Alkalinity drops 0.7 dKH in 10 hours

[Jeremy Luke]

Jebao DP-4 is what I'm looking at, I can't find any information on the tubing with it. If I'm unsure, should I stick to manually dosing carbon?

If you do get the Jebao, I'd run it plugged in to the Apex so you can shut it off if you're away and noticed odd PH levels.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I've seen the Jebao dosing pumps floating around the internet and one of my LFS. It just seemed difficult to believe that something so cheap could potentially work so well.

Why would dosing pumps have to be expensive to work well? Dosing pumps are a simple circuit that keeps the time, remembers the schedules you set, and sends an on/off signal to a DC motor. That's about it. My first few dosing pumps (which I still use today) were simple DIY boxes. They consisted of no more than an AC/DC power supply, a 12V timer relay to turn the pump on and off at set intervals, and a cheap commodity peristaltic pump off Ebay.

I've been using the Jebao DP4 for over a year and a half with no issues. For what it's worth, most of the dosing horror stories I see on forums appear to be due to user error and incorrect dosing schedules.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

I've been using Jebao circulation pumps for years because I can't stomach the price of the popular brands. I've never had an issue with them.

 

[Literallyhydro]

This is precisely why I joined R2R, to break down a lot of the misconceptions I have about the hobby. It's also good to hear different opinions.

I've decided to try the jebao dosing pump, and I'll have it on an outlet connected to the apex so if the pH gets too high from overdosing it'll cut power to the dosing pump.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Jebao DP-4 is what I'm looking at, I can't find any information on the tubing with it. If I'm unsure, should I stick to manually dosing carbon?

It is likely fine, but I am not certain of the material.

 

[Literallyhydro]

It is likely fine, but I am not certain of the material.

Thank you for the input again.

Since the doser will have one extra pump, I'll run it with carbon dosing and periodically check that it's still dosing the correct amount. If the pump is either ruined or not dosing correctly anymore, it won't be a huge loss to me.

 

[Nicolas Sabrun]

I have a 125 gallon mixed reef with a 33 gallon sump. I use a Hanna checker to test my Alkalinity. This morning at around 8:30 the Alk was reading 8.7 dKH, and today at about 6:30 PM it reads 8.0.

Is this too large of a swing for Acros? Do I need to start dosing twice a day instead of once? Invest in dosing pumps? What would you recommend as the best course of action?

Calcium typically drops about 15-20 PPM within 24 hours as well.

Edit: I also forgot to mention, my means of replenishing Calcium and Alkalinity right now is strictly 2 part, but I'm open to other options.

I was in the same position as you awhile back. Unless you are connecting the jebao to your apex, I would not rely on it completely. It may be late but did you look at the aqua medic evo4? I went with it instead of the jebao mostly because of the remote display. You will probably be fine with the jebao if you calibrate it correctly and install some safety measures

 

[Literallyhydro]

I was in the same as you awhile back. Unless you are connecting the jebao to your apex, I would not rely on it completely. It may be late but did you look at the aqua medic evo4? I went with it instead of the jebao mostly because of the remote display. You will probably be fine with the jebao if you calibrate it correctly and install some safety me

I already placed the order for it. My plans to minimize risk for the dosing pump is to have it plugged into the apex, and for the apex to cut power off if the pH spikes.

I also don't plan to use very large reservoirs, if the pumps for some reason continuously pumped into the tank, either the pH spike will shut off the doser, or there won't be enough two part to nuke the tank.

Does that sound good enough for precautions? Or am I potentially going overboard?

 

[Nicolas Sabrun]

I already placed the order for it. My plans to minimize risk for the dosing pump is to have it plugged into the apex, and for the apex to cut power off if the pH spikes.

I also don't plan to use very large reservoirs, if the pumps for some reason continuously pumped into the tank, either the pH spike will shut off the doser, or there won't be enough two part to nuke the tank.

Does that sound good enough for precautions? Or am I potentially going overboard?

Sounds good to me. You may want to watch out for siphoning too.

 

[Literallyhydro]

Sounds good to me. You may want to watch out for siphoning too.

The jebao doser if I read correctly is a peristaltic pump. Don't peristaltic pumps prevent water movement except when the pump is active?

 

[Breadman03]

The jebao doser if I read correctly is a peristaltic pump. Don't peristaltic pumps prevent water movement except when the pump is active?

Typically yes, but it never hurts to trust physics more than mechanics. I’ve read a couple instances of peristaltic pumps have worn or out of spec and siphoned.

 

[Literallyhydro]

Typically yes, but it never hurts to trust physics more than mechanics. I’ve read a couple instances of peristaltic pumps have worn or out of spec and siphoned.

That's true, with how much money gets invested into the livestock, it's better to play it safe than sorry.

So, would the best scenario be to have the reservoirs at the same height as the sump it will drain in to?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That's true, with how much money gets invested into the livestock, it's better to play it safe than sorry.

So, would the best scenario be to have the reservoirs at the same height as the sump it will drain in to?

Peristaltic dosing pumps cannot usually cause siphoning, but to prevent any risk, I dosed vinegar slightly uphill (dose tip above the reservoir) and dripped it it into the sump water, as opposed to having the dosing end submerged.

 

[killr66tb]

My rule of thumb is always get the best equipment you can if you can afford a really nice one get a nice one if you can't get the cheaper one and just keep an eye on it

 

[themcfreak]

You may have already bought a dosing machine, but FWIW, I have 2 DOS, and love them. 1 is for Alk/Calcium. Don't see a need for Mg (as Randy stated earlier, dose is so low, its very easy to do on its own). The other is for Automatic Water Changes. They are expensive, for sure, but the quality of the build and the ability to dose very finite, exact doses is worth it for me.

 

[Literallyhydro]

My rule of thumb is always get the best equipment you can if you can afford a really nice one get a nice one if you can't get the cheaper one and just keep an eye on it

I agree with this completely. I want to have the nicer equipment, but I'm a student and have a few personal expenses that need to be taken care of first. Even the apex was a gift.

Id much rather buy a couple of Apex DOS pumps, but I simply can't come up with the money at this time.

Maybe someday my reef tanks will have top of the line equipment, but until then, I have to make do with what I can afford. Since I am going to use a cheap doser, I plan to take as many precautions as needed and recalibrate all the pumps on it regularly to ensure it operates correctly.

 

[CNDReef]

I have Dp-4 running Randy’s 2 part and vodka for 8 months or so with no issues so far. Make sure you take the heads apart , sometimes they come assembled backwards
Coral box by reef breeders is also a good option for a little more money

 

[Literallyhydro]

I just got the doser hooked up, calibrated, and programmed. I'll give you guys an update on it after a few days of running it and tweaking it to maintain my parameters.

Good grief programming it was a pain, having to program the amount of ml every dose.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations and discussions. I appreciate it.

 

[MnFish1]

1. The Alk changes from morning to night anyway (or it can) I thought that was why its recommended that it be checked at the same time daily.
2. The margin of error of the Hanna Checker is +- .3 (on each measurement) = potentially .6 difference just by chance. Unless this happens everyday - are you sure its not an 'error'.

 

[Literallyhydro]

1. The Alk changes from morning to night anyway (or it can) I thought that was why its recommended that it be checked at the same time daily.
2. The margin of error of the Hanna Checker is +- .3 (on each measurement) = potentially .6 difference just by chance. Unless this happens everyday - are you sure its not an 'error'.

I actually didn't know the Hanna checker could have that large of a margin of error, thank you for the heads up.