Alternatives to Peristaltic Pumps for Dosing?

[Max Ivers]

Hey everyone, I am about to start dosing 2 part to keep up with the demands of my growing tank. I really would rather not shell out 200 bucks for 2 dosing pumps such as these nor can I consistently dose the required amounts at the same time everyday or even everyday due to school/hockey/etc. I was hoping that I could use a simpler pump such as the Aqualifter Pump which I use for my ATO needs. I ran the calculations from the advertised flow rate of 3.5gph and found that the pump has an advertised flow rate of 3.8ml/min. Calculations here. I am thinking about running these for 9 mins a day to deliver a total of 34.2ml of both alkalinity and calcium parts to my 55 gallon tank per day. I'm basing my two part dosing off of the Bulk Reef Supply 2-Part dosing instructions and I'm actually using the Randy Holmes-Farley DIY 2-Part Recipe 1 and I currently have 10 SPS frags (small acros and montis) and 5 LPS frags (3 headed branching hammer, 1.5" chunk of acans, trumpets). I'm guessing this is somewhere between the levels of "A few SPS hard corals and clams" and "Numerous full size SPS colonies". My current tank runs at 10DKH and 360 CA (Salifert tested) with a 7 gallon water change once every two weeks with Instant Ocean mixed to 35ppt (refractometer). Does this sound like a good amount to dose? I'm also wondering whether or not the Aqualifter pumps will clog from dosing the CA and ALK? I'm also considering a third pump to dose 3.8ml of MB7 everyday, as I run EcoBAK pellets to keep my nutrients down, and I dose MB7 to keep the cyano away. Anyone have thoughts about this plan? Or does anyone have any other suggestions for automated dosing that won't break the bank (100$ budget for this project)?

[Incredible Corals]

I'm think I'm going to go with the Two Little Fishies Kalk Reactor in combination with my JBJ ATO to dose Kalk and keep the calc at the correct level.

[Max Ivers]

I'm think I'm going to go with the Two Little Fishies Kalk Reactor in combination with my JBJ ATO to dose Kalk and keep the calc at the correct level.

 

I read your thread about this not too long ago, but honestly dosing Kalk scares me because of the high PH, precipitation, etc. I also don't really have room for any more equipment under my stand, nor do I have the budget (both time and money wise) to purchase and setup another piece of equipment that I might replace in under 6 months. And as my tank and system grow (already planning a rimless nano cube to be tied into the system) I think my calcium and alkalinity demands will surpass what Kalk dosing can safely do. In addition, my sump is tiny (10g tank) and my return section is incredibly small (~1.5g) so my ATO cycles on and off all day, which I fear would overdose/cause problems with Kalk dosing. But I think for your system a Kalk reactor seems like a great solution to your Ca/Alk dosing needs. I'm more looking for suggestions in terms of how much to dose, and whether or not these pumps will work for dosing. But thanks

[Big Country]

Aqualifters sound like a good solution for you, both Calcium and Alkalinity solutions are very clear and stay in solution well so I don't see why you couldn't use a pair of aqualifters to dose the solutions just have the pumps higher than the sump. Just test often and adjust your dosage as needed to keep your levels fairly constant.

[dave w]

Aqualifters sound like a good solution for you, both Calcium and Alkalinity solutions are very clear and stay in solution well so I don't see why you couldn't use a pair of aqualifters to dose the solutions just have the pumps higher than the sump. Just test often and adjust your dosage as needed to keep your levels fairly constant.

 

 

Depending on where your tank is located and if you have overhead space, you could use a gravity feed drip system. Decide how much daily evaporation you'll have and buy an IV dripper setup that contains clear vinyl tubing and a pinch clamp that can adjust all the way down to just a few drops per minute. When I used this I was buying pickling lime from the grocery store for my homemade kalkwasser and it worked well. Occasionally some calcium would clog the tubing, but this happened less if I kept the inlet off the bottom of the refill water. To add even more Calcium you could even increase the evaporation rate of your tank by fitting the lids looser, etc. I don't know what the two part solution costs these days but the pickling lime was much cheaper.

[Origami]

First, at 3.5 gallons (13.248 liters) per hour (nominal), a Tom's aqualifter delivers 220.8 ml per minute, so you would very quickly overdose your system. (Math: (13,248 ml/hour) / (60 min/hour) = 220.8 ml/min )

 

Second, an aqualifter is not a precision delivery system and does not have a precise dose rate. Start up and stop can deliver inconsistent amounts of effluent. Flow during operation can vary with back pressure, with valve condition, and with the quality of power driving the pump.

 

Even if it were accurate, at 220 ml per minute, you would need to be able operate the pump 9.29 seconds per day. You're not going to readily have that kind of timing accuracy at your disposal in all likelihood. Even if you did, you still won't get beyond the lack of precision in the aqualifter.

 

Using an aqualifter with a kalk stirrer, in conjunction with an ATO, is a better solution.

 

If automating two-part delivery, a peristaltic pump with a delivery rate that is consistent with the amount you're dosing and the precision of your timing source is far more appropriate. That's why it's done this way.

[Origami]

By the way, you ran into problems with your calculation when you divided by 3600 in the last step. There are 3600 seconds in an hour, so the units that you ended up with was ml/sec not ml/min.

[Max Ivers]

Ah thank you Tom, I thought that the number seemed quite low, guess I shouldnt try to do this kind of conversion at 2am lol. Do you or anyone know of any cheaper dosing pumps than the single channel ones that sell for $80-$100? Possibly a cheaper chinese knock-off of some sort? Thanks.

[Origami]

I know that BRS sells them. Also, you can find peristaltic pumps on ebay. I've seen them used in commercial dishwasher applications, too. Prices vary widely. I don't know of a cheap source. When it comes to precision dosing, though, make sure you get something reliable. Failing to do so can cost you a lot more than just the price of the pump.

 

A cheap, reliable solution is to simply mix kalkwasser into your top-off water. That way, all of your top-off is kalkwasser (which is normally a saturated, balanced solution of calcium and alkalinity). Kalk powder (calcium hydroxide - Ca(OH)2) does not dissolve very well in water - typically a solution saturates with as little as 1 teaspoon per gallon (actually, it's 6.55 grams/gallon at 20C). Just add it to your topoff water tank and give it a good stir. Because of the low solubility of kalk (1.73g/liter), it's difficult to overdose in an ATO situation without a reactor as long as your ATO doesn't fail open. Even then, you'll probably suffer more from crashing the salinity than from the kalk.

 

Dosing kalkwasser offers a lot of very positive benefits: It helps keep your pH high, helps to precipitate phosphates and other contaminants that you don't want, and it's a balanced additive - that is it adds both calcium and alkalinity to your tank at one time.

Putting it in your topoff is probably the cheapest, automated way to dose your tank at the start.