Daily Dosing methods?

[siskiou]

I've started dosing Alk, Calcium and Magnesium with Randy's formula, and was hoping to get some advice on cheap dosing pumps or something DIY to make the task a little easier.

I'd love to drip the Alk and Calcium slowly, instead of dumping it in all at once.

Dosing pumps are darn expensive and even though it's Christmas soon, I know I won't find one under the tree.

[Michael7979]

Buy a gallon plastic paint bucket and a plastic air check valve and some airline tubing. Drill a hole in the bucket to insert the check valve, (silicone it if it leaks),and attach the airline tubing.

 

Mix up your additives in water and add to the bucket. You then can control the drip rate with the valve.

 

Of course this only works with dry additives like Kalk. Hopefully that'll help you out.

[siskiou]

Thanks Michael!

I dose Kalk with my Top-off, but am looking for something to dose smaller amounts slowly (like 60ml of calcium solutions every day, for example).

Maybe I could use a small plastic water bottle with a valve and tubing the same way you describe the Gallon set-up.

Actually, I think that should work if I can find a way to hang the bottle over the sump...

[impur]

You could do this with an aqualifter. Put a T on the output. One way goes to the sump with a valve on the end, the other back to the reservoir. Close the valve to drip how much you want to dose.

[Michael7979]

Maybe you can use a 20 oz. soda bottle, (clean of course), with airline tubing inserted in the cap thru a drilled hole. Then have the check valve and tubing come out of that.

 

Or just tie a knot in the tubing to adjust flow.

[siskiou]

You could do this with an aqualifter. Put a T on the output. One way goes to the sump with a valve on the end' date=' the other back to the reservoir. Close the valve to drip how much you want to dose.[/quote']

 

I have a spare aqualifter around, but am not quite sure I understand the instructions with the T.

And would I have to figure out what drip rate I need to dose 60ml each day, and then just leave it running all the time?

 

Or only turn it on for a couple of hours each night?

[siskiou]

Maybe you can use a 20 oz. soda bottle, (clean of course), with airline tubing inserted in the cap thru a drilled hole. Then have the check valve and tubing come out of that.

 

Or just tie a knot in the tubing to adjust flow.

 

I'll try this for a quick and cheap solution for now!

[impur]

60ml / 24hrs = 2.5ml per hour.

2.5ml / 60min = .041 drips per minute

 

1 drip every 2 min would do it.

 

Run it 24/7. You have a T off the output of the aqualifter. Now you have 2 outputs. On one output put a valve. On the other output run it back to the reservoir. Water will constantly run out the aqualifter and back to the reservoir while every 2 min a drip will come out of the valve. The valve is closed enough to allow for 1 drip every 2 min.

[siskiou]

Thanks for the math, Miles!

 

How did you convert ml to drips per minute (need to do this for my other tank, too)?

I'll see if I can hunt down enough materials to give this a try today.

[andy]

I'd give it a good long experiment before deploying on a tank. I love my Aqualifters, but I'm not sure I'd trust them as long-term precision dosing pumps.

[impur]

Yah definately test it out first.

[siskiou]

Thanks! Will definitely test it.

I have my AT with Kalkwasser on an aqualifter for a year or so, and it's been doing great with occasional cleaning.

[tidalsculpin]

Suzanne,

I have an extra Tom's pump you could borrow. That way you could keep your kalk ato online.

[siskiou]

Thanks Joel, but I have an extra aqualifter around.

 

I tried it today, with a T etc., but it's too hard to dial in and keep going, without overdosing.

 

So, I just set up a couple of plastic bottles, with a valve on some airline and the bottoms cut off, set on a very slow drip.

Am dumping the daily dose of Alk in at night, and the Calcium in the morning.

That'll have to do for now, since dosing pumps are a bit steep, pricewise.

Not exactly automatic, but at least it's being added slowly and not dumped in all at once.

I may try the aqualifter on a timer again.

[CA2OR]

I have to say when people on this site do help....they help