jamesbuf November 21, 2007 Share November 21, 2007 (edited) I'm looking to automate my water changes once my AC III comes in. I'm looking to get affordable and reliable dosing pumps to make this happen, if there is such a thing. Any suggestions? I found these, http://cgi.ebay.com/Aqua-Medic-SP-3000-Dos...VQQcmdZViewItem but I was hoping for something even more affordable. Edited November 21, 2007 by jamesbuf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay November 21, 2007 Share November 21, 2007 (edited) I'm looking to automate my water changes once my AC III comes in. I'm looking to get affordable and reliable dosing pumps to make this happen, if there is such a thing. Any suggestions? I found these, http://cgi.ebay.com/Aqua-Medic-SP-3000-Dos...VQQcmdZViewItem but I was hoping for something even more affordable. I think many folks malign the SP 3000, but I have had one for a few years, and it's always worked perfectly. I also have a very long run from my R/O reservior to my sump. I have it on a mechanical timer, it comes on for about 1h, 20 min per day, and that is perfect for my top off. I think it's a great product. I think others prefer the more expensive Kangaroo. tim Edited November 21, 2007 by extreme_tooth_decay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottloverr November 21, 2007 Share November 21, 2007 This is what I'm getting eventually. It does water top offs, full water changed and dosing. The pump can run dry, is easy to set up and if the power goes out it does not lose its programming. The system has got very good reviews from what I've read. Down side is it can be kinda expensive with all the extras http://spectrapure.com/St_prec_p0.htm Cheers, Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gastone November 21, 2007 Share November 21, 2007 James, I've got the aquamedic triple doser. Idea was to run top off and two part through it. I find that it works okay for top off (every 12 minutes it kicks on for 1 minute and change), but was quite difficult to dial in for the two part. Ergo, triple doser running top off only. Boo. Garrett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal November 21, 2007 Share November 21, 2007 Would an aqualifter work? $10-20 most places. https://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idP...uct~OE1137.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf November 21, 2007 Author Share November 21, 2007 Would an aqualifter work? $10-20 most places. https://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idP...uct~OE1137.html I thought about the aqualifter, but I'm pretty sure its not reliable enough, measurement wise. I'm going to be pumping out old water and replacing fresh saltwater, so it really needs to be exact measurements which I'll get with the true dosing pumps. Looks like 2 separate aqua medic pumps will do the trick. Now to just find more crap to sell to get money for these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore030 November 21, 2007 Share November 21, 2007 Why can't you just use any regular pump you happen to already own, and cut the output flow down with a simple pvc valve that costs about $2 at home depot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf November 21, 2007 Author Share November 21, 2007 (edited) Why can't you just use any regular pump you happen to already own, and cut the output flow down with a simple pvc valve that costs about $2 at home depot? I'm looking to remove a specific amount of water with one pump, and add back in the exact same amount of water with a different pump. That is pretty hard to do unless you use dosing pumps. I could try to use regular pumps, like maxijets, but it would be far from exact. Differing water levels and pressure will effect the amount of water the 2 pumps will pump out. It might be a pretty small different though. I still might try it though before dropping the money on the dosing pumps. Edited November 21, 2007 by jamesbuf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore030 November 22, 2007 Share November 22, 2007 I just tested out using a Rio 2100 and a Rio 2500 with a flow restrictor (small tube) to pump water at a slow rate, and it totally failed! The pumps really act erratic or just shut down if the flow is blocked too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf November 22, 2007 Author Share November 22, 2007 I just tested out using a Rio 2100 and a Rio 2500 with a flow restrictor (small tube) to pump water at a slow rate, and it totally failed! The pumps really act erratic or just shut down if the flow is blocked too much. Told ya man. The only way to reliably change exact amounts of water is with dosing pumps. Yet another piece of equipment to buy. Who new there would be so much freaking equipment with reef tanks. Although, this isn't really a necessity. Its because I'm a lazy arse and want to automate water changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak November 22, 2007 Share November 22, 2007 What if instead of having dosing pumps you put float switches in your sump. Two (or 4 for redundancy if you want to be extra careful) one set so many inches under water the other where your water should normally be. When you want to do an automated water change have the system with the float switches kick on. First it would default to draining your sump via a small pump (Mj, or other power head) being triggered by your underwater float switch(es) (wired in reverse: floating = pump on, not floating = pump off). Once the water in your sump has drained to the point of your underwater float switch that pump would cut.Mean while the another.... you know what let me think about this when it's not 4 in the morning i think i might have an idea for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rioreef November 22, 2007 Share November 22, 2007 I picked up a Spectrapure Litermeter III from a club member with remote pump in the Spring. It has worked great dosing my two-part. I did find out that with the LMIII and the amount of supplements I needed to dose that I diluted my batch (1gal to 2gal using RO/DI water). This way I doubled the amount of solution I dosed each time, yet still at the correct concentration. You calibrate the LMIII and it is accurate. I finished my two one gallon containers at the same time, even though the amout of fluid dosed by each pump is different per calibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav November 24, 2007 Share November 24, 2007 Assuming you already have an auto top off of some kind, you could use any old two pums. One on a timer pumping water out and the other on a tsunami pumping an equal amount of water back in. Assuming you have 2 MJ1200s (or the like) it would be pretty fool-proof and cost maybe $70 tops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf November 24, 2007 Author Share November 24, 2007 Assuming you already have an auto top off of some kind, you could use any old two pums. One on a timer pumping water out and the other on a tsunami pumping an equal amount of water back in. Assuming you have 2 MJ1200s (or the like) it would be pretty fool-proof and cost maybe $70 tops. Thats not a bad idea. I guess it would take another float value separate from my existing freshwater topoff float valve, and it would have to be at the exact same level as well so the salinity wouldn't get out of wack. Make sure to turn off the existing freshwater topoff pump during the saltwater water change. Then turn on a pump in the sump for only a minute or so to remove a given amount of old saltwater, then have my aquacontroller turn on the new float valve, which would turn on a pump inside the new saltwater reservoir to replace the water that was just pumped out. Am I missing anything?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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