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mpderksen
04/05/2015, 08:56 AM
Every so often the tip of my ALK dosing line crusts over to the point that it stops the flow. I assume I can't put it IN the in case of siphoning. I use a BRS 1.1ml/min dosing pump. I was thinking of zip-tying the ATO waterline just above it to rinse it. Any other ideas, or is this just a regular maintenance thing?

rwb500
04/05/2015, 09:17 AM
interesting. i use very narrow tubing with a lab grade peristaltic pump, and mine crusts over but never clogs - i guess my pump can overcome it. how often do your pumps come on each day? Mine come on every few hours - so maybe it never has time to crust up too bad.

and no I don't think you should submerge it. rinsing with ATO would be a good plan though, if you can't solve the problem an easier way.

mpderksen
04/05/2015, 11:34 AM
I run 2 min, 4 times from 00:30 to 04:00. Might not be plugged, so I need to double check. But typically I see small bumps in the pH graph during the night on the Apex graph. Haven't seen them for a few days and the overall pH has dropped a few tenths.

rwb500
04/05/2015, 01:05 PM
ok yeah you should probably check to see if it's plugged first. And if I were you I would have it come on 4-6 times throughout the day. Stable Alk is just as important as stable pH.

mpderksen
04/05/2015, 02:18 PM
Okay, so I modified the code to dose every 6 hours, instead of once/hour between midnight ad 4:00am. Easy enough.

rwb500
04/05/2015, 02:40 PM
sounds like a good plan. for long-term tracking, just make sure that your calcium and alkalinity containers are being drained at the same rate. that way you will know if there is a clog.

ca1ore
04/05/2015, 02:47 PM
FWIW, I ran the output of my ATO over the alk dispensing tube for years to prevent buildup. Works just fine.