Apex dos, thumbs up or thumbs down?

[angus34081]

I’m in the process of putting together a waterbox 20 reef tank. I already purchased the apex el and apex atk. Should I stay with apex and get the Dos or is there something better? I know it’s a little pricey and only 2 instead of 3 or 4.

 

[DudeBoy]

watching

 

[sfmacguy]

The Dos is great, and works amazingly with the Apex. If you only need 2 dosers, its perfect. If you need more than 2, then look at the versa.

 

[angus34081]

The Dos is great, and works amazingly with the Apex. If you only need 2 dosers, its perfect. If you need more than 2, then look at the versa.

What’s your opinion on the need for more than 2? Is it essential or just a nice add-on

 

[DudeBoy]

calcium reactor?

 

[IKD]

I don’t own one, but I’ve heard they can be noisy when running. Maybe some folks who have them can validate.

 

[sfmacguy]

What’s your opinion on the need for more than 2? Is it essential or just a nice add-on

Really all depends on what you are dosing. If you are doing Triton, or anything more then 2 part, you would need more then the 2 the dos has. The Dos is also good for Auto Water changes.

 

[sfmacguy]

I don’t own one, but I’ve heard they can be noisy when running. Maybe some folks who have them can validate.

It's a small motor spinning, but I can't hear mine when running, but I'm about 20ft away when at my desk.

 

[Letterkenny]

The Dos is great, and works amazingly with the Apex. If you only need 2 dosers, its perfect. If you need more than 2, then look at the versa.

Isn’t the Versa the same price? Also, haven’t heard stellar things about Mobius.

 

[sfmacguy]

Both are similarly priced $150ish per head. And Mobius issues have mostly been with the lights from what I have seen.

 

[Letterkenny]

Both are similarly priced $150ish per head. And Mobius issues have mostly been with the lights from what I have seen.

I heard from the lights so assumed it trickled down.

 

[sfmacguy]

I can chime in more on the mobius aspect later today, trying to decide on keeping the DOS or the versa myself, hooking up the versa set today, and then will post again in here on my preference.

 

[sharpimage]

my dos is noisy when doing auto water change. both heads spin at the same time. I have 1 dos for awt and 1 for 2 part. easy to set up. Ultimately any quality doser will work.

 

[K7BMG]

I personally like the Dos but I have not used others so that's a very biased opinion.

I also run Triton and have two Dos units and one head sits idle as I am currently mixing my 3A and B as my forth container cracked.

I also have a third dose for the Auto Water Change, but it is sitting there waiting to be re-installed as I moved things about AGAIN!

One thing I have to say I don't like is having 3,4,5 or more Apps to run stuff.
Just bugs the you know what out of me. I am a one stop type of person.

 

[Letterkenny]

I personally like the Dos but I have not used others so that's a very biased opinion.

I also run Triton and have two Dos units and one head sits idle as I am currently mixing my 3A and B as my forth container cracked.

I also have a third dose for the Auto Water Change, but it is sitting there waiting to be re-installed as I moved things about AGAIN!

One thing I have to say I don't like is having 3,4,5 or more Apps to run stuff.
Just bugs the you know what out of me. I am a one stop type of person.

I’m building a new tank soon and want to run the Triton method with an algae rector for a 130 Gallon total system. The triton method needs 3 or 4 total pumps? I have a trident as well so was going to get a DOS to automatically keep calc and alk stable.

 

[AcanthurusRex]

I have both. I use the Versa to dose 1-part at 7ml/day and it works well. It has been very accurate.
The DOS is much more noisy but for dosing this is not an issue. All the control/status is in Fusion.
I would not use the Versa for anything complicated. The control is not mature enough. I would not use it for AWC. For a Ca reactor it would be ideal. Anything you don't need to monitor or control dynamically. There is no feedback at all on the Versa's status in Mobius; every once in a while I put a beaker on the output to make sure it is still working.

 

[Skep18]

Thumbs up. Using units of volume to dose with is more intuitive than programming dosages in terms of on/off time (I assume that's how others would dose if using the Apex interface). In the end, both are actually the same thing but being able to say, "dose 5mL more" seems more intuitive than "dose 2sec more".

My 2 cents. I have a DOS and I like it. The DDR on the other hand, IMO a waste of money. But it looks cool!

 

[angus34081]

Thumbs up. Using units of volume to dose with is more intuitive than programming dosages in terms of on/off time (I assume that's how others would dose if using the Apex interface). In the end, both are actually the same thing but being able to say, "dose 5mL more" seems more intuitive than "dose 2sec more".

My 2 cents. I have a DOS and I like it. The DDR on the other hand, IMO a waste of money. But it looks cool!

I figured if I go with DOS I’ll DIY the resivoir

 

[BlueZreef]

I am a newer DOS user, thus far I like it a lot. Setup is much easier (as are most things with Apex) than with traditional stand alone units. If you are already invested in your apex, it’s hard to want to go a different route when it all integrates together so well (I have Trident and want seamless control).

I will also confirm, they are loud! A bit odd to me as steppers can be controlled to be quiet (common in 3D printers). They have a weird low hum or rumble noise to them when running. I don’t mind it, dosing is spread out for my 2 past. In some ways, its validating to hear the pump run for a few seconds. However, my 2nd unit I will be setting up for AWC will be garage mounted so I don’t have to hear it run for longer.

 

[hubble]

I bought one Dos and liked it so much I bought another one. Setup and using it through fusion is awesome. I use the Triton other method so I dose 4 liquids. If I need I can mix two of those liquids and have 1 DOS head left for dosing something else. As far as being loud, I can barley hear mine. I was never a controller type of person, but after I purchased the Apex EL then the DOS I'm hooked.