High Tide Aquatics

Dosing Pump and Auto Top Off?

aquatic mouse

aquatic mouse

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I'm in the market for a dosing pump. Nothing too fancy, just something to dose ESV B-Ionic 2 part.

I'm also looking for a reliable auto top off.

What would you recommend?
 
If you want cheap and simple, the BRS 1.1 mL/minute dosers are perfect for dosing 2 part. I have 2 of those on digital timers (a controller works too though) that dose my B-Ionic 2-part.

The JBJ ATO is inexpensive and pretty reliable. I have one of those on each of my tanks and I've never had any issues. However, its the type that uses float switches, so there is a risk of failure if a snail gets onto the float. I have my floats in my sump on the main tank and the back chambers on my seahorse tank though, so that isn't an issue for me. If you want to eliminate the float switch issue, there are a lot of good options for ones with optical or electrical sensing. I'd check out the BRS ATO section if I were you and look at the different options and reviews.
 
aquatic mouse said:
I forgot to mention, this is for an AIO tank. Is that going to make putting a ATO on it difficult?
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Not at all. You just need to put the float switch (or whatever kind of sensor) into the return pump chamber since it will be the chamber with the fluctuating water level. You can have your reservoir down in your stand and pump the freshwater up into whatever chamber you'd like.
 
I use the Hydor ATO paired with and aqua lifter and a micro valve (to slow the flow) on my Nuvo 16 and it works quite nicely.
 
I use the Spectrapure UPLC. It's a little pricey but works great. It has a peristaltic pump that can be set to run for 1 second increments so it doesn't dump a bunch of water in at once and won't back siphon. The sensor is a pressure sensor that can be set from .1"-4" with a float for emergency back up.
 
I am currently using the Tunze ATO. I have been using it for 2 years and have not had any issues. Well worth the money and investment.

I am using 2 BRS Drew's Doser with digital timers. I have been using it for almost 4 years. I might have a pair of pumps for sales if you are interested.
 
I'm thinking I'll get the JBJ (Bginose I sent you a PM). I'd like to keep the top off water in this:
any2e8aq.jpg

It's a 2.5 gallon container with a 2in opening. Anyone else use something like this that they could recommend a pump?
 
If both float valves go in your tank this would work, JBJ let's you have one in the tank and one in the reservoir in which case this container won't work.

Tom Aqua Lifter is good pump and cheap ($15).
 
Navdeep said:
If both float valves go in your tank this would work, JBJ let's you have one in the tank and one in the reservoir in which case this container won't work.

Tom Aqua Lifter is good pump and cheap ($15).
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I'll have both float valves in the tank. My problem is finding a pump that's small enough for that opening, yet strong enough to lift the water 4ft.
 
Hmm, the AquaLifter is external (the intake tube just need to sit in your reservoir, not the whole pump), but it can only push upto 3ft...
 
I agree. My Aqualifter struggled to lift the water. It would pump about 2' up, and 2' over, and after about three days of that you can tell the diaphragm was getting beat because the flow slowed to a drip or two per second. My ATO needed to be active for over 30 minutes to top off 150ml or so. That wasn't going to work for me.

I installed a shelf system next to my tank, and housed my reservoir and AquaLifter to be about level with the tank itself. So now, it's a steady stream of water which is pumped about 30" or so horizontally, and the pump isn't being over worked. Only stays on approximately 50 seconds and dumps in about 150ml, 4 times a day.
 
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