Dos for water changes
- Thread starter Madonia
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Magik884
Active Member
I had my dos do water changes for about a year on my 180gal. 20 gallons over 24h and i will never go back to doing manual water changes unless its an emergency one. I do them when i am not around because it is quite noisy.
cshouston
Hoopy Frood
I just got one. It’s very easy to set up in Fusion. Whether or not it’s worth it depends on your tank size and situation. Ultimately, I decided to use it to dose EasyReef SPS Evo coral food and All-For-Reef on my 100g system. For me, it’s easier to do water changes the way I’ve been doing them as opposed to setting up buckets by the tank and having to fill one and empty the other on a regular basis.
If I had a fish room with a satellite sump where I could empty into a floor drain and fill directly from a mixing station, then I’d be all aboard the DOS water change train.
If I had a fish room with a satellite sump where I could empty into a floor drain and fill directly from a mixing station, then I’d be all aboard the DOS water change train.
I have a 130 gallon tank/sump.
my water station is in basement. I have been siphoning with the python system and then pumping water up from the basement to refill. It hasn’t been bad at all. But I think it would be even easier with the DOS. Maybe I’ll save my money and get something else instead.
shakeandbake
Community Member
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My tank is in the basement/mancave. We have a ro/di unit in the laundry room and a mixing station with a holding tank for ro/di and a satlwater.
Maybe 2 months back I added a DOS to do water changes. The set up was pretty simple. In from the salt holding tank out to the laundry waste line. The in/out order on the DOS heads threw me initially... but other than that it was basically plug it in, calibrate, then walk through the set up steps in Fusion. We are doing a small water change on a relatively new system. We have a RSR 425XL so the total volume is around 112 gallons. We set it up to change 1575ml/day or roughly 12 gallons a month. So far so good. Using RS salt the tank parameters have been pretty stable at 34 ppt, 78F, PH 8.2, NO 0, NO2 0, NO3 10, PO 0, KH 7-8, Ca 420. Time will tell how that works. But compared to the old water change system that I used in the last go round years ago, ...siphoning and moving 5 gallon buckets... the DOS system is a dream. If it stays like this, which is set it and forget it, it is worth the $.
Maybe 2 months back I added a DOS to do water changes. The set up was pretty simple. In from the salt holding tank out to the laundry waste line. The in/out order on the DOS heads threw me initially... but other than that it was basically plug it in, calibrate, then walk through the set up steps in Fusion. We are doing a small water change on a relatively new system. We have a RSR 425XL so the total volume is around 112 gallons. We set it up to change 1575ml/day or roughly 12 gallons a month. So far so good. Using RS salt the tank parameters have been pretty stable at 34 ppt, 78F, PH 8.2, NO 0, NO2 0, NO3 10, PO 0, KH 7-8, Ca 420. Time will tell how that works. But compared to the old water change system that I used in the last go round years ago, ...siphoning and moving 5 gallon buckets... the DOS system is a dream. If it stays like this, which is set it and forget it, it is worth the $.
cshouston
Hoopy Frood
Yup, that’s what I do. Siphon out a window with my python hose, then attach it to a utility pump and refill from my makeshift water station hidden around the corner in another room. It’s honestly easy enough that I decided using a $300 doser to do it would be overkill. Not to mention the DOS is *loud*!
You could look at smaller, less expensive options. Any pair of dosing pumps with the ability to move sufficient volume would suffice. I’d be more inclined to do it with quieter, less expensive options.
Roytrolls247
Active Member
I use my dose for AWC because my mixing station is downstairs so no more lugging buckets around the house for me!! @SuncrestReef Helped me set it up and answered all of my technical questions.
infinite0180
Valuable Member
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I just set one up a few months ago. Its great! Noticing positive effects on the tank. Now im going to start siphoning into a filter sock in the sump to get detritus. No more buckets for me!
schuby
Valuable Member
I've been using a DOS to change out two gallons a day for almost two years now. Works great. Having it change the two gallons over 24 hours and staggering the add/remove times makes it the quietest it can be. My 150 gallon DT is in my living room. The DOS is underneath in closed stand with two, 5-gallon buckets: one with new saltwater and one for the old. I calibrate it a few times a year if my salinity starts to drift.
For my previous, 90 gallon tank, I did manual water changes. It was too easy to not do them when I got busy and the tank deteriorated from that. With this new tank, I wanted to make it the most convenient to keep up with necessary maintenance. I believe it is completely worth it.
For my previous, 90 gallon tank, I did manual water changes. It was too easy to not do them when I got busy and the tank deteriorated from that. With this new tank, I wanted to make it the most convenient to keep up with necessary maintenance. I believe it is completely worth it.
cobast
Community Member
WOW! Blows me away that a dosing pump would cope with that high a flow: 3150cc per hour (20gal/24hr). How did the rollers and pump tubes go?
P.S. You guys should give up on the gallons. Litres are so much easier.
cobast
Community Member
I don't know specifically about the DOS but for other peri pumps you can use almost anything. Over the years I have have used air tube, irrigation tube, kamoer's own tubing, etc. They all worked fine
