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Old 10-16-2015, 01:24 AM
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ReefGrrl ReefGrrl is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Ontario
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Default Tip for manual dosing

First, many thanks to Christy for her help in figuring out where best to put this post - and also for being so welcoming!

I did a bunch of research and couldn't find anywhere that someone else has done this, so I thought I'd share my US$20 alternative to expensive dosing pumps (item: US$11.25, shipping: US$9.00! ugh). Please forgive me if someone else out there has already talked about this or something like it, but I couldn't find anything.

Over the summer I got a big fat bunch of stony corals (weensie candy cane, large bubble coral, two hammers, a Superman monti, a Jedi mind trick monti, an orange plating monti, two acros, two blastos, a leptastrea, an acan Lord and an echinata). OMG, it's scary as a list...

I had only ever had soft corals before. I did a bunch of research and realized I needed to pay some attention to calcium, magnesium and alkalinity in order to maintain health and help these beauties grow. So after replacing all of my expired test kits and buying some supplements, there was me, jammed into the corner beside the tank, in the dark (to take advantage of better calcium uptake in periods of slightly lower pH in lower light), baster in hand, dripping and dripping and dripping....this got old very fast. But I was getting pretty spectacular growth so I wanted to keep it up.

I debated getting a dosing pump or two but I'd rather spend my $$ on livestock wherever possible and I'm kind of afraid of automatic stuff that never breaks when it's convenient.

I can't remember when I first noticed this Innovative Marine Accudrip thing, but as soon as I saw it I realized I could use it for the opposite of what it was made for: I could put liquid INTO my aquarium sloooooowly.

I found mine on eBay (unable to find it anywhere else in Canada) and it works PERFECTLY as I had imagined.

I now mix up my doses in about 6 oz of water (tank water or RO/DI, depending on what I'm dosing) and pour it into a coffee mug that I set on my light stand above the tank. (Anywhere nearby and higher than the water level would work - I happen to use a stand intended for store mannequins, to suspend my two LED lights and it has a nice flat area on top.)

Then I close the check wheel on the tube, place the rigid J-tube end of the thingy over the edge of the mug, carefully put the other end of the tube in place just above the water level in the high turbulent flow of the wavemaker pump and then squeeze the siphon bulb and adjust the check wheel for the speed of drip I want.

VOILA. This thing is awesome.

An additional benefit is that by using a larger container, I can add back water for water changes and not have to worry about differences in temperature or variations in salinity - this thing allows me to add the water at a safe rate.

Here are a few photos...any thoughts on this? Will I end up regretting using this instead of a mechanical method?



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