Kalk and Top up Dosing Pump for very low volumes ??

[Fish]

Hi all,
I am currently using a Kent Aquadose (2.5) to add Kalk and top up evaporation. My nano only loses 1/2gal (2litres) per day and because of the very slow drip rate, the end of the tubing usually gets plugged up with kalk buildup after a day or so.
Is there a mechanical dosing pump that anyone is familiar with that could handle a low flow like this? I think that the pressure of a pump would overcome (or prevent) any calcium buildup at the end of the tubing. It would also allow me to pump from a larger resivoir than the 2.5gal ontainer I am currently using.

Thanks for your help.

- Chad

[pocilipora]

If your tube is getting cloged in only a couple days, sounds like you may be adding some cloudy kalk. Is there any way to add a block of foam or some sort of inline pre filter???

[Fish]

Chris,
Thanks for the tip but I'm pretty sure that the kalk is clear. I let it sit for a few hours and only siphon out the clear layer to use. The tubing itself is clear but the end of the tubing gets calcium deposits where it drips. It seems like these deposits only occur because the drip rate is very low (~1drip every 2-3 seconds). The only way to prevent this calcium buildup would be to take the calcium out of the water (but that wouldn't work either :razz: )

I've read a little about medical dosing pumps (like for IV's). Is anyone using these? Do they need to have a water supply hung above them or is it possible to plumb them into a tank/container like any other external pump?
Thanks again.

- Chad

[mr_alberta]

Have you looked into the Aqualifter pumps? They are cheap ($20 or so) and do about 3gph. I've seen others use these as dosing pumps. I myself was going to use one, but never got around to setting it up.

[Fish]

newguy,
Thanks for the lead. I just checked these pumps out and realized that I still need something that doses way less than 3gph, more like 0.02gph (1/2gal per day). The problem is that I lose so little to evaporation with this nano. The aqualifter would be just about perfect if my tank was 250gal - and now wouldn't be a good time to run that past the wife :rolleyes: .

Cheers,
- Chad

[pocilipora]

Maybe put the drip tube, under the water surface.

[marie]

Why couldn't you use an aqualifter pump on a timer?

[Fish]

Marie,
I thought about it but I understand repeated stop/start will reduce the life of a pump - guess that doesn't matter much when the pump cost $20 though :razz:
Another thing is that I'm dosing kalk and I undertand its better to drip kalk slowly otherwise it will cause a ph fluctuation. Do you think that would happen when the pump kicks in all of the sudden? I like for 10mins every hour?
Great ideas everyone

- Chad

[mr_alberta]

How about a float switch and an Aqua Lifter? Only turn on the Aqualifter when you have evaporation...

[Fish]

That just might be the answer. I'll look around to see how much float switches are and how reliable they are.
I'll let you guys know what I find out.

- Chad

[Skimmerking]

What about adding a fan to the tank to kick up the evaporation in the little nano.

mike