DIY dose dripper (vinegar)

[bif24701]

I made a vinegar dripped I use to dose. I use this because the PH swings from dumping in my dose caused my Duncan to close up. It's adjustable and could be used for other applications as well.



Parts:

1 baby bottle w/nipple (silicone preferred)

2'~ aquarium tubing

1 aquarium air line gang valve



Build:

Take the baby bottle install nipple, take the airline tubing and force it into the hole in the nipple. You need to make sure your nipple has one hole (some could have up to three holes). It maybe be necessary to enlarge the hole (not preferred), if you do use a sharp knife and make a very small cut to enlarge the hole. This could ruin the nipple for the project so I suggest trying very hard to force the tube in the hole as is, also ensures a tight fit. I didn't have much of a problem with this as I use a bit of dawn and it slipped right on.



Next you need to drill a small hole in the top of the bottle to let in air.



Install the gate valve to end of tubing and use a short tube to make a U tube down into the sump. This allows you to count the drips.



That's it. Now all you need to do is use a plug or a screw and install finger tight into the hole on top of bottle so you dose doesn't leak out when filling.



Fill bottle.



Now you need a way to keep the bottle high and inverted to let the dose flow out. I just used two 3" screws and wedge the bottle in. The heads of the screws secure the bottle.



Now you just need to set your flow on the gate valve. I set mine to ~ 1 drop every 2-5 seconds.



That's it!



http://youtu.be/Y97QFJtFwSA

 

[Xavibear]

Nice!

 

[bif24701]

Thanks! I am very proud of it, lol. I didn't know how many people would use this but in my case it is the perfect solution.

 

[karimwassef]

Why do you need to dose vinegar?

 

[bif24701]

Control nitrates and phosphates. Also other benefits such as increased pod and sponge populations, inhibits algae growth, provides food for corals as well

 

[karimwassef]

??? Wow.

I never heard of vinegar doing all that.

 

[bif24701]

Yea, Randy Holmes-Farley reported similar things in his tank. The thing is I dose more than just is required. I'll dose as much as 500-600 ml. I do this about every 2-3 weeks. It will make the water slightly cloudy for just one day but for the next week or two the tank is amazing. Pods everywhere, water is super clear, algae takes a major hit, sand gleams, and corals get a growth spurt. Once I started doing this over the long haul I started seeming amazing sponge growth, I got one sponge in my fuge that grew all over the rocks, it was a beautiful baby blue. I had my tank running and stable for two years prior to this and once I started I saw more growth in 4 months than the whole 4 months prior. My new system didn't have as much cool life in it yet. I started with all dry rock.