Best Dosing Pump?

Beausoleiljacob · May 9, 2016

Hey Everyone,
After dosing every day for the last few weeks I have gotten absolutely sick of doing it. What would you guys recommend and trust for the best economical dosing pump? Thanks!

jsker · May 9, 2016

The Jebao Dp-4 I have two and they work very well

twilliard · May 9, 2016

jsker said:
The Jebao Dp-4 I have two and they work very well

Nice units
I retro'ed one for control using an Apex

mcarroll · May 9, 2016

I dosed manually for about 6 years, so I know it can be done...but I also know that eventually it won't get done due to life. Sometimes you can get around that (for about 6 years

), but eventually - in days, months or years - the truth of the matter comes around and dosing get missed or screwed up.

Not that a doser is perfect, but it's theoretical more-perfect than me in programmability.

Jebao's equipment is scary-cheap, but I have to agree. I've got a DP-3 and it seems to work without issue. The interface didn't wow me, but it does get the job done, so no complaints.

The motors and pump heads seem standard, so if they break or wear out, replacement shouldn't be too bad. (three pumps * $20 = $60 though...almost-disposable...in the finest of our Chinese manufacturing tradition.)

reefwiser · May 9, 2016

I use a GHL very accurate and has the following features.

Huge connectivity options
Ports for connecting a magnetic stirrer, an external GHL Control Pad (4.3", touch screen), temperature and level probes.
Integrated auto top-off
Refill and water change of small amounts of water.
Extreme accurate dosing
The 24V stepper motors allow precise dosing of smallest flow rates.
LED status display
The LED-backlit GHL Logo functions as a status display. Different colors quickly indicate the status of your aquarium.
Simple connection
The connection is possible via Wi-Fi or USB.
Display of liquid level
Keep track and control of your liquid level. The alarm indicates refill malfunction.
Easy handling
Set up your dosing pump via software and start manual operation via buttons on the unit.
Automatic calibration possible.
Outstanding quality
Use of chemical resistant tubes (Novoprene©) and stainless steel motor shafts.
Suitable for Iodine.
Modular system

Love how it is easy to use with my smart phone and the stepper motors let you dose down to 0.01 ml

Also love that the logo on the top flashes red if there is anything wrong with the doser.

jsker · May 9, 2016

One other thing, there is also a YouTube video on calibrating and setting up the Jabao which make things very easy.

tskiller · May 9, 2016

I'll put my +1 behind the GHL doser. It's great. Plan on adding in stirrers soon, it supports those too!

FMF0331 · May 9, 2016

using the bubble magnus, never had a problem .

AcroFarmerRWB · May 9, 2016

I have a vertex libra and love it!
Very easy to use and setup!

mcarroll · May 9, 2016

reefwiser said:
I use a GHL very accurate[...]

It does seem like a great system, but there's scary-cheap and scary-expensive.

While cost isn't everything....what's a complete GHL rig like you describe likely to run at retail?

CodyRVA · May 9, 2016

FMF0331 said:
using the bubble magnus, never had a problem .

Have one myself, my only complaint, and this may be an issue with other dosers as well, but after updating my dosing regiment, I forgot to exit out to allow the doser to load the new settings, and it basically stops dosing entirely. You'd think it would continue to dose the old regiment until the new one was loaded, but nope it just doesn't dose. A week later, all my parameters were low. Huge software flaw that should be ironed out, other than that, I've had great success with them.

Bpb · May 9, 2016

Best economical dosing pump? Probably the bubble magus or jebao (pretty much the eBay marine magic clones). BEST dosing pump. Probably a masterflex digital brushless (single pump, need a timer to run it, like an apex, and will run anywhere from $500-2000 per single pump and motor depending on age)

mcarroll · May 9, 2016

Beausoleiljacob said:
After dosing every day for the last few weeks I have gotten absolutely sick of doing it.

Not to necessarily dissuade you from getting a doser, but is there anything you haven't done to make manual dosing as easy as possible?

Do you have a small quantity of RODI water handy to use for mixing and dosing? I typically dillute all my alk doses as much as possible....limited by the size of the dose and dripper, obviously.
Do you have stock solutions made up for Ca, alk and Mg so there's no (significant) daily measuring?
Do you have quality measuring cups so dosing is as quick as possible?
Do you have some kind of dripper set up so you don't have to stand there manually applying the dose to the water?

Just some thoughts.

Beausoleiljacob · May 9, 2016

Thanks everyone for the great recommendations.

Beausoleiljacob · May 9, 2016

What type of dosing containers would you recommend?

ckozma · May 9, 2016

CodyRVA said:
I forgot to exit out to allow the doser to load the new settings, and it basically stops dosing entirely.

Can't blame the product for user error. It clearly states in the docs that it will not dose unless you exit out and see it say 'Loading...'.

Bpb · May 9, 2016

Any inert plastic container works. 5 gallon bucket, brute can, rinsed former-vinegar bottles (what I always used), old distilled water jugs...bulk reef supply mr chili jugs, the ultra expensive Neptune DDR or the vertex dosing containers. All do the same thing...hold liquid

Salt Creep · May 9, 2016

I've been using the Jebao pump for 6 months now and don't regret it. Works great, but yes... calibrate it first. Mine was a bit off on a few of the pumps before calibration.

FMF0331 · May 9, 2016

Beausoleiljacob said:
What type of dosing containers would you recommend?

I use the BRS space saver container.

reefwiser · May 9, 2016

mcarroll said:
It does seem like a great system, but there's scary-cheap and scary-expensive.

While cost isn't everything....what's a complete GHL rig like you describe likely to run at retail?

The GHL model
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/ghl-doser-2-dosing-system

Now I come a different view point maybe. I have been keeping fish for 52 years now. In those years I have had many tank issues. An many times was because I bought the cheap option. An because I am not new in the hobby I know I am not getting tried of it and taking the tank down. I will pay for good solid equipment and if it is easy to set up well so much the better. [emoji3]
The GHL is the gold standard for dosing pumps. Why do you think the Jebao pump looks like the old model of the GHL doser. Also for those that do want to sell I. The future GHL dosers are easy to sell off. [emoji106]