Reef Dosing pump and ACjr

[TracyZeuner]

Anyone use a Reef Dosing Pump and an ACjr to dose 2-part solution? Is this a good pump to use to add 2-part and does it emit the same amount out of both sides?

[Billybeau1]

I personally have never used one, but I see you have a large tank.

Have you thought about a calcium reactor. May be a better choice in your situation. :)

[ek9vboi]

The problem with using a dosing pump with a 2 part system is that the pump can not dose separately. Even with a 2 tube pump set it doses the same amount, not what is need of each part.

Also, it would be ideal if you had two pumps, one pump to pump the amount of solution #1 and the other to pump solution #2. I was looking at reef dosing pump's website and they have the a/c adapter that "tricks" the pump into not pump when it is on. That would work on a timer.

[bertoni]

The two-channel pumps seem to work well for dosing 2-part supplements. In general, the need for each part should be about the same. I don't know which exact product you are considering, though.

[TracyZeuner]

I was looking at a pump that could dose both at the same time. I would have 1 line on one side of the sump and the other on the far side. My thinking was if I had 1 pump that could dose both at the same time, even if it was a little off, at least it would be dosing the same amount of part 1 and part 2. I am looking for something that is accurate and reliable and hopefully work with my ACjr. I also have a digital timer that could also be used. my main concern is that I will be on vacation for about 3 weeks this summer and dont have anyone to add 2-part to my tank everyday.

I already had 1 dual pump but could not get the pump to produce the same ml per side. I am using Randys 2-part recipe #1 and am dosing 150ml per part daily

[Billybeau1]

Unless you have just the right situation, I doubt dosing equal parts of any product is going to keep your levels in check. Some tanks use more cal, some use more alk.

You have to determine what your tanks consumption is and adjust accordingly. :)

[rick s]

Hi Tracy,

I am doing the method you are thinking about, so I'll chime in:

According to just about all of Randy's articles, if we are going to use an additive to maintain calcium and alkalinity (other than kalk), we should use a balanced, 2-part additive. That, dosed in equal amounts, should keep our calcium and alkalinity roughly in balance with each other (assuming they are in their appropriate ranges when you start). Yes. You may have to adjust them once in a great while.

I have been doing it the way you are thinking for over a year now.
I use a single dosing pump (with dual lines on it). I have the Calcium part dump in my sump and the Alkalinity part dump in my display tank, in the corner opposite where the sump feeds, right in front of a power head. It has worked fine.

I am using the Nautilus II pump:
www.innovativeaquatics.com
I have it on a timer to dose at night.
I have a gallon jug of each part that it pulls from.
It has an internal battery back-up so it keeps its settings if I lose power.

[TracyZeuner]

Did you find it easy to setup and how much do you dose per day? I am dosing 150ml per day of each solution. I feel I will have more control if I use a dosing pump and I really dont want to spend the money right now on a reactor. I will read up on the Nautilus pump and see if it fit my situation. Thanks for the reply rick.
Tracy

[rick s]

Hi Tracy,

I dose about 60ml per night, very slowly, over 4 hours. You could set it up to dose more per hour and/or for a longer period of time. I forget the number, but it can be set to dose a lot more per hour. You can set the dosage in 1ml/hour increments. Yes. It was easy to set up.

I bought the Timer option with it. With that, the doser is plugged into a "always on" outlet and the doser is always on and set. The Timer option is simply a separate wll outlet adapter that plugs into the doser, and the other end plugs into my digital timer (or your AC Jr.). When my timer is on, the unit doses.

One of the things I like about it is if I lose power, my timer outlet loses power, so it will not dose. However, the internal battery back-up keeps the doser "on" and holds its settings. When power comes back on (if the timer says it's time to dose), it picks up like nothing happened.

[TracyZeuner]

great!
thank alot. I am leaning towards that unit. I'll let you know how it goes