Tip for manual dosing

[christyf5]

Cool idea but yeah you'll definitely have to be watching it. I wouldn't say daily but if left for say a week it might clog. I run a doser too and my "maintenance" isn't quite as tight as it used to be. The alk line plugs fairly often. I have my phone to send me a message to clean it at least monthly and so far so good. That being said it doses once daily of each solution and all at once, then the stuff sits in the line until the next dosing.

BTW, thats a great looking little tank! Nice work!

[squibege]

I would grab a syringe and push some RODI through it after each use. Then use the syringe to push air through to partially dry it. The pressure and the rinse should help you keep clogs at bay for quite a while. It seems like a great idea I may have to steal!

[ReefGrrl]

Yeah, it's a bit hard to express but I don't find it a problem to mix and dose daily. It takes a maximum of about three minutes to prepare the solution, pour it in the mug, set the mug up there and hang the contraption, squeeze the siphon bulb and adjust the drip and I can walk away from it. When the drip stops I give the siphon bulb a squeeze just to make sure the solution is gone and then pour plain water into the cup to run through and rinse the tube.

Maybe it's because I work from home and can take time out to check on things, but I really don't find it onerous.

When I was doing my research I learned about dosing rates and that I should separate different supplements both physically and by leaving time between them so as not to cause any shocks in my system. With only 29 gallons, I know I have to keep changes long and slow and this is why I'm a bit nervous about dosing an entire amount directly into the water.

As it is, my large bubble coral gets quite angry when I first start the calcium drip but soon expands again. Until the snails annoy it. I have three different types of snails, two of which are nassarius (4 of them) and cerith (5 of them) - what I call "rat b*stard snails" because they seem to really bug the various corals. The third type is a pair of fighting conchs that I really like. But all of them together, saved my tank from total meltdown early this year.

Which again is why I'm so concerned about stability. I never want to go through that again.

Sigh. My husband says I think too much.

[ReefGrrl]

Originally Posted by christyf5

Cool idea but yeah you'll definitely have to be watching it. I wouldn't say daily but if left for say a week it might clog. I run a doser too and my "maintenance" isn't quite as tight as it used to be. The alk line plugs fairly often. I have my phone to send me a message to clean it at least monthly and so far so good. That being said it doses once daily of each solution and all at once, then the stuff sits in the line until the next dosing.

BTW, thats a great looking little tank! Nice work!

Thanks for the compliment - I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing I could get a photo that captured the true colours and textures in there. Maybe using a camera instead of my iPad or phone would make a difference. I can spend an hour sitting in front of it, geeking out with my magnifying glass until the wee hours.

You mention the chemical dosing solution sitting in the line when using a doser - maybe clogging won't be much of a problem for me because the line is rinsed and then I blow it out to remove water. I use a bulb syringe from the drugstore (meant to clean ears) to do that, works like a charm.

But I expect at some point the tube will rupture or crack because of being flattened by the check wheel on the drip adjustment. I've been moving it to different positions along the tube to delay this.

[ReefGrrl]

Originally Posted by squibege

I would grab a syringe and push some RODI through it after each use. Then use the syringe to push air through to partially dry it. The pressure and the rinse should help you keep clogs at bay for quite a while. It seems like a great idea I may have to steal!

I never thought of the second squeeze on the bulb syringe to dry it - that's a great suggestion, thanks!