Finally, a fully automated Ca/Alk set up for my small tank
I recently got a used Litermeter III dosing pump, and am now using that to push water through my KW reactor, which allowed me to use my innovative aquatics medical dosing pump to dose 2 part Ca/Alk supplements with the "2 channel tubing set" they sell. So far this system is GREAT... of course I'll have to see how it's working in a couple of months.
My first impression of the litermeter is that it's not nearly the high quality that the price tag ($330) would warrant. But, it does have a very user-friendly way of operating; you calibrate it, then set it for a total amount you want to dose every 24hrs. It then divides that amount by 150 and runs for a few seconds 150 times/day, or about every 10 minutes. So if your sump is a little low or high at some point, you can easily adjust the amount dosed to match. With a little work, you could use one of the newer digital timers that allow many off/on cycles and the cheaper aquamedic peristaltic pump (or any peristaltic pump, for that matter) to approximate the effect. But to change it, you'd have to change the on duration for every one of the "on" cycles.
The innovative aquatics pump is ideal for dosing very small amounts. Right now I have mine set at 4ml/hr for each part, or about 96ml/day. That's only 3 oz! The pump doses about a drop every 30 seconds; that's really slow.
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