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Setting up a top-off.

I like the LM3 for its ease of use, simplicity, great customer service, size, weight, noise volume, I like that I can zip tie it to a pipe in a remote location, it's all nice and sealed, the head is super easy to remove and clean......pretty much everything about it! I've used some big old clunker peri pumps in the past that worked just fine and were probably cheaper, but I'd still buy a LM3 if I needed a new all in one setup. The ability to add separate modules on the one controller seals the deal.
 
Eight said:
I've used a lab grade watson marlow peristaltic continous pump and a different (non cole parmer) medical pump and I just had problems with both. (Tubing would wear out quickly, very limited head pressure, etc.)

I haven't used the cole parmer, so I can't comment on them. I hear they work well if you get a good one.

I just like the litermeter for my autotopoff and water exchange because its accurate, bulletproof, can push water far and is expandable.

I would say, if you are going for a ca reactor only, might be better to go with a continuous flow pump or tee off a main. (Litermeter could work with some caveats on total flow)

If you are going autotopoff or 2 part or water exhange, the LM3 is hard to beat, esp with spectrapure's customer service.
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Jason, you probably were not using the best tubing for what we need. IME, norprene tubing works best. I've never had that tubing wear out on me. I change it maybe every 6 months to be safe though. The downfall is that the only place that really sells the tubing is direct from cole parmer. I had to buy a 50 foot run.
 
Matt_Wandell said:
I like the LM3 for its ease of use, simplicity, great customer service, size, weight, noise volume, I like that I can zip tie it to a pipe in a remote location, it's all nice and sealed, the head is super easy to remove and clean......pretty much everything about it! I've used some big old clunker peri pumps in the past that worked just fine and were probably cheaper, but I'd still buy a LM3 if I needed a new all in one setup. The ability to add separate modules on the one controller seals the deal.
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Matt, I was talking about it for the application of a calcium reactor. For what it is, it is just not the ideal pump to provide a feed to a calcium reactor like a schuran jetstream.
 
iani said:
Jason, you probably were not using the best tubing for what we need. IME, norprene tubing works best. I've never had that tubing wear out on me. I change it maybe every 6 months to be safe though. The downfall is that the only place that really sells the tubing is direct from cole parmer. I had to buy a 50 foot run.
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Actually I was using Norprene that I had purchased from a medical supply house. (I still have like 20 feet of the stuff left.) Honestly, though, this was back in my early reefing days and I probably wasn't doing something correctly. :)
 
Jason any chance I could get ~5" of the neoprene hose?
My Aquamedic ATO is not working the way it should, I tested the float switch and works, tubbing from the pump is new but still stalls and wondering if the tubing needs to be replaced.
I'll be setting a piggy bank for a LM3.
 
xcaret said:
Jason any chance I could get ~5" of the neoprene hose?
My Aquamedic ATO is not working the way it should, I tested the float switch and works, tubbing from the pump is new but still stalls and wondering if the tubing needs to be replaced.
I'll be setting a piggy bank for a LM3.
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Sure, I'm not sure I have the right size that you need though. The watson marlow pump that I used it one was quite small. What size do you need?
 
My understanding is you want continuous flow of water through the Ca reactor to stop pressure building up. If the feed pump goes off, and the CO2 keeps getting injected, the reactor builds up pressure which can be bad. With the use of pH controllers this is less of an issue that it used to be, but if the controller or the solenoid fails, you can stress your reactor.
 
Ian: maybe there's a more reliable easier to user quieter pump for a better price, but that wasn't at all obvious to me when I was researching it. I had tried an ATP pump and had problems with it. I just wanted something that I knew would be reliable and the LM3 works great.

Rich, as long as the effluent line isn't closed off or clogged no pressure will build up. If you're using a peristaltic pump to control the effluent then there's no need for a value on the effluent return, so no pressure.
 
Erin, I think most calcium reactors are made to run pressurized in order to get the pH of the effluent down to the desired levels. Only a few reactors are made to run pressureless. Also IME effluent lines clog much easier when using an intermittent source for you feed.
 
iani said:
Matt_Wandell said:
I like the LM3 for its ease of use, simplicity, great customer service, size, weight, noise volume, I like that I can zip tie it to a pipe in a remote location, it's all nice and sealed, the head is super easy to remove and clean......pretty much everything about it! I've used some big old clunker peri pumps in the past that worked just fine and were probably cheaper, but I'd still buy a LM3 if I needed a new all in one setup. The ability to add separate modules on the one controller seals the deal.
Click to expand...

Matt, I was talking about it for the application of a calcium reactor. For what it is, it is just not the ideal pump to provide a feed to a calcium reactor like a schuran jetstream.
Click to expand...

Hey Ian, I totally agree with you about using a continuous duty pump for a calcium reactor. My comment was more just about LM3s in general.
 
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