Doser 2.1 as ATO

VJV · Jan 17, 2018

Hi, I have one spare channel on my Doser 2.1 and was thinking about using that to perform as ATO.

I have a 200 gallon system and evaporation is around 5 to 7 liters per day. Would this cause excessive wear on the Doser Pump?

Cheers

Holy_makerel · Jan 17, 2018

I use one of my channels on my doser as an ato for my 60 gal. I add roughly 700ml/day. Doser head started squeeking and failed after about 4 months but i'm also using a jabao dp4. A higher quality doser pump may last longer. It has worked well for me though.

VJV · Jan 17, 2018

Holy_makerel said:
I use one of my channels on my doser as an ato for my 60 gal. I add roughly 700ml/day. Doser head started squeeking and failed after about 4 months but i'm also using a jabao dp4. A higher quality doser pump may last longer. It has worked well for me though.

Well, if at 700ml a day yours lasted 120 days I guess at 7000ml a day it should last me 12 days [emoji1]. May need to look elsewhere... kind of hopping that GHL would step in and say that their stepper motors would cope with that no problem.

And I do not intend to buy a Maxi Doser just for ATO purposes.

Mark Derail · Jan 17, 2018

I thought of using my doser too, but then was worried of causing too much wear.

100$ for a dedicated ATO seems reasonable.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/tunze-osmolator-nano-3152-auto-top-off.html

Also lots of good reviews, Coral12g did a video on it, using the one below in his college room tank. Also FishOfHex.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/smart-ato-micro-120p-auto-top-off-system-autoaqua.html

I kinda like the second one, that will beep you when it tries to add water but nothing happens after 10 minutes, letting everyone know to add RODI water to the container.
Also the small size.

I was also considering a DIY with DPST, dual-pole switches and mechanical floats. However, optical sensors are superior due to salt creep that will jam a float over time.
I haven't gotten the time yet to get around the RaspberryPI + Arduino project.

VJV · Jan 17, 2018

Currently have the Tunze and have been using it for 5 years. I had one pump failing (replacement costs like 12$) but I would like to declutter. Not only one less plug but above all this thing has a ton of wires coming out that I would really love to get out of my sump. I have about five ATOs and all suffer from this unnerving spaghetti wire web that I absolutely hate.

But I guess I will need to continue to put up with it... [emoji19]

coweyes298 · Jan 17, 2018

I have doser 2.1 one head as my ATO, but it wears faster than I thought. My tank is 90 ish display and a 30 gallon sump. Evaporation is about 1 to 1.5 gallon per day and I think the doser 2.1 with fastest speed is already hitting the limit. This head will be triggered and ran for 15 min till it fill my return section back to desire level. It will wear fast and start to squeak if you serve it as a ATO pump for your size of tank. I think GHL also mentioned in their new announcement (I saw it some where but I forgot) that if your daily ATO is more than 1.5 gallon or so it would be better to use a dedicate ATO pump rather than doser 2.1.

reefwiser · Jan 17, 2018

Not had any issues with a doser 2 with a head used as an ATO now for 3 years. Before that I use the original doser as a ATO with out any issues

VJV · Jan 18, 2018

reefwiser said:
Not had any issues with a doser 2 with a head used as an ATO now for 3 years. Before that I use the original doser as a ATO with out any issues

Thanks. How much evaporation were you having to replace pee day?

reefwiser · Jan 18, 2018

I can be up to a gallon in the winter months. Especially now with it being so cold outside.

coweyes298 · Jan 29, 2018

Well my doser 2.1 ATO head got stucked again today. Weather starts to get hot (85 to 90 F) in socal this week and my ATO head just seized. It is the 2nd time this ATO head seized since last Christmas. My evaporation is usually 1 gallon per day, but in hot summer it can go up to 1.6 to 1.8 gallon. Definitely recommend not to use Doser 2.1 as ATO if you have more than 1 to 1.5 gallon evaporation. The fast speed with large amount of dosing water will destroy the head housing, producing lots of plastic rubbing dust and seized.

VJV · Jan 31, 2018

Thanks you very much for all the input. Thanks guess I will keep my Tunze ATO for now...

coweyes298 · Feb 3, 2018

I got the maxi doser several weeks ago but never used it. Originally I was planning to use maxi on my nano frag tank for AWC. But I never set it up. Tonight I just set the maxi to have 1 head as ATO for my display. This maxi is similar to APEX DOS, I think they are using the same head... Not sure about the motor. With highest speed (mine is 320 ml/min after calibration) it shots water like jets. But this maxi doser is loud! I am still thinking what can be used for the other empty head...

VJV · Feb 3, 2018

Makes sense. That is why I do not plan to buy one. If I could use a spare channel on my existing 2.1 doser it would be great! Win win. But since it will probably not cope with 1,5 gallons per day of evap I am not spending another 400 just to have a fancy ATO and end with another spare head.

Thanks for the feedback.

kalkwasser · Feb 3, 2018

coweyes298 said:
I got the maxi doser several weeks ago but never used it. Originally I was planning to use maxi on my nano frag tank for AWC. But I never set it up. Tonight I just set the maxi to have 1 head as ATO for my display. This maxi is similar to APEX DOS, I think they are using the same head... Not sure about the motor. With highest speed (mine is 320 ml/min after calibration) it shots water like jets. But this maxi doser is loud! I am still thinking what can be used for the other empty head...

I think you are the 2nd one I heard saying about the noise of the Maxi. Is it really that loud?
In fact, I already felt the Doser 2.1 ( which I have ) is already quite noisy. How many x more on the Maxi?
I have been running Litermeter all these years and I must say they are really silent compare to the GHL.

What is the distant is your tank away from the Maxi? I heard the longer the line.
You lose rates on these pump. There is someone here using the maxi for water change and his tank is about 30-40 feet away and
he is getting about 160 ml/min if I did not remember wrongly.

Are you happy with the Maxi?

coweyes298 · Feb 3, 2018

kalkwasser said:
I think you are the 2nd one I heard saying about the noise of the Maxi. Is it really that loud?
In fact, I already felt the Doser 2.1 ( which I have ) is already quite noisy. How many x more on the Maxi?
I have been running Litermeter all these years and I must say they are really silent compare to the GHL.

What is the distant is your tank away from the Maxi? I heard the longer the line.
You lose rates on these pump. There is someone here using the maxi for water change and his tank is about 30-40 feet away and
he is getting about 160 ml/min if I did not remember wrongly.

Are you happy with the Maxi?

My maxi sits very close to my tank. I have a dedicated cabinet right next to my stand and all the equipments are sitting there. The ATO reservoir is inside the stand so I believe the distance from maxi to sump is minimum.

I used APEX DOS before but only with the slowest speed setting. The slow speed on APEX DOS is already noisy in my opinion. GHL Maxi and APEX DOS are probably using the same head so I would suspect the noise level would be identical. I will try to use Maxi with other speed setting to compare the noise, but the fastest speed setting is LOUD. I am happy with the Maxi now, regardless of the noise.