Which is your preferred method to dose Randy's 2-part?

ralphie16 · 02/10/2007, 11:02 AM

I am gathering l the ingredients to make Randy's 2-part.

It seems like manual dosing is tedious. Did you guys go out and buy some special doser? If so which did you get and do you like it?

Can a controller do the same thing?

jag1979 · 02/10/2007, 11:14 AM

it really depends on how much you want to spend. Yes a controller can do it.

the cheapest way is probably a cheap timer from HD and a aqua lifter pump: $20 for each supplement = $40 total

on the other end you could get a Litermeter dosing pump for $300ish I think.

or you could get a controller, which will help make your whole tank easier to opperate and add a couple aqualifter pumps for dosing

jag1979 · 02/10/2007, 11:15 AM

oh, the controller will be 300ish plus the $10 pumps

ralphie16 · 02/10/2007, 11:46 AM

so then if the controller can do the job of the doser, plus much more, then there really is no reason to get the fancy 300 doser right? just spend the 300+ on a controller?

rayjay · 02/10/2007, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ralphie16
It seems like manual dosing is tedious.

Now you have my attention. Dosing Randy's formula is perhaps the easiest part of the whole hobby from my perspective.
Is it you that finds it tedious, or have you found a thread where the consensus is that it's tedious?
In the a.m., I top up by dumping water into the sump and then dump in the calcium part of the formula. After work I add the magnesium part of the formula, and late night, I top up again and add the alk portion.
Each system is only minutes a day.

ralphie16 · 02/10/2007, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rayjay
Now you have my attention. Dosing Randy's formula is perhaps the easiest part of the whole hobby from my perspective.
Is it you that finds it tedious, or have you found a thread where the consensus is that it's tedious?

I have no idea how tedious it is or isn't. I have never dosed before. That's why I am asking.

Its just like other things in this hobby.

I started off topping off evap manually but soon realized its tedious and I can very easily automate it. Hence I have an ATO now.

So I will probably start off manually dosing and if it gets annoying I will set up an automatic system. But I had a brigth idea...why not post a question asking what people do. This way I can skip the whole finding out for myself how annoying it is, and do a smart system right from the beginning.

IMO your routine seems very tedious (dosing 3 different things 3 times a day) and I would rather not do it everyday, especially since I travel on weekends.

rayjay · 02/10/2007, 02:03 PM

I go away on weekends and long weekends with no problem.
I top up the sump a little higher before I go, and double the dose of Formula added, and when I come back, I top up and add whatever dosing still needed to be added.
I have ten systems on the go, and it's not tedious for me.
Asking for others opinions without experiencing it yourself may be doing yourself a disservice as it depends on your own feelings of what you want to put into the hobby, not what others have elected to do.
In some ways, the time it takes to service the tanks can be construed as a form of preventive maintenance as I look at the tanks closer when I'm doing any maintenance. If something doesn't look right, I can act on it then.

atvdave · 02/10/2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ralphie16
so then if the controller can do the job of the doser, plus much more, then there really is no reason to get the fancy 300 doser right? just spend the 300+ on a controller?

The controller will only act as a timer. You will still need some type of pumps.

It's always best to dose slowly, like with a dosing pump. You could use a small pump on a timer and cut it back with a ball valve but I would think that the pump would get very hot this way.

I use a Aqua Medic reefdoser and couldn't be happier with it. It's very quit, (most the time I don't even know when it on), can be programed down in the seconds, and way cheaper that the high end dowsers.

It works for me.

Goos luck

jag1979 · 02/10/2007, 02:38 PM

the aqualifter pump ($12 from marinedepot) is slow enough to dose anything, I think it has a max of 3 gph but I could be wrong.

I use this pump for my limewater ato right now b/c I got tired of screwing w/ my aquamedic pos peristalic pump.

I think I am going to start the 2 part whenever I run out of the additives I currently have and I will use the aqualifter pump connected to my controller to dose.

reefdood · 02/10/2007, 02:40 PM

I just dump mine in daily. Sometimes in AM, sometimes in PM, but I always add when the lights are off. It's my lame attempt to avoid the pH swing.

I can't auto topoff or auto dose due to a fear from two previos tank crashes that happened from topoff devices malfunctioning. I may eventually auto topoff again, who knows, but my daily additions are all I need ATM.

HTH

mdt178 · 02/10/2007, 05:09 PM

I also have been manually dosing 2-part for a while. 1 min around 7AM and 1 minute around 11PM. I don't even worry if I skip a few days. Due to lack of space, I will probably never set up a calcium reactor for my current tank. If I was to get a doser, I'd only consider either a Litermeter or a Aquatronics doser. I've heard too many complaints about AquaMedic to get one.
BTW a fully decked out Litermeter III can easily cost you $500-600. I think I'll keep dosing for a while...

02/10/2007, 11:02 AM	#1
ralphie16 Moved On Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,550	Which is your preferred method to dose Randy's 2-part? I am gathering l the ingredients to make Randy's 2-part. It seems like manual dosing is tedious. Did you guys go out and buy some special doser? If so which did you get and do you like it? Can a controller do the same thing?

02/10/2007, 11:14 AM	#2
jag1979 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 982	it really depends on how much you want to spend. Yes a controller can do it. the cheapest way is probably a cheap timer from HD and a aqua lifter pump: $20 for each supplement = $40 total on the other end you could get a Litermeter dosing pump for $300ish I think. or you could get a controller, which will help make your whole tank easier to opperate and add a couple aqualifter pumps for dosing __________________ clowns, bi-color pseudo, coral beauty, yellow tang GBTA, crocea clam xenia, various polyps/zoa's, candy cane, tree leather, frogspawn, torch, various mushrooms, green/red plate, birdsnest Current Tank Info: 180 AGA, tunze 6100, 6025 and 6060, 3 x 250 mh's, 3 x 80 t5's, ASM G4+

02/10/2007, 11:15 AM	#3
jag1979 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 982	oh, the controller will be 300ish plus the $10 pumps __________________ clowns, bi-color pseudo, coral beauty, yellow tang GBTA, crocea clam xenia, various polyps/zoa's, candy cane, tree leather, frogspawn, torch, various mushrooms, green/red plate, birdsnest Current Tank Info: 180 AGA, tunze 6100, 6025 and 6060, 3 x 250 mh's, 3 x 80 t5's, ASM G4+

02/10/2007, 02:03 PM	#7
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	I go away on weekends and long weekends with no problem. I top up the sump a little higher before I go, and double the dose of Formula added, and when I come back, I top up and add whatever dosing still needed to be added. I have ten systems on the go, and it's not tedious for me. Asking for others opinions without experiencing it yourself may be doing yourself a disservice as it depends on your own feelings of what you want to put into the hobby, not what others have elected to do. In some ways, the time it takes to service the tanks can be construed as a form of preventive maintenance as I look at the tanks closer when I'm doing any maintenance. If something doesn't look right, I can act on it then. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

02/10/2007, 02:38 PM	#9
jag1979 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 982	the aqualifter pump ($12 from marinedepot) is slow enough to dose anything, I think it has a max of 3 gph but I could be wrong. I use this pump for my limewater ato right now b/c I got tired of screwing w/ my aquamedic pos peristalic pump. I think I am going to start the 2 part whenever I run out of the additives I currently have and I will use the aqualifter pump connected to my controller to dose. __________________ clowns, bi-color pseudo, coral beauty, yellow tang GBTA, crocea clam xenia, various polyps/zoa's, candy cane, tree leather, frogspawn, torch, various mushrooms, green/red plate, birdsnest Current Tank Info: 180 AGA, tunze 6100, 6025 and 6060, 3 x 250 mh's, 3 x 80 t5's, ASM G4+

02/10/2007, 11:46 AM	#4
ralphie16 Moved On Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,550	so then if the controller can do the job of the doser, plus much more, then there really is no reason to get the fancy 300 doser right? just spend the 300+ on a controller?

02/10/2007, 02:40 PM	#10
reefdood Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Metairie, LA Posts: 1,553	I just dump mine in daily. Sometimes in AM, sometimes in PM, but I always add when the lights are off. It's my lame attempt to avoid the pH swing. I can't auto topoff or auto dose due to a fear from two previos tank crashes that happened from topoff devices malfunctioning. I may eventually auto topoff again, who knows, but my daily additions are all I need ATM. HTH __________________ ~I am Fragholio!~ ~I need species for my fraghole!~ Current Tank Info: 30g drilled display with a 20g sump, modded CPR skimmer in sump, Mag7 return, 1/4 hp chiller, Ranco DS, 175w Hamilton, (3) 3' VHO, IC 660, (2) hacksawed MJ 900's on a Waveaster Pro, LED moonlights, and an inch of sand.

02/10/2007, 05:09 PM	#11
mdt178 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 655	I also have been manually dosing 2-part for a while. 1 min around 7AM and 1 minute around 11PM. I don't even worry if I skip a few days. Due to lack of space, I will probably never set up a calcium reactor for my current tank. If I was to get a doser, I'd only consider either a Litermeter or a Aquatronics doser. I've heard too many complaints about AquaMedic to get one. BTW a fully decked out Litermeter III can easily cost you $500-600. I think I'll keep dosing for a while...