Cheap dosing pump!!

[Raul-7]

Why do that, just use one peristaltic pump for everything excluding PO4; then just dose PO4 manually twice a week?

[magicmagni]

Yeah I've seen that pump when I was setting up my dosing system, but I was suspicious that it would not have been powerfull enough.

If anyone is interresting in a less expensive altertnative to traditional dosing pumps I have come up with something that is pretty decent. See signature.

[csf]

While I haven't tried it, i figure that model airplane fuel pumps could work very well for this set-up. While I don't know if they have some oils inside to help seal things up, they are fairly cheap. Look up hooby lobby on google. They were about $20 apiece.

[vidiots]

Originally Posted by m.lemay

Actually No, not really. Ideally the resevoir should be set next to or behind the tank because the flow rate drops off dramatically as it drops down. That's why I scrapped the idea ,because I didn't want to see the resevoir.
Maybe one of those hang on the back refugiums would work perfectly for this pump.
Sean, if you wanna borrow the pump to experiment with it, I can send it over to ya. I'm so swamped at work, that I don't have time to mess with it right now. Send me a PM.
Marcel

I am currently using this setup. I am using plastic 1 gallon milk jugs as my reservoirs. I drilled a hole in the cap to insert a piece of rigid air line tubing and a couple of tiny holes to allow air to enter as the liquid is pumped out. To the rigid airline tubing I have attached flexible airline tubing to the pumps input. I also used another short piece of airline tubing to connect to the pumps output and go thru a hole I drilled in my sump tanks lid.

My sump tank is a 20gallon high tank. The reservoir is sitting on the bottom of my 180gal display tank stand (so is the sump tank). The Aqua Lifter pumps is sitting on top of the sump tank's lid.

The pumps are plugged into a digital timer that can be set in 1min increments. I currently have the timer set to 2minutes per day.

From the floor of the stand to the pumps connector (the highest point) is 18".
At this height the pumps average flow rate is 90mL per minute. The flow rate is about 20% faster when the reservoir is full, and about 20% slower when the reservoir is near empty. At this flow rate I can mix about 15days worth of fertilizer with 3 Liters of water.

I used a measuring cup and a marker to mark my reservoir in 200mL increments. This makes calibrating and refilling it easier. I used a stop watch to measure the flow rate recording it as the fluid level passed each of my volume marks.

I'm done testing it with water, and have had it hooked up with actual fertilizer in the reservoir for just a few days. So far all is working well. However to play it safe I'm only putting 5 days worth of fertilizer in the reservoir at a time and checking it daily to monitor it. After I am satisfied with it's long term reliability, I'll add more fertilizer and check on it less often.

[garuf]

Any chance of an update on this? It's something I would really like to try!

[over_stocked]

Originally Posted by m.lemay

1 minute seems to be the minimum on time for most timers I've seen. My75 evaporates about 3 gallons a week which is more than enough to make up for the .22liters/min.

A solenoid valve would work but then theres the problem of hiding the drip container as it has to be above the water mark. A decent solenoid valve had to be at least $20 last time I checked.

I'm gonna do some experimenting with the pump. I might also be able to regulate the flow with an airline valve to fine tune it a little. I'll let you guys know how this all pans out. At $9.99, I figured I'd give it a shot. My daily coffee habit cost more than that.

Marcel

As a paramedic I have access to all of the iv stuff, so I defeated the part of having the bag above the tank by using a pressure infuser:

It takes more "finesse" to get the drip rate where you want it, but still works.

[Manolito]

I am using enteral pumps that I got really cheap from an auction. Now I am running 2 of them - one for the micro nutrients and the other for the macro.

I am using a gallon milk jugs and dripping at 5 ml/hr. A gallon will last for about a month.

[Wasserpest]

Originally Posted by garuf

Any chance of an update on this? It's something I would really like to try!

There isn't much to it... it works. Do you have a specific question?

I prefer different ways to autodose, but you should try the Aqualifter because it is pretty simple to set up.

[Augus]

Originally Posted by Wasserpest

There isn't much to it... it works. Do you have a specific question?

I prefer different ways to autodose, but you should try the Aqualifter because it is pretty simple to set up.

Wasserpest, which way you perfer from all DIY?

[Wasserpest]

For macros except P, I like to use a water pump. Compared to the AL, it mixes the solution each time it is dosed, and it is not as dependent on head pressure.

To dose P, I prefer a little test tube full of it, dissolving over time.

For micros, I think peristaltic pumps are the best choice.

That said, the Aqualifters will work just fine.

[moogoo]

from what i've read w/ the 30" limit on these aqualifters, it's ability to PULL liquid is 30" limit, but it can also push the liquid quite well afterward. i ordered one and will be putting it through tests to see how to set it up w/ my new tank setup. i figured it'd be the cheapest, easiest way to autodose and auto top off. i'll have updates in my thread when it's all said and done