump between them so i just want to weigh to see if it's worth it.

 

[kpiotrowski]

so how about you duyvngo? tell us about your current system. favorite corals, fish etc. what size tank and what equiptment?

 

[duyvngo]

I'm running a 100gal shallow tank right now with 40gal eshopp sump/refuge and ati bubble master 200 skimmer. I'm lucky enough to have powerder blue and brown tangs, atlantic blue tang, a mated pair gold stripe maroon, pair of diamond gobys, pair coral banded shimps, a fire shrimp, a little lionfish, a tiny picasso triggerfish, a blue angel and a golden angel sharing the same home. As of coral i don't have much, just over grown kenya trees everywhere, green palys , gsp and shrooms. Oh and i have a purple mint tube anemone as well.

 

[spieszak]

4 foot tank?

 

[kpiotrowski]

nice! now there is a saying on forums like these "pics of it didn't happen"lol. lets see some pics! don't worry I suck at pics and they make me do it!

 

[duyvngo]

Yea it's 4ft x2.5ft