Help Fertilizer Dosing Pump

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Katmanreef

Katmanreef

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Hello planted tank people! I'm in the market for a dosing pump and wondering if there's anyone here with experience. I'm going to be dosing about 1 and 2ml a day of micros for 2 tanks, while I'm at work. They will ideally dose right before the lights turn on.

I was thinking about this new product from chihiros that seems not widely available in the US market so far. I won't be using all 4 pumps but it's always nice to have extra if I need to expand :)

My other options would be a Jebao DP-2 dosing pump or 2 daisy chained Kamoer X1 Pro 2 Micropumps.

I'm new to the autodosing world but would love some help choosing the best/reliable autodosing pump. Thank you!
 
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I've been using the Apex DOS for my needs. It's good but you need the Apex ecosystem to get it to work for you. I'm a big fan of the GHL Dosing system. Great company and you wouldn't regret your purchase. However, it's an investment. Maybe @Ed Wiser can chime in. I think he has one.

My "almost" brother-in-law :) uses the Kamoer pumps and he hasn't had any issues with it. I think it does have good reviews as well.

IMO, I would stay away from any pump that doesn't have replacement heads easily available. They do wear out and you do need to replace them. When you have a piece of equipment that must be accurate and you need it to work, reliability, quality and accessibility are critical.

I guess what you're doing is front loading macros and then daily micro addition?
 
Well Kamoer X1 Pro 2 is not as bad as the two other pumps. The. Ingest problem is that Kamoer is always changing the design of their pumps from year to year based on the price point needed.
I have been using GHL pumps for 16 years now. I can still get the pump head and parts for my 16 year old pump.
If you feel you are only going to be in the hobby a short time and do not care if you have any issues with the piece of equipment. I can always get support for GHL equipment.
 
Jebao dosing pumps are not bad. Be aware its typical cheap Chinese stuff. They do need calibrating every month or so. Havnt had any problems with my DP-5
If you have the money get a pump with bluetooth or wifi so you can control it from your phone.
 
Thank you guys for all the responses! Good point on getting a dosing pump that has easily replaceable and purchasable heads. I didn't even think about the wear and tear they would receive. I'm going to do more research and purchase one that I can use for many decades to come. Buy one cry once right?
 
Art said:
I guess what you're doing is front loading macros and then daily micro addition?
Click to expand...
Yes, I am front loading macros and dosing micros at 2.25ml a day for my main tank and 1ml a day for my growout tub.

I wanted to dose micros closer to my lowest ph my tank achieves, through Co2 injection, specifically for my iron chelates. The iron I am using now is Dtpa 11% and Gluconate so I'm not sure if the auto dose will make a difference.

I dose the tank at 11am before work, and my lighting schedule and lowest ph is at 7pm-1am
 
If you're dosing daily, I don't think it will make much of a difference. I've found that my plants seem to like the daily micro better. The difficult part if the consistency but you are remedying that with a good auto doser.

Feel free to post the one's you're thinking about and I'm sure someone will give you their opinion.
 
BigWave said:
For trace elements especially Iron it dissapates and is eaten up in the tank within a few hours after dosing. The rest gets absorbed into the soil.
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Is this true that Iron only lasts a few hours? Should we be dosing the iron containing solution twice in a day but half the dose say 4 hours apart? Once before lights on and once mid photoperiod? This is the first I've heard of this, but I've never thought to look into it either.
 
BigWave said:
For trace elements especially Iron it dissapates and is eaten up in the tank within a few hours after dosing. The rest gets absorbed into the soil.
Click to expand...
I'm wondering if the dtpa is being eaten up since I am using sand as a substrate with no soil. I do have driftwood in there
 
Only real way would be to do Iron tests. There are a few out there, Sera, Seachem, Hana etc. I believe this is why quite a few people dose the multi chelated approach as in Fe (DTPA, EDTA, Gluconate) yes pH plays a big role in the chelate but there are so many other factors involved. Never tried splitting up the Fe over the day. Might try since its on an autodoser anyways.
 
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