what continuous feed dosing pumps for ca reactor?

coralbeauties · Sep 16, 2020

Looking for a good feed pump for my ca reactor. I am fed up with constantly adjusting my needle valve for my water output from my reactor. thought that I came up with a good idea by buying a kangaroo feeding pump only to tonight noticing that it will only output 300ml per hour. Let me know what you all are running. I saw one on brs but its out of stock and looks like discontinued.
thanks
Jeff

ca1ore · Sep 16, 2020

Kamoer makes a continuous duty peri pump, though I’ve no personal experience with it. Ecotech Versa is continuous rated as well. Probably most folks use a MasterFlex pump. You can find them used if you look. In fact, there’s one for sale here on R2R - same model I have used actually.

TheHarold · Sep 16, 2020

Agreed, most reliable brand is definitely Masterflex or Kamoer.

CCK_8814 · Sep 16, 2020

I had a versa for a short time. Sold it and went to a Kamoer FX-STP. Best choice I made.

ksed · Sep 16, 2020

CCK_8814 said:
I had a versa for a short time. Sold it and went to a Kamoer FX-STP. Best choice I made.

Is the Kamoer noisy?

Crustaceon · Sep 16, 2020

I finally broke down and bought a kamoer fx-stp because I have a tiny calcium reactor and couldn’t use the constant stream method and have a reasonable bubble count at the same time. Also, I hate adjusting valves, lol. The kamoer pump is pretty much silent. Money well spent.

vanpire · Sep 16, 2020

Crustaceon said:
I finally broke down and bought a kamoer fx-stp because I have a tiny calcium reactor and couldn’t use the constant stream method and have a reasonable bubble count at the same time. Also, I hate adjusting valves, lol. The kamoer pump is pretty much silent. Money well spent.

Agreed 100%. I love one and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hydrored · Sep 16, 2020

CCK_8814 said:
I had a versa for a short time. Sold it and went to a Kamoer FX-STP. Best choice I made.

Makes 2 of us

CCK_8814 · Sep 17, 2020

ksed said:
Is the Kamoer noisy?

Not at all, especially not in comparison to the versa.

ca1ore · Sep 17, 2020

How long have folks been using the kamoer? Seems to me it has not been out long enough to be able to draw any useful conclusions about longevity.

Snoopy 67 · Sep 17, 2020

Have mine for about 3 years no with -0- problems. I change tubing yearly but run a slow drip.

ajjw0828 · Sep 17, 2020

I've been using Kamoer since January. Run 12ml/ min so can't talk to heavier demand but love it. Never had an issue yet. I like that they sell replacement tubes, motors, roller to repair it when it fails versus having to buy completely new.

billwill · Sep 17, 2020

I’ve been running my kamoer since December 2018, and it never has let me down. The rollers started to get noisy after many months. I take the roller off and soak it in ATF overnight, and then wipe it down real well and it’s quiet for another six months or more

Snoopy 67 · Sep 17, 2020

Pardon the ignorance but what is ATF, auto tranny fluid?

Sisterlimonpot · Sep 17, 2020

Unfortunately you're going to get mixed reviews. the old timers are holding on to expensive medical grade peristaltic pumps like master flex, because back then it was the only viable option to solve the clogged effluent issue. That's starting to phase out as more affordable, hobby specific options are being provided.

Then Kamoer came out with the FX-STP continuous peristaltic pump specifically designed for CaRx use. it can be used continuously at the rate of 12 ml/min and for $300 it has proven to be a very reliable piece of equipment. They even improved user comforts by providing the newest model with WIFI capability and an improved max continuous speed of 140 ml/min.

Then you have the Ecotech Versa that is rated for continuous use at a max speed of 200 ml/min, for half the cost of the FX-STP. The hard thing is that they are hard to find right now as production is limited. It is controlled by the mobius app and makes usability a no brainer if you already have other ecotech equipment.

When I made my decision for a CaRx pump, I had a master flex, then graduated to FX-STP, and finally settled with Versa, for the sheer ease of control. The fx-stp is a standalone piece of equipment, the app doesn't communicate with anything else. I like the versa for the simple fact that the majority of my equipment is ecotech meaning I can control many things with 1 simple app.

Sisterlimonpot · Sep 17, 2020

Snoopy 67 said:
Pardon the ignorance but what is ATF, auto tranny fluid?

I would imagine he's talking about transmission fluid. However The PharMed tube doesn't fair well to petroleum based lubricants, especially transmission fluid due to the fact that they add a lot of detergents that can degrade the tube faster. Silicone based lube is far better and doesn't have much of a reaction with the rubber, and can easily prolong life expectancy of the rollers just as well as any other petroleum lubricant.

ca1ore · Sep 17, 2020

Snoopy 67 said:
Have mine for about 3 years no with -0- problems. I change tubing yearly but run a slow drip.

That's good to know. I considered one a couple of year back as a replacement for my masterflex, but ended up buying a second masterflex instead. My original has been grinding away for 6 years now, and shows no signs of failing. Takes up a lot of space, and is certainly not silent, but reliability carries the say for me .... every time. I did road test a versa, but two major issues with it in the first week soured me on it as a replacement, at least for now.

dadnjesse · Sep 17, 2020

ca1ore said:
That's good to know. I considered one a couple of year back as a replacement for my masterflex, but ended up buying a second masterflex instead. My original has been grinding away for 6 years now, and shows no signs of failing. Takes up a lot of space, and is certainly not silent, but reliability carries the say for me .... every time. I did road test a versa, but two major issues with it in the first week soured me on it as a replacement, at least for now.

I'm surprised that your MasterFlex is noisy, mine is silent. I just changed to the Aquarium Engineering automatic reactor so mine is going to collect dust for now.

ca1ore · Sep 17, 2020

dadnjesse said:
I'm surprised that your MasterFlex is noisy, mine is silent. I just changed to the Aquarium Engineering automatic reactor so mine is going to collect dust for now.

Well, it's an old one, and a pretty basic economy drive. I got a replacement a year ago but the old one just keeps on keeping on. I had toyed with getting the ACR a couple of years ago, but it wasn't clear to me that it was going to be an improvement on what I could make myself. Plus, I have had issues with Bill Wann and won't do business with AE.

dadnjesse · Sep 17, 2020

ca1ore said:
Well, it's an old one, and a pretty basic economy drive. I got a replacement a year ago but the old one just keeps on keeping on. I had toyed with getting the ACR a couple of years ago, but it wasn't clear to me that it was going to be an improvement on what I could make myself. Plus, I have had issues with Bill Wann and won't do business with AE.

I know what you mean, He has a lifetime warranty but good luck getting ahold of him.