Need help choosing a budget option for a dosing pump

[jweese151]

So just to start I’m what would be considered poor compared to the rest of the hobby and have a very limited budget. I’ve came to the point where my tank needs quite a bit of stuff dosed to it daily and it’s hard to get it consistent and keep up with the consumption and I wanna get a dosing pump to automate dosing kalk throughout the night. But really my main reason I wanna get a quality dosing pump is so that I can go visit family for the holidays and not have to worry about comin home to a nuked tank. I don’t need anything special jus something affordable and is reliable which I know is a lot to ask of a budget dosing pump. But I believe there’s a few possible options that are affordable but trustworthy. That’s my main thing I’m worried about is getting a pump that is reliable and accurate because it’s going on a 28gal nano and I’m only needing to dose about 160-180mls of kalkwasser saturated water so I would rather pay more for a single pump that meets those requirements than I would buy a multi head budget one that can’t be trusted bc it could easily nuke my tank if it fails. Right now there’s quite a few I’m juggling around but the main ones are the kamoer x1 or x1 pro 2, a jebao dp4 or 3.4/4.4 the bubble magnus ts1 but I’m open to suggestions. Thanks!!

 

[Rmckoy]

I have the jeabo 4 head and it works amazing and affordable

 

[jweese151]

Thanks for your reply! Do u have the original dp4 or the Wi-Fi version?? I’m thinking the whole Wi-Fi thing is kind of a waste bc from what I understand that doesn’t equate to being able to control the pump from anywhere like in the case I’m not home I’m pretty sure that even with the Wi-Fi 3.4 version u have to be connected to the same network as the pump is itself in which case it’s pointless to me but I could be wrong hence why I made this post in the first place I’m really starting to lean to the kamoer x1 pro2 jus because it retains programming if there’s a power outage which is vital for me bc im trying to get it set up to where I can visit family in another state for a wk and my tank still be mostly ok when I get home

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I have the jeabo 4 head and it works amazing and affordable

I'll agree the jebao is affordable and does work well. However the programming really bites and easy to get it wrong ....especially for a young reefer trying to dial it in.

I have 3 Kamoer X1 and plan to get 2 more. Easy to program and just works. I have also the Versa to dose kalk.

 

[jweese151]

Well like I said I’m gonna be using it to dose kalk to a 28gal so it’s gotta be accurate which is what concerns me with the jebaos, I’m not a beginner but I still don’t want something I have to worry about it nuking my tank… with the x1s u jus have the reg Bluetooth version?? I’m leaning towards the pro2 because it retains timing/programming if there is a power outage which I think should be a must for my use dosing kalk in a nano and leaving the tank to do it’s thing on its own for a week and it remain mostly alright bu the the time I get home, I feel like if I jus got the reg x1 and I had a power outage it could dose double the amount of the power outage happens at the wrong time because it starts back at the beginning of the schedule not to mention it could cause issues jus by it dosing during the day instead of night causing the ph to spike higher than normally which can trigger rtn on some corals so again it’s paramount it’s accurate and can be relied upon for a week of no assistance from me which is why I’m heavily leaning towards the x1 pro2

 

[doubleshot00]

I have a Jebao wifi version and the regular db4. The db4 is not in use as its a pita to program. Sitting in the closet. The wifi works just fine. I don’t have it on my main tank (that has a red sea doser) but its on my nano.

 

[doubleshot00]

And its accurate. Accurate enough that you can regulate it. Imo if your on point with your tests it will work just fine. The app is a pain but you gotta take your time and figure it out.

 

[Gtinnel]

I have two of the kamoer x1 pumps and for a budget pump they’re hard to beat. I also have six of the bubble magus ts1 pumps and they’re incredibly easy to program. The kamoer has way more control than the bubble magus. The only thing you can set on the bubble magus is how many ml to dose in a day. The kamoer allows for setting container volumes and you can set certain amounts to dose at certain times of the day.
Of the two I would pick the kamoer everytime.
I’ve never used any of the Jebao dosing pumps to compare.

 

[jweese151]

And its accurate. Accurate enough that you can regulate it. Imo if your on point with your tests it will work just fine. The app is a pain but you gotta take your time and figure it out.

The jebao is accurate enough?? I’m highly considering the kamoer x1 pro2 because the whole remembers programming if there’s a power outage thing and I feel like since I’m dosing kalk to such a small system I should probably jus go ahead and buy the higher quality kamoer so there’s less of a chance of malfunctions

 

[jweese151]

I have two of the kamoer x1 pumps and for a budget pump they’re hard to beat. I also have six of the bubble magus ts1 pumps and they’re incredibly easy to program. The kamoer has way more control than the bubble magus. The only thing you can set on the bubble magus is how many ml to dose in a day. The kamoer allows for setting container volumes and you can set certain amounts to dose at certain times of the day.
Of the two I would pick the kamoer everytime.
I’ve never used any of the Jebao dosing pumps to compare.

Thanks for your input!! I think ima go with the kamoer x1 pro 2 sucks it’s only one head vs four but I feel like there’s way more positive reviews out there of the kamoer it jus seems to simply be of much higher quality and even tho I usually have to settle for the budget option I feel like dosing kalk to a nano is important enough to warrant paying more for a quarter of the amount of pumps that’s a pretty steep difference but idk I jus don’t think ima comfortable with using a jebao for that given how easily it can wipe my system out all it’d take is 20% more a day or less and if I’m not there for a few days so I think ima jus pay more for less in this scenario bc I feel like it’d be pretty stupid to leave thousands of dollars in corals their survivability up to a $75 jebao dosing pump yeah it’d be nice to have the added heads so I could dose trace elements and reef energy and magnesium when needed but totally unnecessary at this point I might buy a jebao later on for those since those aren’t caustic liquids that can nuke my tank with a minor malfunction

 

[doubleshot00]

The jebao is accurate enough?? I’m highly considering the kamoer x1 pro2 because the whole remembers programming if there’s a power outage thing and I feel like since I’m dosing kalk to such a small system I should probably jus go ahead and buy the higher quality kamoer so there’s less of a chance of malfunctions

The x1 has such bad reviews is why I didn’t buy one.
I have a red sea doser which is awesome. And the jebao wifi. After you calibrate it it works just fine.

 

[Gtinnel]

The x1 has such bad reviews is why I didn’t buy one.
I have a red sea doser which is awesome. And the jebao wifi. After you calibrate it it works just fine.

I wouldn’t count the Red Sea as budget. If we’re not talking budget then I love my Neptune dos. I also have and use an old masterflex pump and it is a work horse, but mine has no real controls and is turned on and off by a wifi controlled outlet.

 

[doubleshot00]

I wouldn’t count the Red Sea as budget. If we’re not talking budget then I love my Neptune dos. I also have and use an old masterflex pump and it is a work horse, but mine has no real controls and is turned on and off by a wifi controlled outlet.

The neptune dos should cost half there price imo and i have an apex. Pretty pathetic how loud they are.

 

[Susan Edwards]

One thing to consider is being able to use an app for control while you are gone. The Red Sea is great, but not as inexpensive as the others. But I can adjust my dosing from anywhere

 

[Gtinnel]

The neptune dos should cost half there price imo and i have an apex. Pretty pathetic how loud they are.

Yes but it’s the only pump afaik that I can do controlled dosing with.

 

[jweese151]

The x1 has such bad reviews is why I didn’t buy one.
I have a red sea doser which is awesome. And the jebao wifi. After you calibrate it it works just fine.

The x1 yes but the x1 pro2 doesn’t have all those bad reviews it has excellent reviews and they’ve seemed to fix all the issues the reg x1 has but the jebao 3.4 has worse reviews than the x1 pro2 and is a much higher quality pump from all accounts it’s jus the fact ur only getting one doser instead of 4 but I’m finding it hard to justify going the cheap route for something as vital as dosing kalk in a nano but I’m still gonna try n gather more opinions before I make a decision I’m in no rush have til end of November to figure it out

 

[jweese151]

One thing to consider is being able to use an app for control while you are gone. The Red Sea is great, but not as inexpensive as the others. But I can adjust my dosing from anywhere

Yeah that’s why I’m leaning heavily towards the x1 pro2 the app seems to be much better than the jebao kinda right in line with the quality differences of the pumps themselves I mean I know plenty of people have success with jebaos but I’ve never had good luck with them in the long run they always quit working for one reason or another after about 6months which I could kinda be ok with if it weren’t for the fact that if it does fail on me it could very well wipe out all the time money and work I’ve put in to the tank very easily kalk can nuke a 28gal if it were to say lose power and I have it set to dose throughout the night the power outage happens the jebao could then start over and double dose my tank or the reverse end up skipping a whole day which would cause issues as well tho not nearly as bad I’m prolly gonna do most of my dosing by hand and jus keep a doser for when I need to be gone for more than a day so it’ll last way longer but if I get the x1 pro2 I’ll prolly trust it enough to run it all the time

 

[drmdvl]

Love my X1 and cannot recommend it enough. But exactly as you have described as above, if there is a power outage it will stop running until you reconnect the Bluetooth. The app will remember all the calibration, timer and program settings but it wont run until you reconnect - it also will not give you an app alert if there is a connection loss. Otherwise, it's a great and accurate pump.

 

[jweese151]

I don’t have nor can afford a apex so the dos is not an option jus like the hydros isn’t either bc u have to have the controllers to control it but that’s why I wanna get a Wi-Fi doser I’d still be able to access and dose remotely jus wouldn’t be tied to an apex to catch any problems that occur I’m not lookin to buy a controller either I’d rather save up money to buy a bigger tank and then consider it down the rd a yr or two from now

 

[doubleshot00]

The x1 yes but the x1 pro2 doesn’t have all those bad reviews it has excellent reviews and they’ve seemed to fix all the issues the reg x1 has but the jebao 3.4 has worse reviews than the x1 pro2 and is a much higher quality pump from all accounts it’s jus the fact ur only getting one doser instead of 4 but I’m finding it hard to justify going the cheap route for something as vital as dosing kalk in a nano but I’m still gonna try n gather more opinions before I make a decision I’m in no rush have til end of November to figure it out

Idk what your looking at but the x1 is better The Bluetooth version. Just sucks if you loose power you have to reconnect to the app. Not a fan.

The wifi one is the one that sucks according to reviews. 4x pros cost $400 I would rather have a red sea reefer doser.