Quote:
Originally Posted by srud
Reading back in this thread it appeared that you were dosing just Macros (I assumed in one solution) and Micros, so only two Peristaltic pumps required.
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Actually this is a bit of unfinished business in my stand. I listed the flowrates previously because khoile is building an awesome high-tech tank and needed estimates. But indeed, I only have two pumps hooked up at the moment. One for micros, one for Potassium stock. When I first set the tank up, that should have been all I needed. That was under the assumption that my lightly planted anubias and moss would survive on the levels or Nitrates and Phoshpate in my tap water - it's high. But with all the plants I have now, they are ripping through stuff pretty quickly so I'm having to dose those two manually.
Granted, having all these stem plants was supposed to be just a temporary algae fighting tactic. But this is taking so long, I'm sick of dosing, and am going to hook up some more pumps. Good catch!
Quote:
Originally Posted by travis
Steve, I'm curious about the psi needed to inject ferts into your pressurized return line. Do the peristaltic pumps provide all the pressure necessary?
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Great question! The line I'm injecting to is currently running a pressure of 6 PSI. I know that from the gauge on my OC filter. And where my fert lines (air line hose) connects to the PVC of my filter lines are some of Rex Grigg's lovely little brass check valves. I got him to sell them to me with a barb on one end (for the airline) and a 10-32 threaded male connection on the other end, so I can screw it into my plumbing for a nice secure connection. Would hate to drain the tank because of an airline popping off.
Anyway... those little brass check valves require a good bit of pressure to get them to open. I don't know how much, but trying to blow through one makes my face turn purple. They require a good bit of pressure. So between the pressure to open the check valve, and the 5+ (as high as 10) psi in my lines, the fert pumps have to overcome a lot of pressure.
I was worried about that myself when I first set up the tank. So I filled one fert jug just with water and timed how long it took to pump a measured dose of water - you know, like 20 hours to pump a liter or something. I don't recall the math or the exact timing, but the bottom line was it was that it pumped at exactly the same rate as my benchmark that I had timed the pump at when it was not hooked up to the water lines.
I was pretty impressed. I guess the technology behind peristaltic pumps is pretty accurate and tough.
Long answer to a short question. Sorry I should have just said...
"Yes"
