Peristaltic Pump Help

[Millepora_Maniac]

Hi everyone,

I am getting tired of having to adjust my CA reactor daily to keep a constant drip rate. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for getting a peristaltic pump in the vancouver area.

Has anyone else done this to their reactors? I'm pretty confident that this will work, but it would be good to have some others input on it.

I have searched Google, and I'm getting results with huge peristaltic pumps, but obviously, I'm looking for something way smaller. It needs to be at one to two drips per second.

Thanks everyone!!:mrgreen:

[KevinK]

gust check dosing pump,

I know JL, ocean aquatic and so sell them,

you have to lock at the ML/M, and se if you find one that douse exactly that.

the thing is, thy are static, so if you buy one that dous 5 ml a m, than thats it, you cant increas it

unless you put it on a timer and run it several min. a day, but think this wil not work for you

[sphelps]

If you getting a dosing pump might as well just get a couple of them and ditch the CA reactor. Eliminate the problem all together.

[mark]

If you getting a dosing pump might as well just get a couple of them and ditch the CA reactor. Eliminate the problem all together.

good advise

[Millepora_Maniac]

I'm not getting rid of this reactor, it works great and keeps my tank nice and stable.

So to repeat the question, does anyone know where I can find a peristaltic pump around Vancouver? Or do you think I'd have to order one from somewhere else?

Please keep in mind when responding that I don't wish to get rid of my reactor. I have been using it for a long time, and it has worked for me thus far, I am simply looking for a dosing pump in order to keep my drip rate constant.

[ultreef]

Check oceanic coral. They have the BRS doser that does 1.1ml/min. You can find others that you can customize such as RPM and tube size in order to get the drip rate you are looking for.

Keep in mind, that i think a doser pump is only meant to be ran for a few min a day. Don't know how long they'll last if ran 24/7.

[ScubaSteve]

BRS has their black friday sales on right now and the peristaltic dosers are super cheap (like $70 I think?). In Vancouver I'd say JL and Oceanic.

[ScubaSteve]

I should also mention that I has bought a whole bunch of peristaltics for my research and the best deal is always eBay. Just sayin'.

[mark]

have you considered something like as Aqualifter?

[phi delt reefer]

have you considered something like as Aqualifter?


cant use the aqualifter. the Calc will gum up the membrane system within the pump. It says right on the box that if you use it for kalk or calcium it will void the warranty and damage the pump. Though there might be a pre filter box they sell for the aqualifter to reduce the damage. i will check the box when i get home tonight.

[untamed]

I run both my Ca reactor and my Kalk reactor on peristaltic pumps and would not do it any other way. The reactor can be very precisely controlled this way.

The pump was supplied by Omega. I bought the FPU115 which is rated at 115ml/min, and I'm currently running it on for 1 minute, off for 1 minute. My controller cycles the pump using a simple timer program, controlled to the second. (most commonly used for wave function).

Here's a link to their website. http://www.omega.ca/shop/pptsc.asp?ref=FPU100&Nav=grel07

So far, these pumps have worked for over 4 years now without a hiccup.

PS. If Omego won't sell directly to you, send me a PM and I'll purchase it for you.

[mark]

cant use the aqualifter. the Calc will gum up the membrane system within the pump. It says right on the box that if you use it for kalk or calcium it will void the warranty and damage the pump. Though there might be a pre filter box they sell for the aqualifter to reduce the damage. i will check the box when i get home tonight.
sure you can, you feed the Ca reactor from tank water (you don't draw fr the reactor)

[phi delt reefer]

sure you can, you feed the Ca reactor from tank water (you don't draw fr the reactor)

Yeah I didnt think to set up in that manner.

[untamed]

Yup...same with the peristaltic pumps. You push tank water INTO the Ca reactor, and you push RODI water INTO the Kalk reactor. Surprisingly, the FW seems to be harder on the pump tubing than the SW. The SW forms a thin slime layer inside the tubing which reduces wear. I'm switching from norprene tubes to silicon tubes to see how they wear.

Right now, I have to change the peristaltic tubes every 6 months or so.

[Bryan]

Well, here is what I am using. Project is not complete yet but, I have a Masterflex peristaltic pump head purchased off Ebay for about $25.00, included a mounting bracket. These heads are very reliable and long lasting.

Coded a PIC 18F1330 for the control portion of the project including a LCD display. It is adjustable from 1ml to 120ml a min. The PIC outputs a square wave to a L297/L298 stepper driver to a PowerMax II stepper motor I had on hand. This stepper, via a 1/4" coupling turns the Masterflex peristaltic pump head.

Has been running flawlessly for the last 3 months sitting in it's breadboard form.

Part 2 of the project will be controlling the CO2 from the regulator to the calcium reactor using a Clippard electronic valve.

http://www.clippard.com/store/display_details.asp?sku=EV-2-12-L

This should make dialing in the reactor much easier.

Finally will put the whole thing on a PCB and in a appropriate enclosure





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