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01/22/2018, 12:25 PM | #1 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 12
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Dosing Pumps Longevity
Ok so I am considering getting a dosing pump for my new saltwater setup. Since I know that i forget to dose things from time to time and I really like the idea of constant water changes, BUT.....
I watched a video on the DOS pump by Neptune and the guy said the pumps have a bout a 600 hour life. Does anyone have experience with these? I would never pay 300 dollars for a pump that lasts 25 days. Does he mean that they need cleaning every 600 hours or so or what? If anyone can fill me in please do as I cant have been hearing this right. I shared the Site that this video is on in case it helps. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dos-d...e-systems.html |
01/22/2018, 01:33 PM | #2 |
RC Sponsor
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 14,173
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I’ve had my Dos since it was first released over 2 years ago. It’s been running everyday since. I think what you are misunderstanding is that they are talking about is tubing life, not motorlife and 600 hours on tubing is a pretty good amount of time compared to other dosers. Especially when you consider the pump heads will only be running a fraction of the day. Tubing is a normal replacement/maintenance item on all dosing pumps. Some use cheap silicone tubing that doesn’t last anywhere near that of the Dos. The Dos uses norprene type tubing which lasts much longer than most other tubing. FWIW, I’ve yet to change my tubing since I bought my Dos.
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01/22/2018, 01:43 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Cedar Park, Tx
Posts: 1,072
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Dosing pumps run intermittently. A few seconds every few hours. So if you are only running a minute or 2 a day 600 hrs is a long time. That is probably the amount of time between tubing changes. Since it is pinched between the rollers it will eventually fail. This goes for any peristaltic pump. I use a dosing pump for ATO and had to change the tubing after about a year and a half. I have no experence with the Neptune devices, but as a general rule you will want some kind of paristaltic pump as a dosing pump.
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01/22/2018, 03:21 PM | #4 |
Team RC Member
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Alta Loma, Ca
Posts: 6,776
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I used a Spectrapure LiterMeter for 17-18 years before it died, and I bought it used. I replaced the tubing 3x
I replaced it with one of the units BRS sells, so far so good. FWIW, I control the pump with a Sipidon float switch that I bought in 1999 (if it works don't fix it) I also use a timer to keep down the amount of times per day that the pump comes on. I set the timer to come on for 20 minutes ever 4hrs, this is just a little more than the daily evap. I think it will help the life of the pump.
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01/22/2018, 03:38 PM | #5 |
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Grove City, Ohio
Posts: 10,806
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Mine run about 15minutes/day. 600 hrs = 36000 minutes 36000/15 = 2400 days
2400/365 = 6.57 years. I replace tubing sets every couple years just because it's a cheap easy way to make sure they keep dosing what they're supposed to.
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01/22/2018, 08:08 PM | #6 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 12
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Tube life gotcha! I figured as much but if you dont ask you wont know!
For constant water changes to equal maybe 10- 20% of the tank volume a week wouldnt that mean the pump would be running a lot more than 15 minutes per day? I would love to try this out as i have been doing weekly water changes on multiple freshwater tanks for a few years now and skipping to once a month would be awesome. Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk |
01/22/2018, 10:09 PM | #7 |
Grizzled & Cynical
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Stamford, CT
Posts: 17,319
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Peri tubing life, yes, but also the roller heads.
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Tags |
dose pumps, dosing, neptune |
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