Dosing pumps for continued water change drip??

Fieryfrog · Jan 11, 2016

Would you be able to use one dosing pump to pull water out of the sump / tank and then have another putting water back? Match the water in with the water out. A slow drip in and out of the tank.

Thoughts?

HiddenUser · Jan 11, 2016

Yep - Lots of people do this.

Fieryfrog · Jan 11, 2016

Really? I need to do some reading. That seems like it would make things pretty easy.

Although right now my manifold has a pipe going right to a drain. Turn the ball valve and It is drained in a few minutes. And only a few more to fill. But any time saved is good time saved.

HiddenUser · Jan 11, 2016

I think the DOS has automated water changes as one of its features, but you should be able to do it with any dosing pump...just make sure you measure the amount being pumped through per minute if you go with separate pumps so you're not taking out more than you're adding or vice versa.

scardall · Jan 11, 2016

Hmmm, I was told that a dosing pump is not made to run continuously and that you can't replenish evaporated water this way. ??????

It just hit me what about a tetra luft pump. You could do a test to see how much water it pumps over a certain period of time.

HiddenUser · Jan 11, 2016

It wouldn't be run continuously...Just replace a small amount of water each day...a few gallons or so per day over the course of a month adds up.

Search google for 'automatic water changes reef tank'...Lots of stuff out there.

cb684 · Jan 11, 2016

http://stenner.com/products/pumps/double-head-adjustable-output
or a Coler Parmer Masterflex with double head

radiata · Jan 15, 2016

scardall said:
Hmmm, I was told that a dosing pump is not made to run continuously and that you can't replenish evaporated water this way. ?????? It just hit me what about a tetra luft pump. You could do a test to see how much water it pumps over a certain period of time.

The Tetra Luft is an air pump. Don't you mean an AW-20 Aqua Lifter vacuum pump by TOM/Oscar Enterprises?

radiata · Jan 15, 2016

Fieryfrog said:
Would you be able to use one dosing pump to pull water out of the sump / tank and then have another putting water back? Match the water in with the water out. A slow drip in and out of the tank.

Thoughts?

What kind of volume are you considering changing daily? Most dosing pumps are only for intermittent use... I'm working on implementing a 5gal/day water change, but need to use a Neptune Systems DOS pump for that kind of volume.

tjwaggoner · Jan 16, 2016

Maybe use a 4 head dosing pump, have two pumping out and two pumping in? That would lessen the run time on the individual pumps by half. Just a thought. Cool idea though, but I don't have a drain near my tank and it's small anyway. Comparatively speaking.

hart24601 · Jan 16, 2016

I used apex dos for this. I think it can handle 30 gallons per day. That is 30 gallons out on one head and 30 gallons in with the other. The program runs it variable speed and time through the day to minimize the strain on the pump.

reefwiser · Jan 16, 2016

The GHL doser and a function that allows you to do this.

cb684 · Jan 16, 2016

I was using a DOS for a 7 gallon AWC throughout the day. It was pumping every 12 minutes or so, for about 2 minutes. In less than a month it became noisy (apparently from one of the heads). So I decided to change for a Cole Parmer Masterflex peristaltic pump... In my opinion the pump you need depends on how much effective water change you want to achieve (https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/EffectiveWaterChange.php). If the volume is high, and the pump will be continuously working, I would look for a industrial pump. If that is the case and you need a silent system, I would look for a Mastflex. If noise is not a problem (for example you can keep it in the garage), then I would go with a Stenner since the price for a new one is close to what you would pay for a used Masterflex.