Slowest dosing pump possible

[NaturalViolence]

So I recently started dosing kalkwasser using the brs 1.1ml/min peristaltic dosing pump (which in reality doses at around 1.9 ml/min according to my measurements) and well, it's too fast. Is there anything out there that can dose slower than this, say around 0.5 ml/min? Preferably adjustable.

 

I could put it on a timer but I want to dose the kalk continuously so that my PH doesn't shoot back down during the off time. At the current rate it is dosing faster than my tank evaporates, although only slightly. I could speed up evaporation with some fans but I've had bad experiences doing this in the past due to the added room humidity causing problems.

[HarryPotter]

Just get a doser that has built in control like Jebao and do 3ml every 10 minutes or something. Or get an apex to control the doser:

[Scorched]

Dosing continuously is going to make the lifespan of the pump be very short.

[NaturalViolence]

Do you have any data to support that claim demonstrating predicted lifespans of various peristaltic pumps under 24/7 use? Can you tell me how long my brs dosers will last under these conditions and how you determined that? I would also like to know what time interval would be defined as "very short"? Months? Years?

 

I would imagine that there is no such data in existence and that any claims about lifespan are going to be a complete guess. Especially without knowing which pump it is. I would imagine cheaper designs would indeed crap out pretty quickly due to the number of very obvious design limitations imposed on their rotors, rotary shafts, and pump heads. However many peristaltic pumps in the aquarium industry are rebranded from medical/pharmaceutical equipment suppliers (an example being the brs dosers). And those do run nearly 24/7 in their original intended applications without lifespan concerns. So I would imagine they would last quite a while given that they are doing what they are designed to do. Granted that is just an educated guess, but I believe my logic to be sound. If you have evidence to the contrary please let me know. For the record I am not saying that 24/7 use won't reduce the lifespan of these pumps, just that it won't reduce the lifespans to a "very short" duration for better made designs. Sorry if this comes off as defensive.

 

 

 

Just get a doser that has built in control like Jebao and do 3ml every 10 minutes or something. Or get an apex to control the doser:

 

A couple of issues would arise.

 

1. Jebao dosing pumps cannot dose amounts that small accurately even after 100ml calibration. Granted this can be offset by raising/lowering the amount once you figure out how much it is actually dosing.

2. Jebao dosing pumps have a max limit of 24 dosing intervals a day. Dosing every 10 minutes throughout the day would require 144 dosing intervals per day. Therefore the max you would be able to do is once per hour.

3. Jebao dosing pump controllers require you to manually input the doses for each dosing interval one at a time. To do this for even 24 dosing intervals a day whenever you want to change the total dose rate per day would be extremely time consuming and absolutely maddening. When I was doing two part dosing I used 4-6 dosing intervals a day. And even that was maddening trying to make adjustments every day until it was fine tuned. I can't even imagine doing it with 24, let alone 144 (if it supported it).

[gus6464]

Every aquarium based doser on the market will list that they are not designed for continuous use. You need a lab grade pump like a Cole Parmer Masterflex if you want continuous use.

 

A 1-100rpm Masterflex with the right tubing can push as little as 0.06 to 380ml per minute. These pumps are not cheap but they can be found on ebay if you look. I got my 6-600rpm console drive masterflex with ez-load head for $200 which I use with my calcium reactor.

[CronicReefer]

https://saltwater-conversion.com/products/nano-doser-1

This is a medical dosing pump repurposed for aquarium use. 0.07mL-3mL per day.

[gus6464]

https://saltwater-conversion.com/products/nano-doser-1

This is a medical dosing pump repurposed for aquarium use. 0.07mL-3mL per day.

 

With that thing he can't even go an hour without refilling the syringe.

[CronicReefer]

You can use a much larger syringe. However kalk is for maintaining alk and calcium not ph. Most people use drip line cause it's much easier to control a small dosage when you're using it for ato.

 

Also just to add there are much larger medical dosing pumps available they are just pricey unless you find a used one.

[NaturalViolence]

@gus6464

 

That would work although they are difficult to find for a decent price.

 

For the multihead roller based peristaltic pumps I agree with you. They are not built to last. But a lot of the single head dosers use a single arm attached to a high end stepper motor. These are very clearly designs recycled from their industrial counterparts.

 

@CronicReefer

 

Not nearly enough storage capacity even with a larger syringe I'm afraid.

 

I'm wondering if I could just use a micro-ball valve to slow down the flow? Could that create a dangerous amount of pressure though and blast it off?

[gus6464]

@gus6464

 

That would work although they are difficult to find for a decent price.

 

For the multihead roller based peristaltic pumps I agree with you. They are not built to last. But a lot of the single head dosers use a single arm attached to a high end stepper motor. These are very clearly designs recycled from their industrial counterparts.

 

@CronicReefer

 

Not nearly enough storage capacity even with a larger syringe I'm afraid.

 

I'm wondering if I could just use a micro-ball valve to slow down the flow? Could that create a dangerous amount of pressure though and blast it off?

 

I got my 6-600rpm console drive with ez-load head for $200 on ebay. That is a killer price. What do you consider a decent price?

[NaturalViolence]

<$200

 

Ideally <$100

 

I should mention that I purchased a digital timer off of amazon as a temporary solution. I will use 8 cycles of 1.5 hours on and 1.5 hours off each day.

Do you think I would be better off using a dripper system to achieve a slower flow?

[gus6464]

Get this and an MJ400.

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-precision-needle-valve.html

http://www.installationpartssupply.com/product/G62-84.html

[bryantkalagian]

My BRS pumps run about 2 ml/minute too. I'm glad you said that because I thought I had a fluke on mine haha

[NaturalViolence]

I think I'm going to hook up my dosing pump to my ATO. That should make it semi-continuous. Don't know why I didn't think of that earlier. I'm also going to try to add a toms prefilter to the line to filter out any kalk solids to help prevent the peristaltic pump from clogging. I think I will eventually switch to a dripper though. The issue I have with that is that the valves will likely clog from the kalk solids extremely quickly even if the water is prefiltered.

 

Get this and an MJ400.

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-precision-needle-valve.html

http://www.installationpartssupply.com/product/G62-84.html

Won't the backpressure created by that stir up the kalk solids in the bottom of the tank though?

 

My BRS pumps run about 2 ml/minute too. I'm glad you said that because I thought I had a fluke on mine haha

Yeah it seems to be a common complaint. It seems their drew dosers are much better built too. I'm definitely going to switch to those once this one kicks the bucket.

[gus6464]

Or you could just not overuse the kalk as to not have any residue.