Which Dosing unit to buy?

[ashr]

Hey all

I am looking for some details on a good doser. Right now I am looking at a Profilux GHL but that is on the higher side $$$.

Are there other ones out there what work really well with out costing me an arm and leg? I also don't want some cheap POS either..

Any help would be great!

[Cal_stir]

I have a bubble magus triple, it's pretty much a reverse engineered GHL, I think it has the same pumps, been using it about a year now, works great, easy to program and I've had no problems with it.
I would buy it again.

[ashr]

Sounds nice. You can program it the same as the GHL? Do you remember how much you paid for it?

[TimT]

I use a Profilux doser. I like it because it's Made in Germany instead of somewhere offshore. It is also repairable if anything should go wrong... leaking peri tubing, worn out pump head, fried motor etc.

Cheers,
Tim

[Cal_stir]

Sounds nice. You can program it the same as the GHL? Do you remember how much you paid for it?

I paid $299 at BRS

[George]

I am using a marine magic doser. It's almost half the price of some other dosers. Have been running it over a year without any problem. One of the sponsors here, caco3, seems to start carrying it or whatever they are trying to do with it. Check with caco3. If not, go to ebay and search for marine magic, or marine color, same stuff, different names.

[ashr]

Ill look into the marine magic doser. truth be told I wont buy anything off Ebay that could screw my tank up lol. Ive spent so much money all ready that I would hate to buy something cheap and nuke my tank..

Just saying lol.

They are cheap though, only 165.00 thats not bad at all.. Ill have to look up some reviews :)

Thanks

[freezetyle]

Wait for the Vertex Libra, Its going to blow all of the others out of the water.

[HaZRaTTy]

http://www.blueworldaquariums.com/vertex-libra-dosing-pump.php

Check that out, The price on the Libra 100$??? I didn't think it was released until Novemeber?

^^^ I gues I should have read the entire post instead of quickly posting without reading!! haha

[Seriak]

That is just the deposit. Don't know the final amount.

[roblarss]

I've had a marine magic for about 8 or 9 months. i havent done a thing to it since. I did look at the other costlier units but this one does the job.
If i remember you can replace the motors/heads as they just pop out.
I did buy this off ebay so was wondering on the quality, but hey it does the job cheaply.

[ashr]

Great stuff all, thanks :mrgreen:

Still trying to make my mind up haha

[mat20040]

check this out too
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/brs-top-off-doser-50-ml-per-minute.html
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/video?file_name=268

[BigAl07]

You just can't beat the quality of the GHL units (although I'm a big BM fan too). Yea they cost a little more but their Quality Control is second to none and they are built rock solid.

For such a critical component to your system I can't imagine trying to cut corners.... :)

[reefgirl189]

We run the GHL standalone doser and have no problems so far. I really like it, it's high quality. Of course there are cheaper units out there that can do the same job, but I love anything German engineered.

[fishytime]

*Said with a fake German accent*.... Ya! Das profilux!

[BigAl07]

*Said with a fake German accent*.... Ya! Das profilux!


LOL! I almost spewed my drink when I read that one :) Well said :)

[ashr]

haha nice


Well the doser for 155.00 would leave me with extra cash for new lights :) hahah

this is hard lol

[Lampshade]

The bulk reef supply 2 part doser is 10% off to members today. If you sign up for the newsletter I'll PM you the promo code to get it if you want.

[unclesalty]

We run the GHL standalone doser and have no problems so far. I really like it, it's high quality. Of course there are cheaper units out there that can do the same job, but I love anything German engineered.

I totally agree with you 100% on that one!

[unclesalty]

Although its Austrailian and not German the Vertex Libra sounds like its going to be worth the wait

[ashr]

No idea on price yet though..

I also am a member of BRS but thank you anyways..

I was thinking going that way.. looks like the middle road

[Ryan]

Vetex is supposed to be releasing a doser here pretty soon. 3.5" touch screen 3 pumps. Might want to look at that as well.

[shrimpchips]

How many pump heads are you looking for? I use all 4 pumps on my standalone GHL doser (Ca, Alk, Mg, vodka) - and I couldn't be happier. Even bought a 4-pump slave unit since I was thinking of going zeo....

[ashr]

Looking for a 3 head.

[Snappy]

I recommend the Fauna Marine. It is identical to the Profilux but comes with a complete balling package. Shoot me a PM if you want more info.

[fishytime]

I recommend the Fauna Marine. It is identical to the Profilux but comes with a complete balling package. Shoot me a PM if you want more info.

so does the profilux:wink:

[daniella3d]

I have a marine magic for about 5 months now and it's working very well. I have not touched my dosing shedule since then. I test less and less and each time I test it's right on.

And if a pump ever break, it is cheap to replace. What's the risk? so if a pump stop working, the calcium or the alkalinity will get lower...so what? this cannot screw up a tank anyway. before I was using the dosing pump my alkalinity sometimes went down to 5 and none of my coral were affected, including the sps. I had alkalinité and calcium swings.

The only complain I have with the marine magic is that if there is a power outage the unit does not resume automatic dosing by itself and time must be set again and it must be put into auto mode. The settings for the pumps however are kept into memory so no need to reprogram them.

But hey...150$ plus 20$ shipping, can't beat that!

[xtreme]

Although its Austrailian and not German the Vertex Libra sounds like its going to be worth the wait

I think you mean Austrian, so ya it's basically German. Vertex has been known for quality with their other products so I'm sure the upcoming release of the dosing pumps will result in another winner. I run a GHL doser, and as already mentioned you can't go wrong with this unit. I have never had any problems with mine over the last 2 years.

Can't say anything about the marine magic as I don't know much about them. The price makes me wonder if the quality is lacking, but people are saying they like theirs so it might be worth a try.

[shrimpchips]

And if a pump ever break, it is cheap to replace. What's the risk? so if a pump stop working, the calcium or the alkalinity will get lower...so what? this cannot screw up a tank anyway. before I was using the dosing pump my alkalinity sometimes went down to 5 and none of my coral were affected, including the sps. I had alkalinité and calcium swings.


You probably didn't have an SPS heavy tank then. If the Ca stops for a day or two in my tank, it drops like a rock. Just last week I ran out of Ca buffer for what couldn't be more than 2-3 days. In a 120g system, my Ca went from 400 to 160. It's a pretty big deal. Stability is key and the whole point of a Doser.

In the end, like most everything, you get what you pay for.

[Ryan]

I have a marine magic for about 5 months now and it's working very well. I have not touched my dosing shedule since then. I test less and less and each time I test it's right on.

And if a pump ever break, it is cheap to replace. What's the risk? so if a pump stop working, the calcium or the alkalinity will get lower...so what? this cannot screw up a tank anyway. before I was using the dosing pump my alkalinity sometimes went down to 5 and none of my coral were affected, including the sps. I had alkalinité and calcium swings.

The only complain I have with the marine magic is that if there is a power outage the unit does not resume automatic dosing by itself and time must be set again and it must be put into auto mode. The settings for the pumps however are kept into memory so no need to reprogram them.

But hey...150$ plus 20$ shipping, can't beat that!

I have to agree with the poster above. You obviously havent had a tank that uses these big 3 elements like a heavily populated SPS tank. A drop like mentioned above is on the verge of a crash which is a big deal!

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

like most everything, you get what you pay for.

Not entirely true especially for this hobby.it is sad to see from my end (a hobbyist and a retailer) as I get aproached by many distributors with a decent price tag on an item and the markup is amazingly high 200 to 400% from what I have seen and decide not to participate.Most of the time the manufacturers and distributors hype the product so high getting every cell in our body excited and then decide to place a $$$$ price tag on a specific item.:wink:

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

I have to agree with the poster above. You obviously havent had a tank that uses these big 3 elements like a heavily populated SPS tank. A drop like mentioned above is on the verge of a crash which is a big deal!
I think daniella3d was trying to say is that if anything is to go wrong with his specific doser the replacement part are easily available and are not as pricy like other dosers. And no:biggrin: I am not trying to label any company as bad or bad product.

[e46er]

Everyone here says aqua medic dosers are garbage but mine has worked like a champ for over 2 years

[shrimpchips]

Well, in the end if you can buy the better product (and I don't think anybody can argue that the GHL product is in any way inferior to the other), I will. I know I've already spent thousands on livestock and more on equipment, I'm not about to cheap out $200 on a doser.