Kh tester/doser for pico tank

[mpw213]

Hey everyone, I have a 2.5 gallon pico tank and have been struggling with Kh stability. Usually I dose by hand (all for reef or straight Alk depending on the calcium) but I test daily and when I go out of town I haven’t been able to keep it stable with a versa doser (maybe it’s not accurate when the volume is only 1.2cc?).

I’ve been considering getting a kh system like Alk guardian or Alktronic but are there any systems that don’t use WiFi? This tank is at my office where the WiFi is not reliable so most of my equipment is Bluetooth (versa and ai prime). Some might think it’s overkill for such a tiny tank but I’m all in at this point!

 

[Sam7]

I dont have answer for you but i would love to see a picture of your pico tank if you get a chance

 

[mpw213]

I dont have answer for you but i would love to see a picture of your pico tank if you get a chance

Sure!

 

[mpw213]

I dont have answer for you but i would love to see a picture of your pico tank if you get a chance

Sure!

 

[Sam7]

wow...thats very awesome looking pico. What tank are you using?

 

[mpw213]

wow...thats very awesome looking pico. What tank are you using?

Thank you! It’s a PNW 2.5 gallon lagoon. Love it so far but very difficult to keep stable as expected lol

 

[Sam7]

Hey everyone, I have a 2.5 gallon pico tank and have been struggling with Kh stability. Usually I dose by hand (all for reef or straight Alk depending on the calcium) but I test daily and when I go out of town I haven’t been able to keep it stable with a versa doser (maybe it’s not accurate when the volume is only 1.2cc?).

I’ve been considering getting a kh system like Alk guardian or Alktronic but are there any systems that don’t use WiFi? This tank is at my office where the WiFi is not reliable so most of my equipment is Bluetooth (versa and ai prime). Some might think it’s overkill for such a tiny tank but I’m all in at this point!

i use a bluetooth doser its a kamoer x1...not sure it still being made

 

[Sam7]

Thank you! It’s a PNW 2.5 gallon lagoon. Love it so far but very difficult to keep stable as expected lol

I can imagine so...smallest i ever did was a 5 gallon mini bow front back when they made them out glass

 

[Sam7]

i see they still make this bluetooth one but not sure what your looking for
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/f1-single-wifi-bluetooth-micro-dosing-pump-doser-kamoer/

 

[mpw213]

i see they still make this bluetooth one but not sure what your looking for
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/f1-single-wifi-bluetooth-micro-dosing-pump-doser-kamoer/

I actually have a versa doser which is Bluetooth. I was thinking about a system that tests kh and then doses accordingly. I did look at that one when looking at dosers though!

 

[Sam7]

I actually have a versa doser which is Bluetooth. I was thinking about a system that tests kh and then doses accordingly. I did look at that one when looking at dosers though!

oh ya sorry i got side tracked

 

[rowenaad]

have you considered larger daily water change with high alk salt?

 

[Sam7]

well maybe if you tried a different doser. mine stays pretty much the same when i let it dose

 

[mpw213]

have you considered larger daily water change with high alk salt?

I did try that at one point with calcium and Alk but they both precipitated out. But maybe I should just do that with Alk

However I’m trying to get it for when I go on vacation. I have considered getting 2 verses for water changes but I’m afraid of flooding my office at work with such a small margin for error

 

[Naekuh]

lol... 2.5g... i think a trident test would empty 1/2 your tank vol.... *kidding*

But other then doing it manually, id say probably all the auto testers use about the same amount of sample, and im guessing probably like 50ml of the sample each test.

So if i had to pick a tester, id probably go with a Alkatronic, because you can just test alk with it, and u can set exactly how many tests per day, and is not forced to run 2 tests per day like the Neptune Trident.

However I’m trying to get it for when I go on vacation. I have considered getting 2 verses for water changes but I’m afraid of flooding my office at work with such a small margin for error

The auto water changers are pretty neat...
Ive been playing with them on my freshwater tank, because i cant seem to find a good salt mix that can stay in a tub without turning it white for longer then a week.

The only problem is you need a steady water line.
I dont know if that is possible in a tank your size. .

But u have 2 sets of optical sensors... one set determines exactly how much water to empty.
Then the other set determines how much it needs to auto top off.

So its basically 2 auto top off units combines, where one does the reverse.

well maybe if you tried a different doser. mine stays pretty much the same when i let it dose

Yeah he can also do that with a Neptune DoS.
If its calibrated well, it can probably handle that small amount of water change, One head to empty, and the other used to fill.

 

[slythy]

I would just do an auto water change. You could ad a little kalkwasser or alk to the change water. You will get precipitation if you over mix for sure.

using a trident I imagine it will show you large swings in alk just based on volume of the tank alone making it hard to make sense of it. If you know you daily alk intake then its easy to do 2 part and just do weekly testing.

I get decent swings in my trident on my 280gal system lol.