Bubble Magus Doser Review

[Zoaelite]

Just had the Bubble Magus triple doser package sent out to me from the guys @ Oceanic Corals so I thought I would give a little insight to those interested in purchasing it.

I bought it for a couple reasons, mainly because with my high coral load I want to make sure all of my summer vacations are "dosing" free for my tank sitter. Parameter consistency and system simplicity were the other two large factors but the low price that Oceanic was offering sold me nice and quick.

We had a bit of a shipping issue (Apparently you need an "Address" to ship product haha ) but Ian was great to deal with and actually paid for expedited delivery to my doorstep after my mistake. Packaging was very well put together and everything showed up in perfect condition.

The two part mixing instructions were very easy to follow but it would be nice if they indicated mixing Calcium Chloride with water creates lots of heat (I should of understood that being in second year university chem but either way I ended up warping my mixing jug a little).

The instructions for the Magus had me laughing pretty hard (and it had "nothing" to do with my bong ), I kept trying to re-read it and after 5 minutes I felt a little retarded. The Cantonese to English translation made some pretty hilarious mistakes (I will post a few when I get home). Luckily the unit is actually so easy to program you really don't even need instructions. I let the solutions sit for 24 hours, wired all the dosing tubes and programmed the doser.

The unit itself is sleek, quite and very easy to conceal and all in all I'm one happy customer. Photos to come when I get my camera charged.
Levi

[Coleus]

Thanks for the review. Myself, I quite never understand why some ppl is buying these expensive dosers or Tunze top off unit. With the amount money you spend on them, you can spend on an Apex controller and cheap BRS dosers then you are set. It is much easier for me to program things by typing on web interface rather pressing buttons on the doser unit.

Maybe I am missing something here, please share your thoughts.

Thanks

[Kenzy]

I think you need to take another look at the pricing to see why people are going this route. Using Oceanics site as a pricing example the BM doser is $320 and nothing else is needed, 3 BRS dosers are $300 plus some type of timer or controller, which can range anywhere from $60 for 3 digital timers to a couple hundred bucks for a controller.

For myself with the equipment I've already invested in, a controller would be a waste because it just duplicates what I already have, so for myself something like the BM doser is more cost effective.

[Zoaelite]

Well for one I have zero knowledge when it comes to programming so a plug in and play unit is preferable for me and two I don't think your route is actually that much cheaper.

The bulkreef supply dosers are going for appx. $90.00 each, to dose CA, ALK and MG we would need three of them. On top of that the apex controller system is $500.00, so for $800.00 plus shipping you get your basics.

For $350.00 shipping included I got the triple doser, jugs to hold all the solutions, plastic airline tubing, measuring cups, ALK/CA/ALK chemicals that will last me for half a year and a one year warranty.

You do the math, I'm pretty happy with the purchase.

[Coleus]

That makes sense. My math did not add up in this specific case.

[lastlight]

Math may have failed you but you can feel better while you login on your iphone and fiddle with your system remotely lol. I think all of these methods get the job done and are pretty reliable.

One reason besides the cost (I'm not sure which TOTAL solution is cheaper) for me is to not have all my eggs in one basket. Ranco for temp control (heater/fans) and Tunze Osmolator which has a very solid track record for ATO. One day I'll buy a stand alone doser as well. I can appreciate the slickness of everything controlled in one place but I'm really liking dedicated pieces of equipment so I can choose what I feel are the best at doing each thing.

Interested in your review...especially in the long-term.

[trilinearmipmap]

Nice review.

This is what it would take for me to switch from a calcium reactor to automated 2-part dosing:

A controller/computer that would adjust the dosing rate and also bolus dose Ca Alk or Mg depending upon the Ca Alk and Mg readings input by the user.

For example if you measure your Ca at 350, your Alk at 11 and your Mg at 1100, you input these values into the doser and it would automatically bolus dose some Calcium and Magnesium, then it would increase the infusion rate for Calcium and Magnesium and decrease the infusion rate for Alk. Then next week you repeat your measurement, input the values into the doser computer and it would fine-tune the infusion rates again.

It should not be too hard to do this, it is simple math and it would more or less make the Cal/Alk/Mg levels run on autopilot. If there is any system already set to do this I will buy it.