AFR clogs dosing tubes and turns milky/cloudy in the dosing container

[capt_alaver]

AFR works amazingly well at maintaining all parameters in my reef, but boy is it a PITA keeping it stable.

I'm using an acrylic container and silicone tubes to run it to the tank. It's dosing in the overflow, roughly 2 inches above the waterline and never has any contact with the water directly.

Yet, despite this, it crystalizes and totally clogs up the tubes within 1-2 months. The AFR sitting in the dosing container subsequently starts to turn a pasty white color. What can I do to prevent this? Does AFR call for different materials?

 

[Troylee]

AFR works amazingly well at maintaining all parameters in my reef, but boy is it a PITA keeping it stable.

I'm using an acrylic container and silicone tubes to run it to the tank. It's dosing in the overflow, roughly 2 inches above the waterline and never has any contact with the water directly.

Yet, despite this, it crystalizes and totally clogs up the tubes within 1-2 months. The AFR sitting in the dosing container subsequently starts to turn a pasty white color. What can I do to prevent this? Does AFR call for different materials?

I use plastic rigid RO tubing and mine just sits in the sump under water ... never had an issue with clogging and works great! I do have some settlement in the bottom of my dosing container that’s creating a paste I just stir it up occasionally.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

AFR works amazingly well at maintaining all parameters in my reef, but boy is it a PITA keeping it stable.

I'm using an acrylic container and silicone tubes to run it to the tank. It's dosing in the overflow, roughly 2 inches above the waterline and never has any contact with the water directly.

Yet, despite this, it crystalizes and totally clogs up the tubes within 1-2 months. The AFR sitting in the dosing container subsequently starts to turn a pasty white color. What can I do to prevent this? Does AFR call for different materials?

Is it especially cold?

@Hans-Werner

 

[capt_alaver]

Not particularly cold. My house is around 72-76F year round.

I've tried using more rigid tubes, but the amount of bends I have to do to route it end up kinking the tube. This is the one that worked best.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It doesn't seem likely to be anything from the tubing itself.

Did you make the AFR yourself or buy a solution?

 

[twentyleagues]

Not particularly cold. My house is around 72-76F year round.

I've tried using more rigid tubes, but the amount of bends I have to do to route it end up kinking the tube. This is the one that worked best.

is the feed tube inside the container rigid or silicone? you should use rigid inside the holding vessel and silcone for the feed.

 

[gbroadbridge]

AFR works amazingly well at maintaining all parameters in my reef, but boy is it a PITA keeping it stable.

I'm using an acrylic container and silicone tubes to run it to the tank. It's dosing in the overflow, roughly 2 inches above the waterline and never has any contact with the water directly.

Yet, despite this, it crystalizes and totally clogs up the tubes within 1-2 months. The AFR sitting in the dosing container subsequently starts to turn a pasty white color. What can I do to prevent this? Does AFR call for different materials?

Put the end of the AFR dosing tube under your ATO topoff so that it gets rinsed.

This is a known problem due to the concentration of AFR.

Cloudiness or turning brown is not a problem.

 

[areefer01]

What AFR product are you using? Pre made? DIY TM product and mixing? Powder? If you are mixing it either TM components or powder at what ratio are you mixing it at and how much?

I have been using it for several years and have not had any issues with the dosing line getting clogged. While I am not dosing into an overflow I am dosing it at a similar height above my return pump intake. I am using 1/4 inch line used for RO water purifiers. I forget the brand but it is blue in color. Nothing fancy.

I was originally using the DIY TM components and later switched to the 1600g powder container once it became available in the US. I mix enough to make 3600 ml. Basically 1800 ml of rodi water, room temp, get scale, zero it out, add AFR until I get 320 g, then add it slowly to the container of water. Drop in the magnetic pill for the auto stir thing, turn it on, and wait 20 minutes or so until the final product is clear. Pour that into my storage container which is a Rubbermaid gallon plastic container and call it a day.

I have a bit of residue on the bottom of the storage container. I rinse it out after every new batch. I've also had a few things build up on the inside a couple of times for which I'm not sure what it was. Maybe I contaminated it or didn't clean it or something. I've not seen it since I started to rinse the container after each batch and dry it out.

Not sure if this helps but this is how I go about it. I've read a few people who see buildup in their dosing lines cut the end of it. Just make a small cut at the end so it is split which prevents buildup. This application was with kalk but maybe something you could try?

 

[capt_alaver]

The tube inside the dosing container is rigid and goes all the way to the bottom. I don't fill the container up all the way with AFR. My tank only needs ~2ml per day so it would sit there for years if it was full, haha.

I'm using pre-made AFR.

It's not a small amount of buildup on the ends of the line. The entire line is full of crystallized particles and requires a full replacement.

 

[gbroadbridge]

The tube inside the dosing container is rigid and goes all the way to the bottom. I don't fill the container up all the way with AFR. My tank only needs ~2ml per day so it would sit there for years if it was full, haha.

I'm using pre-made AFR.

It's not a small amount of buildup on the ends of the line. The entire line is full of crystallized particles and requires a full replacement.

Ah yes, that happened to me when I turned off the doser for a week and left the end open. It doesn't happen when I'm dosing 10ml a day.

I believe that some types of dosing tubing are also semi permeable which contribute to the problem, in another thread someone cured that problem by changing tubing to another brand.

 

[MnFish1]

APOLOGIES. what is AFR - and then back to the topic

 

[Troylee]

APOLOGIES. what is AFR - and then back to the topic

All for reef..

 

[MnFish1]

The tube inside the dosing container is rigid and goes all the way to the bottom. I don't fill the container up all the way with AFR. My tank only needs ~2ml per day so it would sit there for years if it was full, haha.

I'm using pre-made AFR.

It's not a small amount of buildup on the ends of the line. The entire line is full of crystallized particles and requires a full replacement.

the slow flow because its not changing much seems to be the reason, i.e
a precipitate - and possibly be permanent. Would. 1. Change your tubing (Imho - and it's a somewhat bad picture) 2. perhaps dilute your 'chemicals' and then increase flow through the tubing

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In my earlier post here I tagged Hans-Werner for his input. His previous suggestions in such cases were to put the tube very close to the water so a drop touched it (but not actually under the surface) and to use a Y to also send RO/DI down the same lines.

 

[Troylee]

Guess I’ve never had this issue cause I dose 80ml every day and my Apex does it every 20min so it’s really never dry! My line is just shoved in my sump under the water also.

 

[capt_alaver]

I can't imagine how I'd send RO and AFR down the same tube.

I do like the idea of diluting the AFR with RO water and sending more of it through. I can mix it in a 10-1 ratio and start pumping 20ml per day instead of 2ml.

 

[MnFish1]

Isn't this easy? The slower the flow the more likely the ppt? Increase flow less ppt (precipitate)

 

[MnFish1]

In my earlier post here I tagged Hans-Werner for his input. His previous suggestions in such cases were to put the tube very close to the water so a drop touched it (but not actually under the surface) and to use a Y to also send RO/DI down the same lines.

This has worked here as well - near but not 'in' the water

 

[Idech]

The tube inside the dosing container is rigid and goes all the way to the bottom. I don't fill the container up all the way with AFR. My tank only needs ~2ml per day so it would sit there for years if it was full, haha.

I'm using pre-made AFR.

It's not a small amount of buildup on the ends of the line. The entire line is full of crystallized particles and requires a full replacement.

I use powder AFR and it does the same in my 1L container. I dose manually though so it’s not a problem for me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I can't imagine how I'd send RO and AFR down the same tube.

I do like the idea of diluting the AFR with RO water and sending more of it through. I can mix it in a 10-1 ratio and start pumping 20ml per day instead of 2ml.

No, diluting it too much in the container risks bacterial growth and precipitation of calcium carbonate. The idea was just to wash it down the tubing. Many folks do that with other products.