Questions on dosing pumps

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Reef Junkie

Reef Junkie

Premium Member
Hey,
I'm looking into buying a good dosing pump and I'm not too surprised with the price tags I've seen. The one that interested me the most was the Reef Filler. It's 179$ and can deliver water 200ft in any direction. Is there anything else out there that's comparable in price and performance? The doser from Spectrapure is way too much money, almost 100$ more!
TIA,
R.j.

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http://www.homestead.com/reefjunkie/highenergy.html
 
hey RJ

i'm using the reef filler as we speak. i love it. it is, however, the only doser i've used so i have nothing to compare it against. personally, after using a doser for 6 months, i won't be without one on a reef tank. it is way too simple for top off. my reef filler pumps the water about 30 - 40 feet in all. i've got in my storage room. the hose runs up the wall, down the wall, around corners, you name it. makes no difference - it just keeps pumping away. it is slightly loud, however, so it is not something you want pumping in the living room at supper time. in my small apartment, you can hear the pump throughout. i have mine turn on at 1am and turn off at noon. basically, it runs while i sleep. i've used it in conjuction with a nilsen reactor before without a problem, as well. it creates more back pressure that way, but the pump didn't mind a bit. my vote is a definate yes for a doser. you'll be happy you spent the money. hopefully some others can weigh in on the spectra pure doser, as i'm interested in that one as well. if you have any specific questions regarding the reef filler, LMK.

HTH

henry
 
RJ,

I asked the same question several months ago. I never have gotten around to buying one, but the vast majority of people recomende the Liter Meter over the Reef Filler because it was much quieter. If noise isn't an issue with your situation, everyone who was using the Reef Filler said it worked very well. It was just noisy.

FOX

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members.xoom.com/KoryFox/index.htm
 
Hello,

I have used both the reef filler and the liter meter. They are both good pumps. The liter meter is much more quiet and is much more easily adjusted.

Depending on your needs either pump will be a good selection.

As a side note, I have searched, and searched, and searched. . . for more affordable dosing pumps. If they are out there I have not found them.

This pump got bad reviews from an aquaintence of mine: http://www.greylor.com/catalog.htm

E-bay has some peristaltic pumps for sale. While the price is good the type of tubing used and seviceability of the pump are poor.

ttyl,
KW
 
HCS,Fox and KW,
Yep, that's what I thought. The Reef filler does seem like the more economical choice and noise isn't too much of a problem for now. The tank is situated in a room of it's own. Which is very noisy. The Little Giant 5MD alone makes enough noise to drown out anything. I've even screwed it into wood and it still seems to be very loud. Maybe some rubber spacers between the pump and the wood can cut down on the noise?
Also, the price seems very reasonable. I'm not even too worried about accuracy. I've got over 300 gallons in the system. It would have to be way off for it to cause a salinity problem. I like the fact that I can have this pump work at a great distance without it losing too much pressure @head. Perfect for an out of sight resevior.
I think these postings have settled it for me. Thanks guys.
Later,
Bill
 
Liek hcs3, I've only owned one pump, so I can't make a direct comparison. I have the Spectrapure Litermeter ($248) and am very happy with it. Currently, I'm only using it for water topoff, but now that I'm done with the move, I'll finally get around to making one of KW's Nilsen Reactors. Anyway, I paid the money because I wanted a quiet doser (it is), low electrical consumption (it consumes about 6 watts), and a very reliable, easily adjustable doser (which it is). Hopefully, you'll have the opportunity to see both dosers in action before you make a decision.
_Steve
 
hey RJ

yes, try the rubber spacers.

although you may not be worried about accuracy, your gonna get it. my dossr is less than 1/2g off during 10 - 14 days. and if i wanted to become anal about it, i could get it exact. but i use water from my reef for the WC's on the fry tanks, so i keep it fluctuatiung just a bit by default.

HTH

henry
 
I have an aquatune dosing pump I purchased from lifereef. I am quite pleased with it. It cost me 159.00 plus shipping.It can also pump in any direction up to 200 ft and diliver up to 10gpd and I can hardly hear it pumping.

[This message has been edited by Tim (edited 11-01-1999).]
 
I have been using a Reef Filler for about 4 months now. I bought it after reading many glowing recommendations. One person had been using one for 7 years with no failure. It is very accurate, very reliable, very easy to adjust, and very loud. It sounds kind of like a can opener. I have mine in a closet. I can go a month without any adjustments before I accidentally run the kalk topoff tank dry which does not harm the pump. I highly recommend a Reef Filler as long as you can locate it out of ear shot.
 
for what its worth,

in the new fama, and on ebay.com there is a guy that is selling medical grade dosers that have been rebuilt for about $130.00 they have digital controls, and an audible run-dry alarm (not that it runs dry , its periastaltic) and you can adjust it from 1 to 300 ml per hour. sounds like a deal to me...

g
o
b
y


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The quest ( and the questions) continues...
www.iag.net/~vigg
 
hey goby

thanks for the lead. unfortunitely, personaly, i have a problem with the word "rebuilt". but that is just me. anybody willing to buy one and see how they do?

henry
 
This appeared on the Reefkeeper's list today, I'm pasting it here with the permission of Chris Fanning. Thanks Chris!

"Always wanted a dosing pump but didn't want to shell out the $250 for
a two part doser?

How does $35 sound to you?

(Gee, sounds like a cheesy ad! I'll make it even cheesier. :) )

Then RUN, do not WALK to All Electronics. That's right, not two, but
a four part doser for only $35!

OK, gimmick mode off here. All Electronics has a "Mechanical Assembly
with 2 Gearhead Motors" which in the description is stated as being
a new "ink pump" assembly. After examining the crummy picture it appeared
to be a peristaltic pump. One channel per CMYK ink. I bought it on
this bet hoping I was correct and I just received it today. I was
right. The assembly consists of two motors, a roller, four latex (?)
tubes, an "ink select" cam, two optical encoders and eight barbs. The
second motor controls the "ink select" cam. Just remove this cam (and
motor) and you have a four part dosing pump.

Downsides:
. It might not matter, but the barbs appear to be stainless steel
(is this OK?) - it wouldn't take too much creativity to change
this though
. There's no flow adjustment and I'm not sure what it'll give you
yet out of the box. You can install a variable potentiometer
to reduce flow and gang together channels to increase it. The
motor does 24RPM @ 12V and 40RPM @ 19V. So there's at least a
range of two solely by electrical control.
. If you're nuts like me, you can try and use the optical encoder
on the unit for precise flow control.
. I guarantee it's not silent! (But haven't plugged it in.)
. You'll need a power supply. Another $3.50.

The web site is:
http://www.allelectronics.com/
The parts are:
TMA-1, mechanical assembly with 2 gearhead motors
DCTX-153, 15VDC 300ma "wall wart"

Let me know if I'm crazy or if this is a wonderful catch!

Chris
who isn't sure he should have bought just one..."

Update:

> I can't find this on the web site, the TMA-1 part number isn't listed
> Sold out???

Hmm. I forgot about that. It's only listed in their catalog. To
save people who might be interested in the pump the 2+MB download of
their entire catalog I've put just that item online straight from
their catalog:
http://jingoro.prevmed.sunysb.edu/~cfanning/reef/

Enjoy,
Chris



[This message has been edited by Larry M (edited 11-02-1999).]
 
Tim,
Thanks for the address. It seems like a good buy and I like the idea that it's silent. I already have enough noise pollution from my tank.
Larry,
Sounds like a bargain. 35$! I looked at the picture of the pump and it seems like there are a lot of gears out in the open. How does it look out of the box? Is it noisy like you thought it would be? How difficult is it to control the flow rate with the extra fittings you mentioned? I hope you, our resident mad scientist, finds a way to make this cheap pump a reality for all of us. Fill us in with the details.
Later,
Bill
 
RJ--I was just pasting a message from the Reefkeeper's list, someone else wrote it. I have no need for a dosing pump, so someone else will have to be the guinea pig. It sounds like something ignatz or goby would be good at. :)


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Larry M

View a list of RC Member's websites at:
http://www.reefcentral.com/membersites.html
 
I was the person that posted the message to the reefkeepers mailing list. I've updated the web page at the URL above. It contains the text of my latest message to reefkeepers.

I did not say whether or not the pump was silent or quiet or whatever. It's certainly not silent as I expected. It makes a fair amount of noise. If it was put into an enclosure the sound level might be minimal.

There is no "box" per-se. This is a surplus item. WYSIWYG, no more no less.

As I mention, there's lots of ways to control flow rate. I don't however have the time to explore any of them at the moment.

Well worth the $35. I may pick up more as "just in case" insurance if I need more than one pump in the future.

Chris
 
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