Arkayology Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hey Ark, curious about this dosing system. At the price point, it is it worth the cost over say, a Bubble Mangus doser? Its 50.00 more for a dual dosing pump when compared to a quad pump. Just curious. Thanks for the review! Well, I had a BM doser once. I didn't use it because I never got around to setting it up but I really think that the DOS much easier to use. The programming, while it has a couple bugs, is much easier than the BM IMO. I also feel like the DOS is a more quality product. I only need two pump heads for my tank for the 2-part, but I wouldn't really think twice about buying a second DOS if I needed it. It is a great product and I like it. It is well built and gives me the impression that it will last for years. Not making me feel confident in my purchase Hope it gets resolved for you guys. You should be excited and feel good about it. It is a great product and I don't regret buying it. I would recommend doing what I did and just schedule hour-by-hour instead of doing longer schedule periods. The product actually works and does what it is supposed to do. You just have to program it hourly instead of multiple hours in a single dosing interval. Link to comment
NYfishies Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I agree with Ark. The build of the DOS is great and I would/will buy another for my smaller tank. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 350.00 seems like a ton of money, Neptune products tend to be overpriced for what they are IMHO. I have a hard time believing the pump mechanism the use is higher quality then BM and other upper end pumps.For example, I've yet to find an advantage for my APEX over the Reefkeepers I've owned. Although, I cant make assumptions about the the DOS. Maybe Ill try it out..... Link to comment
Arkayology Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 I will be doing a phone session with Neptune so they can go over how I have my DOS programmed and such. It took them only 1 day to reach out with 2 emails and they were very quick to offer 1-on-1 tech support. I will let you all know it it goes after I speak with them on the phone and they can see if there are any issues. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 350.00 seems like a ton of money, Neptune products tend to be overpriced for what they are IMHO. I have a hard time believing the pump mechanism the use is higher quality then BM and other upper end pumps.For example, I've yet to find an advantage for my APEX over the Reefkeepers I've owned. Although, I cant make assumptions about the the DOS. Maybe Ill try it out..... I have had some hands-on experience with the BM doser. The pumps are small and make a ton a noise as they age. They look like little toy motors (because they are). The programming screen in the BM gets the job done, but it takes awhile to program. I have read some reviews of the Marine Magic/Jebao dosers and they are even worse to program than the BM. The DOS, on the other hand, feels more solid, and the pumps, while they make some noise, give me the impression that they will last long and are more accurate. Accuracy is key because I bet that as the BM motors wear they will begin to dose different amounts. I know that I can calibrate my DOS and be sure that what I am telling it to add at a given point is what it will add. That being said, the DOS is on the high end of the market and commands a higher price than other dosers. I feel that for something that adds the most important thing to my SPS tank (alk and ca), I want the best because stability and accuracy are key. I used BRS 1.1ml/min pumps for 4 years before I got my DOS. The BRS pumps got the job done, but over time they become noisy and the difference in the amount dosed per min between pumps as they age can be extreme. I don't think people should hate on the DOS just for being expensive though. There are plenty of things in this hobby that are expensive but people buy them anyways. Some are worth it, other are not. I believe that for the money, the DOS is worth it for me at this point. I'm not saying you are wrong btw, I am just giving my .02. I went through the same pros/cons list as other people. I really don't want this thread to turn into a debate about whether the DOS is overpriced/worth it. If you all want to discuss whether the DOS is overpriced for what it is, can we make a new thread to discuss this? I just want this thread to be about the DOS itself, how it works, pros/cons, etc. Link to comment
Sully375 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Finally just called the line to order instead of customer support and wouldn't you know someone picked right up and was able to help out. Explained what was going to happen and made a note on my account. 3 minute phone call and I'm good. Just don't call their service line. And the emails are all canned messages and confusing because they may or may not apply. The RMA message I got back was not how it is going to be handled. They make things way more complicated than necessary In the end a new pump is on the way and after I get it I will return the defective one. Could have been handled yesterday. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I gotcha, direct info, I understand now at this point the difference. Thanks! For the record, I think my comment was relevant, it was directly related to the Dos, and it's operation Vs. Price compared to the competitors. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 I gotcha, direct info, I understand now at this point the difference. Thanks! For the record, I think my comment was relevant, it was directly related to the Dos, and it's operation Vs. Price compared to the competitors. I know. I just didn't want to it to start "Dos vs. other doser" thread is all. Link to comment
Eisernes Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 If I get a DOS will I have to disconnect my whole apex set up and move it to my computer for a firmware update? As far as price goes, it isn't much more than a BM doser and if I got a pair of BRS dosers I would need a new apex power strip to go with them because mine is full. Reading the neptune forums it looks like most of the problems people are having are with trying to use it to automate water changes or some kind of non sense. Link to comment
StrainedSky Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Eisernes, on 27 Feb 2015 - 04:30 AM, said:Eisernes, on 27 Feb 2015 - 04:30 AM, said: If I get a DOS will I have to disconnect my whole apex set up and move it to my computer for a firmware update? As far as price goes, it isn't much more than a BM doser and if I got a pair of BRS dosers I would need a new apex power strip to go with them because mine is full. Reading the neptune forums it looks like most of the problems people are having are with trying to use it to automate water changes or some kind of non sense. Depends on the version of firmware your on, version 4.33L_BD14 brought Dos compatibility iirc. Link to comment
Eisernes Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Depends on the version of firmware your on, version 4.33L_BD14 brought Dos compatibility iirc. Ah ok. I should be good then. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 So I just got off the phone with Neptune support. They agreed that my DOS was dosing weird amounts and was heavy on the dosing at the end. They did some firmware updating (I was up to date already) and said they had an updated specifically for the DOS. It is supposed to fix some data logging issues and other things which I the support guy did not mention. I will let you know if this changes anything with how my DOS is functioning. I am still really happy with it. My params are pretty stable and my corals are happy for it. Link to comment
StrainedSky Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 So I just got off the phone with Neptune support. They agreed that my DOS was dosing weird amounts and was heavy on the dosing at the end. They did some firmware updating (I was up to date already) and said they had an updated specifically for the DOS. It is supposed to fix some data logging issues and other things which I the support guy did not mention. I will let you know if this changes anything with how my DOS is functioning. I am still really happy with it. My params are pretty stable and my corals are happy for it. Firmware fix your issues ? Mine keeps losing prime, I tightened every over again so hopefully it was on my end and not an issue with the DOS. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Firmware fix your issues ? Mine keeps losing prime, I tightened every over again so hopefully it was on my end and not an issue with the DOS. I think it has fixed the issue of really weird dosing intervals. Not sure about the prime thing - I have read others have that issue but mine hasn't lost it yet. Link to comment
NYfishies Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 So I just got off the phone with Neptune support. They agreed that my DOS was dosing weird amounts and was heavy on the dosing at the end. They did some firmware updating (I was up to date already) and said they had an updated specifically for the DOS. It is supposed to fix some data logging issues and other things which I the support guy did not mention. I will let you know if this changes anything with how my DOS is functioning. I am still really happy with it. My params are pretty stable and my corals are happy for it. I think mine is acting up now too. Do I need to call them to get the firmware? I have 4.33_BD14. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 I think mine is acting up now too. Do I need to call them to get the firmware? I have 4.33_BD14. I think you can just to go to update your Apex normally and see what happens - that's what they did to mine in the support session. I am running 4.34_1B14T Link to comment
NYfishies Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I think you can just to go to update your Apex normally and see what happens - that's what they did to mine in the support session. I am running 4.34_1B14T Hmm, so they didn't send you a file? You just go to the flash utility and update firmware? On the website where you go to download the firmware update / flash utility it shows the one I have. Does this fix the issue with running just 1 interval? Before I updated the last amount I wanted to DOS it has not been working the way it was. Before it would split the amount I wanted to dose over the extent of the interval (divided 17 ml up evenly and dosed 0.2 ml every 10 min over one 14 hour interval). Link to comment
Arkayology Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Hmm, so they didn't send you a file? You just go to the flash utility and update firmware? On the website where you go to download the firmware update / flash utility it shows the one I have. Does this fix the issue with running just 1 interval? Before I updated the last amount I wanted to DOS it has not been working the way it was. Before it would split the amount I wanted to dose over the extent of the interval (divided 17 ml up evenly and dosed 0.2 ml every 10 min over one 14 hour interval). yeah, the basic uploader was used- they sent me nothing as far as I am aware. As of today, I have changed my Cal to be one interval to dose 24ml/day. This should dose 1ml/1hr. I will let you all know what the breakdown is after a day or two. Link to comment
picoreef78 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I bought this thing but it is still sitting in the box. So far aside from trace elements being low. Mg, Al and Ca have all been ridiculously stable. I have only needed to add 30 ml of alk in the past 2 weeks. Ca has yet to drop below 430 mg/l. Sorry to here that your having a problem. :/ Link to comment
NYfishies Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 yeah, the basic uploader was used- they sent me nothing as far as I am aware. As of today, I have changed my Cal to be one interval to dose 24ml/day. This should dose 1ml/1hr. I will let you all know what the breakdown is after a day or two. I did not do any firmware update, but last night I did change my dosage to 6 ml over 12 hours using 1 interval. Bingo, back to normal. Dosed 0.1 ml at a time over the duration. Not sure what to say, but it works again. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 The support session did not fix the issue. I have my Cal pump set up to dose 10ml from 00:00 to 12:00 and 12ml from 12:01-23:59 Well it did dose 10ml from 00:00 to 12:00 as programmed, but it did not break the dose up evenly. For the first 11 hours it dosed 6.6ml. (.6ml/hr) and then in the last hour is dosed 3.4 ml (10ml total). My support session did not fix the issue. From 12:00 - 23:59, for which I have it programmed to dose 12ml, it dosed 1.2ml/hr from 12:01- 23:00 and did not dose anything from 23:00-24:00 because it had already dosed the 12ml (1.2ml * 10hr = 12ml). I'm currently trying to figure this out with Neptune. More later. Link to comment
porkchop-rob Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Seems like this is a simple thing to handle (software wise) wonder why they are having issues.... Link to comment
NYfishies Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 The support session did not fix the issue. I have my Cal pump set up to dose 10ml from 00:00 to 12:00 and 12ml from 12:01-23:59 Well it did dose 10ml from 00:00 to 12:00 as programmed, but it did not break the dose up evenly. For the first 11 hours it dosed 6.6ml. (.6ml/hr) and then in the last hour is dosed 3.4 ml (10ml total). My support session did not fix the issue. From 12:00 - 23:59, for which I have it programmed to dose 12ml, it dosed 1.2ml/hr from 12:01- 23:00 and did not dose anything from 23:00-24:00 because it had already dosed the 12ml (1.2ml * 10hr = 12ml). I'm currently trying to figure this out with Neptune. More later. Just try changing the interval altogether. Change it to 11 ml from 1:00 to whatever. Link to comment
Sully375 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 My second one is at least dosing but still divides the dose up and leaves a large one for the last dose. You can't really fix this unless they fix the SW. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Just try changing the interval altogether. Change it to 11 ml from 1:00 to whatever. I have done this with my alk - I have every hour of the day as it's own interval. I shouldn't have to do this though. My second one is at least dosing but still divides the dose up and leaves a large one for the last dose. You can't really fix this unless they fix the SW. I know. I am trying to talk with them about fixing the software, or at least that is my intention. Seems like this is a simple thing to handle (software wise) wonder why they are having issues.... Yeah, I don't know. It seems like this should be a matter of simple division. Link to comment
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