Quiet Peristaltic Pump for Calcium Reactor

[eb2292]

Hey guys,

So on my old tank, I had a Geo 612 CalRx with my DOS jerry-rigged to be the feed pump. That tank has since been shut down and I have started a new tank.

Bought a new Geo CalRx to go with it, but decided to try to skip the peristaltic pump by using a needle valve teed off my return to feed it. Low and behold, pretty much everybody is right - it's a pain to keep the effluent consistent.

This tank is in my living room next to my couch, so I am looking for a quiet, somewhat small (small enough to fit in the storage side of a Reefer 350 stand) peristaltic. I tried one of the big MasterFlex's on my old tank but it was so freakin loud so I didn't end up using it.

Any suggestions for something other than a Masterflex? Quick google search brings up a couple interesting options -

Has anybody used any of these Kamoer pumps that are under $100?
https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-kamoer-peristaltic-pump.html

I'd prefer not to spend this much, but does anybody have any experience with these and are they quiet?:
https://www.amazon.com/Zodiac-3-310...=1526298868&sr=1-28&keywords=peristaltic+pump

 

[Bpb]

Did you try a brushless masterflex. I understand people say they’re much less noisy

 

[wangspeed]

Any of the digital Watson Marlow pumps (brushless) are also near silent. You have to get lucky with an offer on eBay though. The listing prices are sky high.

 

[ca1ore]

Prices for the masterflex pumps have gone crazy, with digital brushless on the high end. I bought a basic model for $150 shipped five years ago and now I see similar offers for $400. Mine is the economy drive and is pretty quiet; though certainly not silent.

 

[eb2292]

The prices for the Masterflex brushless models are way out of my price range unfortunately.

I'm considering trying Avast's peristaltic pump: https://www.avastmarine.com/collections/avast-built/products/peristaltic-pump-for-two-part-dosing

Or this one from AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Kam...bac0-446d-9a8b-d60165dd5a54&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

[ca1ore]

Avast make two versions of their peri pump - one for dosing and one for AWS. As near as I can tell, the only difference is the speed of the motor. The downside is that they are fixed speed and I am not sure if they are intended for continuous duty. That kamoer pump looks intriguing.

 

[Bpb]

FWIW that Kamoer pump has an average motor life of 1000 hours

 

[eb2292]

Good catch about the Kamoer! And Avast's peri pump is back-ordered for two weeks. Back to the drawing board.

 

[2una]

FWIW that Kamoer pump has an average motor life of 1000 hours

1000 hours that would have to be the tubing rather wouldn't it?
I don't think they'd give a 1 year warranty on something that the motor is going to fail on in 40 days continuous use.
I've used Kamoers 4 head doser units & they are pretty solid as far as reliable goes.

 

[Mark SF]

Not sure how quiet this one is, but certainly something to look into. Not a bad price and a lot less footprint than the typical MasterFlex unit. My past experience with Pacific Sun has been middle of the road price, middle of the road quality with unusable software/wifi connectivity. That was my experience in 2014 - perhaps they picked up an engineer that has improved the quality of their software.

http://www.pacificsun-usa.com/calci...ro-controller-unit-with-dosing-feed-pump.html

 

[Bpb]

1000 hours that would have to be the tubing rather wouldn't it?
I don't think they'd give a 1 year warranty on something that the motor is going to fail on in 40 days continuous use.
I've used Kamoers 4 head doser units & they are pretty solid as far as reliable goes.

 

[2una]

Got you , I'd guess it must be an error tho & someones messed up with that, Not good for sales.

 

[eb2292]

I was able to turn up a couple threads with people running that model from AliExpress for over a year non stop without any issues. 1000 hours is nothing lol I may give it a shot if I can't find anything else.

 

[AtulR]

Kamoer actually makes pumps that are designed for continuous duty. You'll have to pay a bit more unfortunately
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/por...d698151&transAbTest=ae803_2&priceBeautifyAB=0
I've got this one on my personal calcium reactor. Working fine so far, but I can't speak about longevity. Working with their customer service was difficult as well, but the pump came in less than a week, which was a good surprise.

 

[bubblemytip]

I use an IKS Vario Blue II to feed my calcium reactor. German-made, variable-speed (7ml-70ml/min) and continuous duty. It is 220V, which is fine for me, but if you're in America, I imagine you could use an adaptor of some sort. It's quiet enough. I have one for kalk/ATO too that I've been using for two years without needing to replace its tubing.

 

[eb2292]

Kamoer actually makes pumps that are designed for continuous duty. You'll have to pay a bit more unfortunately
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/por...d698151&transAbTest=ae803_2&priceBeautifyAB=0
I've got this one on my personal calcium reactor. Working fine so far, but I can't speak about longevity. Working with their customer service was difficult as well, but the pump came in less than a week, which was a good surprise.

This actually looks like the same exact one I posted but the one I posted is 15% off. It looks like it's worth a shot though.

I use an IKS Vario Blue II to feed my calcium reactor. German-made, variable-speed (7ml-70ml/min) and continuous duty. It is 220V, which is fine for me, but if you're in America, I imagine you could use an adaptor of some sort. It's quiet enough. I have one for kalk/ATO too that I've been using for two years without needing to replace its tubing.

This pump looks really nice though but doesn't look like its available to the US or at least it's going to be tough to get.

 

[markstubb]

I have the kamoer fx-stp and it's essentially silent, other than the occasional squeak from the tubing rubbing on the roller. Pretty happy with it so far.

 

[authentic]

I just ordered a IKS dosing pump Vario BlueII from aquarastikshop.com research led me to believe this is the pump that comes with the DASTACO reactor...its on its way I can post review after I set it up...also looking for quiet

 

[AquamanE]

Ive used a Kamoer FS-1 pump for the past 2 years continuously with no issues except finding replacement tubing because there instruction manuals are useless. Other than that I love it. I want a back up like the one mentioned above Kamoer fx-stp.

The Zodiac you mention above is really a Stenner pump. Thes are commercial duty pumps. I use a dual head for automatic water changes. I have friends that have a single head, adjustable that is working well on their CaRx, BUT they are not silent. If interrsted look up Stenner pumps, they are cheaper than the zodiac, and are the original.

 

[newbreefer316]

Following along... Going through the same blues with my Ca Rx and not looking to break the bank with a masterflex. I've got a spare Avast peri, the heavy duty one, that i picked up with a used ato but I'm not sure if it's fit for this duty.