automated amino acid dosing

[ksicard]

Hey all,

I'm about to purchase the extension pumps for my bubble magus doser and that will give me a total of 7 dosers and I'm looking to put them all to use. I will have ca/mg/dkh set up on the first 3 dosers, vodka on the fourth, and I'd like to automate my amino acid dosing on the 5th but I currently use fuel by aquavitro and the directions say to keep it refrigerated so that presents an issue.

Basically I'm asking if fuel actually does need to be refrigerated and if not what AA product can I use to hook up to my dosing pumps? Also what else can I add to my dosers for the 6th and 7th pumps? Might as well put them all to work! And I already have a tunze ATO so I can't really use the doser for ATO.

 

[franklypre]

I remember reading somewhere that Fuel could be kept unrefridgerated so long as it didn't get hot, though I will say dosers are great they do have occasional accidents. I've had storms hit and the power flicker causing them to continually dose, I have a reefdoser if it helps.

 

[Allmost]

if you need to constantly add AA, then you should look into feeding your fish more.

there are other AA sources ... [note that fuel is not just AA, its trace elements, vitamines and AA] but for those you need to add a few drops a day, less than 1 ml, and it cant really be diluted.

lastly, you can set up a mini fridge beside the tank to dose from, 90 bucks form HD.

 

[ksicard]

I don't really have to have it dosed every day, but more so just trying to find ways to automate my system further. I wanted to have the vodka dosing on a doser so when I leave my nutrients dont fluctuate or my fish sitter doesn't have to risk dosing to much or something. the bubble magus extension has 4 pumps so I'm just trying to find ways to put them to use and not have idle pumps.

allmost, I would have to have tubing inside the AA bottle so I don't think a fridge would work since the door has gotta stay closed =)

Franklypre is there any links you can provide me with because I wanna be sure I'm not wasting products or contaiminating the product or anything negative. I'll do some google searches and send an e-mail to the company.

I just wanted to check here because I'm sure at least somebody on this SPS forum has there AA dosing automated.

 

[franklypre]

hope this doesn't break any rules but check the post by Seachem
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39995

 

[sahin]

if you need to constantly add AA, then you should look into feeding your fish more.

there are other AA sources ... [note that fuel is not just AA, its trace elements, vitamines and AA] but for those you need to add a few drops a day, less than 1 ml, and it cant really be diluted.

lastly, you can set up a mini fridge beside the tank to dose from, 90 bucks form HD.

+1 Sound advice.

 

[tdb320reef]

.

.

I have over 60 fish that I feed 5 times a day.

I run a very ULNS with Biopellets and use fuel. I mix it with Reef plus Trace elements and dose .5 ML an hour between 10 PM and 8AM basically lights out.

I have noticed a significant improvement in color especially purples and blues. Significant improvement in florescent which in turn indicate coral health.

 

[ksicard]

tdb, do you not refrigerate your fuel at all? if not how long does your bottle last before having to buy a new one, so I can at least have a time frame of not to go past to avoid spoiling of any kind.

 

[tdb320reef]

.

.

No I called seachem and they said that you didn't need to. What I did is got a fluid bottle from walmart like pictured below and put a 1/4 bulkhead in the mouth with water line to the bottom. I run my brs dosing pump to the bulk head. I think it holds 64 oz. They said the shelf life was a year or two.

Here is my setup... the second bottle is MB7

 

[ksicard]

I like it, that way not to much o2 exchange can be going on with the liquid. I think I'll just do a simpler version and just drill a hole the same size of the tubing in the cap of the fuel bottle. I appreciate the info and advice.

 

[tdb320reef]

I like it, that way not to much o2 exchange can be going on with the liquid. I think I'll just do a simpler version and just drill a hole the same size of the tubing in the cap of the fuel bottle. I appreciate the info and advice.

I like the bulk head because it is easier to release the tubing and unscrew the lid when you need to fill it up.

 

[BrentH]

I've been dosing the Red Sea energy and says to refrigerate but wondered if it was that important I wanted to dose with my bubble Magnus

 

[ssscuz]

I tried dosing with a dosing pump aminos (powder type from an Aus distributor) after 6 days the mix is foul smelling. It really needed to be refrigerated and kept for a week only

 

[BrentH]

Only kept for a week? Damn I have a huge bottle 500ml

 

[tmantaylor18]

Im wondering if Fuel or any aminos are less effective when dosed slowly over the week into the sump. Would the skimmer filter the aminos out?

 

[ReefKeeper64]

Look into non-photosynthetic (NPS) dosing methods for aminos. The NPS reefers have all these AA dosing regimens dialed in. Refrigeration is a must long term and the small refrigerator units do just fine. You drill them to provide channels for tubing in and out and as long as you don't hit any refrigerant plumbing, you're OK. There are plenty of DIY threads out there on where to drill and not to drill. I built an auto feeder myself this way and it does work well. Warm AA does rot after a few days.

 

[tmantaylor18]

Look into non-photosynthetic (NPS) dosing methods for aminos. The NPS reefers have all these AA dosing regimens dialed in. Refrigeration is a must long term and the small refrigerator units do just fine. You drill them to provide channels for tubing in and out and as long as you don't hit any refrigerant plumbing, you're OK. There are plenty of DIY threads out there on where to drill and not to drill. I built an auto feeder myself this way and it does work well. Warm AA does rot after a few days.

Seachem said that aquavitro fuel does not go bad when not refrigerated. They even said that they store theres under the aquariums at seachem.

 

[ReefKeeper64]

Seachem said that aquavitro fuel does not go bad when not refrigerated. They even said that they store theres under the aquariums at seachem.

Yeah, not disputing Seachem on that one. I use a different brand that recommends refrigeration so I chimed in. For most additives out there, refrigeration is important so I wanted to mention what the NPS guys know well already in case that it is helpful. Here are a couple of links that provide good details for DIYers.

http://glassbox-design.com/2010/azoox-nps-coral-continuous-feeding/

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Refrig...ated-automated-feeding-system&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=

 

[tmantaylor18]

Yeah, not disputing Seachem on that one. I use a different brand that recommends refrigeration so I chimed in. For most additives out there, refrigeration is important so I wanted to mention what the NPS guys know well already in case that it is helpful. Here are a couple of links that provide good details for DIYers.

http://glassbox-design.com/2010/azoox-nps-coral-continuous-feeding/

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Refrig...ated-automated-feeding-system&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=

thats pretty awesome :thumbsup:

 

[Blueline12]

I believe you can use a doser for Fauna Marin aminos but they say to keep it in an area not exposed to light or in a far container because the light will degrade it.