Hygger $67 4 Line Auto Dosing Pump - Review & Information & a general beginners guide to dosing set up.

terraincognita

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9/19/2020 I'm out of time for the night, but I don't want to lose this work. I'll finish it tomorrow.


Wanted to Contribute to the Budget Reefing Community Out there with a little review and info on this Hygger $67 Dosing Pump.

If you bought this pump and are confused or frustrated or having trouble I recommend you read this as well as I can probably help.

Haven't seen any interesting or complete reviews, or tips and tricks for this anywhere yet, so thought I'd be the first.

Auto Dosing is a game changer for new reefers who want to get serious about really providing the best and stable environments for their corals.

With the popular and best line dosing pumps starting around $250-300 at the cheapest, sometimes you gotta squeeze the pennies.

Auto dosing being something you definitely don't want to be something to fail or mess up, I'm putting my neck on the line for all the Budget Reefers out there. I'll probably eventually upgrade this in a year or so to a nicer one once I save up a bit, but until then. It's gonna have to do. So I will update this every 6 months until I upgrade it as well so anyone wanting to buy one can and know exactly what they're in for, at least in my experience.



Ignore this mini font below, just keywords.

Other keywords I want to throw in here really quick as I also could find any good articles regarding this.
( Yes you can run dosing lines up, Upwards, dosing line from cabinet up to tank, can you run dosing lines vertically, upwards ) Auto Dosing Lines no check valve. Do I need a check valve?



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I chose this Auto Doser out of all budget dosing options (There's really only about 4 lol) is that in general Hygger as a budget aquarium company tends to have more reliable products and fewer tank crashing mis-haps then Jebao. While Jebao is more well known, people often are screaming about how "This crashed my tank" like 1 out of 100, whereas with Hygger the complaints or more about their ease to use and overall long term quality. Jebao has those same pitfalls so I went the Hygger route.

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The important thing IMO to know with these budget dosing and ATO pumps is that the Mechanical aspects of the pump are probably 99% of the time going to be okay. Where people error is in thinking by buying a $70 Dosing Pump, they're going to be getting a similar or compatible software to those found in the $300+ ones.

The main difference in price between the budgets and the more expensive ones is simply the computer inside. With a more complex and better working computer system inside, it will most likely be more reliable and able to handle more complex functions. Thus also much more expensive

With the less complex computer systems, they're designed to be very basic binary computer systems. Perform 1,2,3 and then 1,2,3. Trying to get it to perform 4,3,5,7,3,2,4,1, is generally when you start to get errors.

Therefore I always try to keep the programming on these devices as simple as possible, and as little room for error as possible. With that I did not program any of the pumps to be operating at the same time, as now I'm asking the computer to computer with all 4 pumps at the same time, and I know when they develop these programs they're generally working with just 1-2 at a time, and then at the end, do very quick and brush off QC's to ensure when running at full capacity there's no bugs. This is common in all areas of cheaper technology in life (Or so I've found it)

Therefore, just running 1 pump, on it's own at a time, with at least a 5-10 minute gap between operation allows for the least amount of computing work, and effort for the machine, while still achieving identical results.

Additionally, I went for one of the higher priced mechanical and manual programming systems, as with the "WiFi systems" going for the cheapest model, you're bound to run into bugs as when you enter in a wireless network on cheap technology, you're opening the door for all kinds of issues due to ping and connection errors.

With all that said. Lets get into the Actual system!

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Here's just 2 photos of the pump.

IMG_8314.jpeg

IMG_8315.jpeg


It's a 4 pump system, but the software is designed for 8 lines, meaning I assume one could add a slave pump as well, I do not see a specific Hygger Slave pump, and I doubt the software is compatible with another brand, though I may be mistaken. Probably a second main pump could be converted to be programmed onto 1. There is an Ethernet port in the back allowing for daisy chaining. Maybe for future release.

It comes with 8 actually pretty nice quality soft rubber/plastic lines. 2 for each pump (1in, 1 out) They're only about 18 inches, so not much use if you're not dosing directly into a sump. I also opted for the $6.00 more expensive that came with an attachable house mount.

62D8349E-F2FA-4246-9D43-0E132836A614.jpeg


The programming and calibration is super EASY to do, but really hard to get and figure out how to get it done.

Once you understand it, it's a breeze, but also time consuming.

Also super important note is again this system is CHEAP. So it is a one way road type of programming. Meaning you have to do it EXACTLY right the first time, or start again from the very beginning, there is no back, clear, back up, or oops button. It requires German Precision! (I'm 1/4 German so I can say that)

The Up and Down Arrows will take you to the Calibration Menu.

The Left and Right Arrows will allow you to manually operate the pumps, if you wanted to dose a little extra one might do this, or to prime/re-prime lines.



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1. Calibration - The Calibration concept is simple in basically the machine measuring how many ML's it thinks it's sending out, vs how many it's actually sending out.

You will need 2 containers and one of them must be able to accurately measure 100ML

(or at least as accurate as you want it to be, 1 or 2 ml off probably wont kill anything)

I purchased this container at the same exact time which measures 25ML increments so was perfect. (Photo here:) it was $55.
IMG_8316.jpeg


I filled it up with about 800ML of RODI water, and just used the left and right chambers back and forth making sure to adjust and level the amounts to 100% accuracy before each calibration (i.e. take or add any water needed to make sure it was resting at an even 100ML Increment mark)

DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE PUMPS ARE ALMOST 100ML OFF! Again this is CHEAP stuff. But it WORKS if you program it right.

My Pumps were calibrated as follows

(When I say 167 to 100 ML I mean the pump had to pump what it thought was 167 ML before it was actually 100ML. I calibrated each pump 5 times to ensure it was exactly the same every time. I also did it with the lines if 3 different orientations to ensure the positioning of the lines actually had 0 influence)


1. 167 to 100 ML
2. 103 to 100 ML
3. 137 to 100 ML
4. 101 to 100 ML

The pumps themselves had different levels of "quality" or working capacity. Meaning they're pretty cheaply put together. I wonder how long they'll last. Wonder if a better quality mechanic from a different company would fit the same head. I'll have to research that out.

How to calibrate: (they give instructions, but not 100% complete)

Before you calibrate the pumps you will want to fully prime the lines, so you need to get into the "Manual Pump mode" [follow the instructions in the booklet they provide, or scroll back up here.] If you don't you will be short whatever ML amount of air is in the lines every time you calibrate, and mess the whole thing up.

You can get into the Calibration menu by pressing the Up or Down Arrow from the main menu, move the cursor to the pump you want to Calibrate with the Left or Right arrow, and hit ENT (Enter) to Select that pump.

At this point ensure you In line is connected to a RODI Source, and the out line is in connected to a container where you can accurately measure 100ML.

Then hit the UP arrow just ONCE.

The pump will now start pumping, and a counter will be on the right side of the screen showing you how many ML's the machine THINKS it is pumping.

Keep your index finger hovering above the UP button (DO NOT ACCIDENTLY HIT IT OR YOU WILL NEED TO RESTART FROM THE BEGINNING). Once your EYE measures exactly 100ML in the Container from the OUT line, hit the UP button again. If you look at the screen you will see 100ML = xxxML the right figure is how many ML's the machine thinks it just pumped, and the 100ML is equal to the 100ML of RODI now in the container connected to the OUT line.

Whichever pump you were calibrating is now successfully Calibrated.
 
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Dapper

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you definitely helped me out with this purchase! In fact I had researched just last week and there was NOTHING on this pump. I almost didnt believe my eyes when I saw your review. One thing I need to find out is the tubing size so I can order longer ones. OKAY did some leg work. The Outer Diameter of the included tubes are 5mm.
 

Dapper

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I see you used a reduction coupler to have it fit the bulkhead fittings. But those clear tubes I can not find or dont know the search terms for.

OH wait are you just using RO tubing to connect? so you ordered more regular couplings?

okay I may be wrong in all assumptions
 
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mrk1720

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I see you used a reduction coupler to have it fit the bulkhead fittings. But those clear tubes I can not find or dont know the search terms for.

OH wait are you just using RO tubing to connect? so you ordered more regular couplings?

okay I may be wrong in all assumptions

The tubing that came with the unit didn't fit into the bulkheads so I used adapters and connected R/O tubing. Recalibrated and it all worked out. Not sure where to order that original tubing from.
 
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terraincognita

terraincognita

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This is super weird lol. But it worked for me. And it's harder to pull the tubing off the adapters to the bulkhead's than from the RO tubing.

I cut the clear dosing line tubing that came with the pump at a 110Degree angle (so it was like a needle tip)

And then I stuffed it INTO the RO tubing really really tight, it created it's own seal since the RO tubing is I think 4MM interior Diameter. When I pull on the lines it removes the connection from the bulkhead, and doesn't even budge the mickie mouse stuffed tubing inside the RO tubing.

I'll post 2 photos in a second.

1000% sure there's a better way to do this, but don't know if there's a cheaper way ;)

Sorry i'll finish this tonight.

AE50DE71-C878-4440-B8BC-C123D95C66AE.jpeg
B69360B2-6896-4F4B-85FC-8FD6D4D2B575.jpeg
 
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Rkjtmk

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I appreciate the review! However it does not explain that this doser has no internal memory so if the power goes out everything resets. It has to be recalibrated and the schedules have to be reset, Huge inconvenience. Although this may not be a problem to some, for me it is a deal breaker. I will be returning the machine for another brand with internal memory. I'm extremely disappointed because I researched this function on the Amazon page and one of the questions answered that it did indeed have internal memory. However this was misinformation. I understand this is a budget pump but an internal memory is a very common feature on most budget equipment I've purchased
 
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Rkjtmk

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I also wanted to point out that the machine is not counting the mL it thinks it's putting out rather is counting the seconds it takes to pump 100 ml. So for example, when you say, the pump had to pump what it thought was 167 ML before it was actually 100ML it simply just took 167 seconds for the head to pump 100 ml. So in your case the head is calibrated to pump for 16.7 seconds to achieve a volume of 10 ml. Hope that makes sense. Great review otherwise! Thanks for your effort to help the reefing community!
 
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terraincognita

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I stopped caring about this and finishing it because 2 of the pumps broke about a week ago.

I'm returning it and got the CoralBox Wifi for $200. UGH. lol... let see if the cheapest wifi option will work.
 
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terraincognita

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I appreciate the review! However it does not explain that this doser has no internal memory so if the power goes out everything resets. It has to be recalibrated and the schedules have to be reset, Huge inconvenience. Although this may not be a problem to some, for me it is a deal breaker. I will be returning the machine for another brand with internal memory. I'm extremely disappointed because I researched this function on the Amazon page and one of the questions answered that it did indeed have internal memory. However this was misinformation. I understand this is a budget pump but an internal memory is a very common feature on most budget equipment I've purchased
Yes! also if you cut power you lose ALL your work. So ****** dumb. ***note if it's a short power outage i.e. just a few seconds it did happen to retain the memory.
 

BiggestE222

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I had saved for a pair of the Ecotech Vectra but because it took so long for BRS to get them in I bought this doser. Seems work fine. Yes programming takes time and yes it has no way to save settings if power goes out. All true but it’s a 4 head. Led display doser with tube holders for 75 dollars. Still a great deal. It works.
 

BiggestE222

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I appreciate the review! However it does not explain that this doser has no internal memory so if the power goes out everything resets. It has to be recalibrated and the schedules have to be reset, Huge inconvenience. Although this may not be a problem to some, for me it is a deal breaker. I will be returning the machine for another brand with internal memory. I'm extremely disappointed because I researched this function on the Amazon page and one of the questions answered that it did indeed have internal memory. However this was misinformation. I understand this is a budget pump but an internal memory is a very common feature on most budget equipment I've purchased
Yes but it works as it should. I can’t get everything premium. Some corners have to be cut. I am just using 2 heads to dose Kalwasser anyway. No need for a 300-600 doser pump for that. No power outages after about 2 min TV s. Quiet. Nice led display for 75 bucks.
 

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terraincognita

terraincognita

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As a note that $200 WiFi doser i switched out for is still in use today.

Super easy to program.


You will 100% need to get your own siphon valves set up, but otherwise it's nice for the $$.
 

frostmatt21

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I can’t get my Hygger 4 pump doser to prime! I’ve tried literally everything I can think of. I can’t get it to pull water. Any tricks?
 

guily yalai

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Deeply review, that's what I looking for, I want it works for me.
Is it the exactly same one dosing pump on hygger official site ?
 

gastone

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Just picked one up for my new nano tank. Took some trial and error to figure out, but all is well now. Currently only using one channel to dose Kalk. Down the road I'll set up 2,3 and 4 for two part and mag. For the price point, it's hard to beat. Hopefully I'll get some time out of it. Shouldn't be a terrible load on the moving parts as I'm using in on a 15g.
 

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