Kamoer Doser worth the price tag?

[Luckyduck]

I'm so torn on whether to spend $90 on a Jebao 3.4 or DP-4 Wifi doser, $180 on a coral box Wifi doser or $380 on a Kamoer F4 WiFi doser. I want to use one of the pumps as an ATO. I have a 15 gallon reef so I'm looking at about 500ml a day that I top off. There's so many mixed reviews with these dosers; unreliable, air in the lines, in accurate, pumps die out... Would I be better off buying a cheaper one and a Reef Breeder or Tunze ATO? Idk... Too many darn choices!

 

[Ron Reefman]

You are right about it being a difficult call. I have a medical grade dosing pump ($400 used) and I quit using it because even it has issues over the long run. I now dose once a week (soon to be twice a week) manually.

 

[Wildcats1023]

I have a couple of the single head kamoerpumps and I like them a lot. I use one for mag and the other for acropower. I wish I would have seen these before I bought a DOS

 

[t5Nitro]

Following. Looking to buy the Kamoer 4 wifi as well to replace an old bubble magus.

 

[Luckyduck]

You are right about it being a difficult call. I have a medical grade dosing pump ($400 used) and I quit using it because even it has issues over the long run. I now dose once a week (soon to be twice a week) manually.

Ron that was very helpful to hear. I think I'm just going to buy a Reef Breeder ATO and just continue to manually dose for now. As I said I only have a 15 gallon nano so even a small inaccurate dose could throw my parameters off to a toxic level. It's not that much of a pain to dose either honestly. I kind of enjoy it so I'm gonna just stick to manual for now. Maybe I'll get one in the future and I'll probably get a cheaper one just to test out how it works but for now my main concern was ATO because my wife and I are going on vacation in a month and my water is the biggest thing that changes. I can always have someone add a couple MLs of Mag or Alk while I'm gone. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Luckyduck]

I have a couple of the single head kamoerpumps and I like them a lot. I use one for mag and the other for acropower. I wish I would have seen these before I bought a DOS

Yea the other units seem to be as reliable or unreliable as the others depending on personal experience. I'll get the Jebao down the road at some point. I have a small tank and only 17 corals as of now, most of which are frags so I dont use much for dosing when I do (just a few MLs every couple days). Magnesium has been my biggest addion so far, some Alk, no Calcium and then I add Iron one a week @ 1ml and Koralle VM once a week @ 1ml. I can do that manually for now. Im definitely going to get the ATO.

 

[andrewkw]

Kamoer's dosing pumps themselves are medical grade. In my experience (started using F4 Jan 2018) I have only re-calibrated them once and are accurate to within .1ml.

The app however leaves much to be desired. I hate that it even is an app. Updates and connectivity issues pop up from time to time. I recently had to reset the entire thing and replan my dosing. That being said after an hour or 2 of frustration it's back to perfectly calibrated dosing.

I wish there was a dosing pump that came with a remote control, or even a desktop program that never required updating - we are just using these to dose nothing more nothing less, it should never require updating, as this can only cause problems in the future. Prior to getting this pump I used another Kamoer dosing pump which I eventually broke by knocking it over reaching to the back to adjust the dosing schedule. I like the idea of not having to physically touch the pump other then checking it over a couple of times a year but I dislike using an app that is not 100% reliable.

 

[Luckyduck]

Kamoer's dosing pumps themselves are medical grade. In my experience (started using F4 Jan 2018) I have only re-calibrated them once and are accurate to within .1ml.

The app however leaves much to be desired. I hate that it even is an app. Updates and connectivity issues pop up from time to time. I recently had to reset the entire thing and replan my dosing. That being said after an hour or 2 of frustration it's back to perfectly calibrated dosing.

I wish there was a dosing pump that came with a remote control, or even a desktop program that never required updating - we are just using these to dose nothing more nothing less, it should never require updating, as this can only cause problems in the future. Prior to getting this pump I used another Kamoer dosing pump which I eventually broke by knocking it over reaching to the back to adjust the dosing schedule. I like the idea of not having to physically touch the pump other then checking it over a couple of times a year but I dislike using an app that is not 100% reliable.

Nice thanks for the info Andrew! So it sounds like those are reliable and accurate. What do you think about using one of the pumps as an auto top off? It would be about 500-750ml every 24hrs maybe 8 doses over that period. Would that pump be able to handle it? And you said accuracy down to the 0.1ml. Does that mean I can dose in increments of 0.1 or is 1 ml the smallest amount I can dispense? Reason I ask is for example I use 2.5 ml of Alk every 3 days. It would be nice to dispense a 0.5ml several times a day.

 

[andrewkw]

You can set it to dose 1,2,4,5,6,8,12 or 24 times a day through the automatic setting, it will also run anti chemical interference ie it will dose your alk at :00 past the hour but calcium at :10 past the hour so they don't come out at the same time. You can fully customize it as well, but these automatic settings should be good enough for most applications.

I don't see why it wouldn't work for auto top off but at least for me I experience huge differences in evaporation based on the season. Also humidity can change a lot even day by day. If you are in a more stable environment it should work.

 

[WvAquatics]

I am reading all your post and feel your pain lol. I am in the exact position as you. I want to start dosing but I don't think I will do well manually. It would be too much random times I dose based on days off and work changing. I am 100% sure I'm getting the reefbreeders prizim ato. Reefbreeder support is too notch. I have their light might as well get the ato.

For dosing I am more lost. I know I will end up wanting 4 dosers. Calcium, alk, mag, and some form of coral food. I probably will go with coral box since it's sold by reefbreeders. But jabeo are a little cheaper ugh decision decision

 

[Luckyduck]

You can set it to dose 1,2,4,5,6,8,12 or 24 times a day through the automatic setting, it will also run anti chemical interference ie it will dose your alk at :00 past the hour but calcium at :10 past the hour so they don't come out at the same time. You can fully customize it as well, but these automatic settings should be good enough for most applications.

I don't see why it wouldn't work for auto top off but at least for me I experience huge differences in evaporation based on the season. Also humidity can change a lot even day by day. If you are in a more stable environment it should work.

Good to know about the evaporation changing. I'll definitely keep an eye on that though out the year.

 

[Luckyduck]

I am reading all your post and feel your pain lol. I am in the exact position as you. I want to start dosing but I don't think I will do well manually. It would be too much random times I dose based on days off and work changing. I am 100% sure I'm getting the reefbreeders prizim ato. Reefbreeder support is too notch. I have their light might as well get the ato.

For dosing I am more lost. I know I will end up wanting 4 dosers. Calcium, alk, mag, and some form of coral food. I probably will go with coral box since it's sold by reefbreeders. But jabeo are a little cheaper ugh decision decision

Lol yea really man! I've been going back and forth so much banging my head against the wall at this point LOL it seems like the coral box is probably a good mid-grade option. Seems a little nicer than the Jebao and I believe it's made in the US. The only issue I had with them is I heard there customer service isn't that great. I reached out to them a couple weeks ago and asked a few questions and they still haven't gotten back to me. I'm not sure what position you're in with dosing but sometimes I need to dose smaller than 1 ml which I'm 99% sure the coral box does and the Jebao doesn't. Honestly after hearing Andrews experience with the Kamoer I'm probably just going to spend the money and get a medical-grade doser. And that way I trust it for doing top offs as well so I won't have to buy an ATO. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Lol FYI there is a Coral Box on eBay right now I believe brand new for $150 +$10 shipping.

 

[Phil D.]

Hey Duck! I'm surprised you are having to dose with just a 15g. Your weekly W/C should be taking care of replenishment. I have the Jebao and it's pretty reliable. I've only had to recalibrate once in 1 1/2 years

 

[Luckyduck]

Hey Duck! I'm surprised you are having to dose with just a 15g. Your weekly W/C should be taking care of replenishment. I have the Jebao and it's pretty reliable. I've only had to recalibrate once in 1 1/2 years

It's not a lot that I have to dose but it's enough. I have 17 corals so far, about to get another 10 tonight off ebay. Looking to build a show tank! Sweet frags and let them grow! My Magnesium is the heaviest I've had to dose so far, no calcium yet and about 3mls of Alk every 3 days. I keep my Alk @ 9.5dkh and Magnesium @ 1350ppm. Calcium is a little high @ 480 and it's stayed right there for weeks. I dose Koralle VM & Ferrion (iron) both @ 1ml a week. I guess I really don't need a doser I just wanted an ATO and figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone and use one of the dosing pumps as an ATO. Probably not necessary, I could do it a lot cheaper just buying an ATO unit and manually dosing. But figured I would benefit from the doser in the long run. Idk you think it's a waste? Cuz if I get a doser it's probably gonna be the Kamoer K4 which is $350
By the way I do water changes about every two weeks. My water stays very stable between my protein skimmer, Chaeto & Mangroves my phosphates stay right around 0.05 PPM & nitrates right around 3 ppm. I only change out about a gallon and a half. The water I use is purified Pacific ocean water so it's premixed and it's not fortified. I also use a nano bag of ChemiPure Blue and I run Brightwell Aquatics Xport bio cubes in my skimmer return.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

https://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com...CJnDrPXiG4eT&method=and&isort=score&view=grid Are you dosing this? Since you have a nano

 

[Luckyduck]

https://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/search?p=R&srid=S1-4DFWP&lbc=bulkreefsupply&w=all for reef&url=https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/all-for-reef-tropic-marin.html&lgsku=All-For-Reef - Tropic Marin&rk=1&uid=490894452&sid=1&ts=custom&SLIPid=1592765162255&rsc=i4eLCJnDrPXiG4eT&method=and&isort=score&view=grid Are you dosing this? Since you have a nano

I am not. I use all Brightwell Aquatics products. Used them in the past and have always had good luck so I didn't wanna switch. Plus any time I have a question I just hit them up on Facebook messenger and they get right back to me. I prefer individual chemals not all in one's. Gives me more control.

 

[KenO]

Look for a used Spectrapure ATO or if you can purchase new go for it. They are not inexpensive, but you will not be sorry. I have several. My oldest one is about 6 years old. They come with a 5 year warranty. You can set the detection level down to 1/10th of an inch. Once you program it, your done. I have the older models. The rebuild kits (tubing, rollers, fittings) are only $30. The newer one is really nice.

 

[Luckyduck]

Decision made! I finally decided it was unnecessary for me to get a doser at the moment. I don't dose enough to justify the purchase and I don't mind dosing when I do have to. I ended up buying a Reef Breeders ATO for $90 which was the main reason I was looking at dosers in the first place. I was just thinking of using one of the pumps as an ATO but I was about to drop $400 on a Kamoer cuz they seem like they're the most reliable and I would rather buy the good one to start, spend the money so I didn't have to or want to upgrade it shortly after. Glad I just went with the ATO. Now I can spend more on corals tonight on ebay!

 

[Phil D.]

It's not a lot that I have to dose but it's enough. I have 17 corals so far, about to get another 10 tonight off ebay. Looking to build a show tank! Sweet frags and let them grow! My Magnesium is the heaviest I've had to dose so far, no calcium yet and about 3mls of Alk every 3 days. I keep my Alk @ 9.5dkh and Magnesium @ 1350ppm. Calcium is a little high @ 480 and it's stayed right there for weeks. I dose Koralle VM & Ferrion (iron) both @ 1ml a week. I guess I really don't need a doser I just wanted an ATO and figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone and use one of the dosing pumps as an ATO. Probably not necessary, I could do it a lot cheaper just buying an ATO unit and manually dosing. But figured I would benefit from the doser in the long run. Idk you think it's a waste? Cuz if I get a doser it's probably gonna be the Kamoer K4 which is $350
By the way I do water changes about every two weeks. My water stays very stable between my protein skimmer, Chaeto & Mangroves my phosphates stay right around 0.05 PPM & nitrates right around 3 ppm. I only change out about a gallon and a half. The water I use is purified Pacific ocean water so it's premixed and it's not fortified. I also use a nano bag of ChemiPure Blue and I run Brightwell Aquatics Xport bio cubes in my skimmer return.

Actually, your levels are perfect for corals. I keep mine at those same readings and have awesome growth. I recommend the Aquaforest Component 1-2-3. It made my corals explode after I started using it.

 

[Luckyduck]

Actually, your levels are perfect for corals. I keep mine at those same readings and have awesome growth. I recommend the Aquaforest Component 1-2-3. It made my corals explode after I started using it.

Awesome man! I'll check it out for sure! I'm about to bid on some sweet frags tonight (all the auctions end) on eBay. Beautiful stuff, Corn bread frags, Jason Fox pieces, blues, Reds, pinks, purples yellows. I'm sure excited. I did my first eBay order earlier this week and everything team healthy and some really nice looking corals. I decided to go the eBay route because even though it's $50 for shipping if you order 10 things you still only pay the $50 once. You can get some really nice frags that you would pay $80 to $100 at the LFS for like $20 to $40 on eBay. Seller I'm buying from tonight is Rnegrent258