Recommendations for Dosing Pumps

S

supervdl

Active member
I would like to get a dosing pump for my two part calcium additive from ESV. I am curious if anybody of you can recommend a dosing pump that is very reliable and has low maintenance. Thanks.
 
I bought the auto topp off from aqua medic
I had to replace the first hose after 1 week, the second hose still works after 1 month
It is the cheapest but its the cheapest
 
I had a older unit from Aqua Medic. It worked adequately for the period of a year I used it. I put it away and when I went to start up my 72g a few months back it no longer worked. I guess I should not have let it sit.
 
I have used aquamedic for about 4 months now. They sent me an extra hose with the unit. I just had to replace 1 of them. They are simple to replace and are about 3 or 4 bucks? Other then like, I really like the unit. I have rock solid Calc & Alk 24-7. I dose 4 times a day.
 
Thanks for your replies. Anybody else on dosingpumps? Anybody used Grotech dosingpumps before - a European brand?
 
I also use the Aqua Medic brand.. Its ok and I do still test and adjust at least 1x month. (could be coral growth) Its not a good dosing pump if you have you power go out often. You have to reset the whole pump.
Victoria
 
I have both the litermeter and an innovative aquatics pump. For the money it's really tough to beat the innovative aquatics. The new litermeter is supposedly better with an aluminum pump head, but I still think the innovative aquatics stuff is better built.
 
"what happened to your hose"

the pump still turned but no water came out, I replaced the hose and it worked, I guess they just go bad, some quicker then others
 
I have both Aqua Medic and Grotech dosing pumps and I have used both for dosssing RO water, limewater and other sollutions.

Based on my experience Aqua Medic SP3000 (very cheap dossing pump - 60E ) is perfect for dosing small quanties. This pump is quiet and also work a long time without maintance if pump only small quantities.

I have used Aqua Medic SP3000 for dosing 0,2 liters of CaCl2 sollution daily . Pump is quiet and operates 2 years without any problems and wihtout hose replacement.

I also used other Aqua Medic SP3000 few years ago for RO and limewater dossing ( 5 liters daily )
Pump worked 6 months and after 6 months I need to replace hose. Pump worked additional 6 months and then plastic broken.
I bougth new Aqua Medic SP3000 and again it worked only1 year (5 liter daily)

So based on my experiences lifetime of Aqua Medic SP3000 is approx. 2000 liters.

I also have Grotech 2400. This pump looks stronger than AM SP3000, but it is very loud, so I do not like this pump. On other hand Grotech 2400 operate 6 months 5 liter daily until now, with no problem.
 
I have had a Litermeter III for a number of years, and an AquaMedic ReefDoser (twin) for about a year.

The LMIII has been OK, but my unit has seemed a bit underpowered at times... and it does require regular maintenence. One of my biggest issues with it has been that if the head binds, I don't necessarily know about it until my parameters begin to change. This would be true of any pump, however. Also, when I replace the hoses, it can take a fair amount of work to get the new one broken in enough for it to dose reliably (without binding up).

I have two "external" heads in addition to the one built-in. One of the external heads has a nice feature of a level-based cutoff switch. I have had a problem getting enough power to all 3 motors if they happen to run at the same time, especially if they are near binding. However, it has served me well overall. Am very interested in recent design changes hinted at in some of the other posts..

The ReefDoser I got because it looked like it could handle some higher rates, and I wanted a second "technology". I dose from a fresh RODI bucket, a Kalk bucket, and a baking soda bucket (at a low dose). I definitely like the LMIII for the "fine" dosing, as it is much easier to program and remembers its programming through a power glitch.

I have the AquaMedic tied to a small UPS along with a few other things I consider "critical", so the programming issue does not come up. Good thing, since I am not sure they could have made programming more of an aggravation! They are cheap, however.

Currently, I am getting ready to take a closer look at the ReefFiller diaphragm pumps Randy and others have mentioned, at least for my higher-rate needs.

-Mike
 
Tagging along since plan on using a pump for C-Balance two parts. I am scare to use a calcium rector because of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) health concerns.

Thanks,
 
I have LM3 for about 4 years. Using all 3 pumps, 2 for dosing 2 part a the third for Kalk. I have never encountered binding problems. With the newer pump design though I doubt any of those issues still apply. Outside of changing tubing after 3 years, it has been maintenance free. For me I already had the LM3 so adding additional pumps was not that big of an expense ( even then I could have gotten the Nautilis for less than 2 remote pumps ) but I would have a real hard time swallowing the $500-600 to buy at current market prices.

Several in our local club use the The Nautilis II dual channel and wouldn't hesitate to get one if my circumstances where different.
 
I saw a model called Grotech NG Tech III which appears to be good for dosing several trace elements through separate pumps. The innovativeaquatics pump "Sentry" did a good job for a while but then I found it become more and more unreliable. I use the two channel pipe (the dosing of ESV 2 Part System) and every now and then one pipe did not pump and my chemistry balance got messed up.

Any other experience with Grotech? Where do you get it in US? Or bought overseas?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8792703#post8792703 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by db_triggerfish
Tagging along since plan on using a pump for C-Balance two parts. I am scare to use a calcium rector because of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) health concerns.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Hmm... not to stray too far off topic here, but not sure how much C02 is as a human health concern (staying away from global warming discussions here). Carbon Monoxide is pretty bad, since the human body does not realise it is suffocating. Carbon Dioxide, on the other hand, generally gives you warning (try holding your breath).

On the LMIII pump issues I have had, I do have a fairly long "head" push, which may be impacting their lifetimes. I have replaced at least 6 hoses on the 3 units (2 each) since I got it.

You can also get bare dosing pumps that you can do a DIY timer of some sort to run. You can try:

http://www.aptinstruments.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=AI&Category_Code=SP200

as some are cheaper. I have never used any of these myself, however.


-Mike
 
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