Which Doser?

d2mini · Mar 2, 2016

I need to start gathering equipment for the new build and want to set it up as a Triton tank from the get-go.
I already have a GHL Profilux controller so the obvious choice would be a GHL Doser 2.
But figured I'd ask and see if there is some other option I should be looking at?
The only other one I can think of that would be a direct competitor would be the Pac Sun Kore 5th.
And does anything need to be stirred or benefit from being stirred? GHL has magnetic stirrers available now too.

TIA!

StikHedRon · Mar 2, 2016

I have the GHL 2 doser and that thing is sweet man! Pain in the but to connect to the network but once it's running it's easy to adjust. There are a few things I would like to see different. For instance, you have to tell the doser how many ml to dose at each dosing. I would rather tell it I want to dose 50ml of solution A and split that up 12 times starting at said time. Then have it do the math for me. The doser 2 does not do that, I would have to tell it to dose 4.1ml each dose and dose 12x a day. Kind of a bummer there but I can deal with that. I have found a manual that goes through the setup process easily, as the instructions that come with it are very non instructive.

reefwiser · Mar 2, 2016

You could use just a Slave doser from GHL instead of the stand alone doser since you have a Profilux. I just use mine with my iPhone or iPad to change dosing.

d2mini · Mar 2, 2016

reefwiser said:
You could use just a Slave doser from GHL instead of the stand alone doser since you have a Profilux. I just use mine with my iPhone or iPad to change dosing.

Yes, it's about $50 cheaper for the slave version, which is probably what I would get.
Although... 50 bucks might be worth paying extra incase anything happens to the main controller or I ever decide to switch to a different controller.

gpwdr · Mar 2, 2016

IceCap Liquid Dosing Pump

I love these simple and easy to use pumps

d2mini · Mar 2, 2016

gpwdr said:
IceCap Liquid Dosing Pump

I love these simple and easy to use pumps

Thanks for the suggestion. I wasn't aware of those.
But looking at them, it would cost me almost the same for 4 of these vs the Doser 2, and they have lesser specs.
Good option if you only need a couple though... wish I knew about them before buying the drews dosers from brs for my nano two-part dosing!

nbagnardi · Mar 2, 2016

if you run an apex, its a no brainer, DOS

d2mini · Mar 2, 2016

d2mini said:
I already have a GHL Profilux controller

nbagnardi said:
if you run an apex, its a no brainer, DOS

nbagnardi · Mar 2, 2016

whoops lol

djbetterly · Mar 2, 2016

I have an apex, and I had a DOS, got rid of it. It was precise, but it was loud and personally I thought it was way over priced for a two pump system. I've heard good things about the GHL. I've always been curious about the Pac Sun Kore 5th Intelligent doser but haven't found many reviews on it. Personally I have a jebao and I changed out the pumps for more accurate pumps, I'm quite happy with it to be honest.

hart24601 · Mar 3, 2016

I liked my DOS before I sold it when I went another direction. I actually just picked up a used masterflex variable speed pump with dual easy load heads for $300. I wish I had gotten it a long time ago, it would have solved a lot of issues. Can change the tube size in the heads for delivering different amounts of liquid per revolution - from below .21 mil/rev to over 3ml/rev. I have changed setups and what I use the pumps for and it would have been so handy the past few years. Can be run much longer than hobby type peristaltic pumps and the unit I picked up is variable speed (up to 600 rpm) for more flexibility. Something to think about.

alxjrz · Mar 3, 2016

With all the new dosers coming out and most coming with wireless access is great. however when it comes to price it's hard to justify the amount of cash spent on a doser if they in fact to the same thing. They will all break down at some point. My first impulse was to pick up GHL Doser 2 because it's known for being a work horse and as I continued reading up on other Dosers, Neptune came out with the DOS. I went to the forums and compared the complaints with both the DOS and GHL Doser 2. Covers were breaking and several threads had DOS being very noisy while GHL's complaints were it's poor GUI and fail attempts to have a cloud link to the doser which is still in beta today, it works but very sluggish which is why I run in LAN mode ( access to unit within my network and VPN if I need to access this unit from the outside the network). I took a gamble I went with the Doser 2 because chances are once I calibrate and configure I would be good. It's been running since November and I could not be happier. It's a very quite unit running @ 20ml/min. In the future I want to try the DOS for my Aquaforest components 1+, 2+, 3+ on my 155g Starphire build.

Note: The GHL Doser 2 pumps Max 45ml/min, 1.67mm tubing. The Neptune DOS pumps out Max 250ml/min, 3.33mm tubing.

hart24601 · Mar 3, 2016

If it matters for auto water changes in large systems - the DOS does 250ml/min but it can't run constantly, the programming will have it take breaks. I think the maximum amount of liquid on head can move per day is around 30 gallons. Just FYI. I wanted to use it for growing out discus, but that limit was a bit too low for the crazy WC those guys need.

d2mini · Mar 3, 2016

hart24601 said:
I liked my DOS before I sold it when I went another direction. I actually just picked up a used masterflex variable speed pump with dual easy load heads for $300. I wish I had gotten it a long time ago, it would have solved a lot of issues. Can change the tube size in the heads for delivering different amounts of liquid per revolution - from below .21 mil/rev to over 3ml/rev. I have changed setups and what I use the pumps for and it would have been so handy the past few years. Can be run much longer than hobby type peristaltic pumps and the unit I picked up is variable speed (up to 600 rpm) for more flexibility. Something to think about.

Yes, good advice. I own a few of the CP Masterflex pumps. One has two Easy Load heads on it and I was using it for my auto water change setup. Another I used to feed my CaRx. And the little fixed rpm unit I used as an ATO pump.
But I need to dose at least the 3 Triton Elements (which is why I posted in the Triton forum). I need to be able to tweak each as needed, so I need dedicated control over each. And I'd like to be able to make all adjustments either through my own controller's interface (via PC or mobile device) or through it's own pc/mobile interface.

acrorgv said:
With all the new dosers coming out and most coming with wireless access is great. however when it comes to price it's hard to justify the amount of cash spent on a doser if they in fact to the same thing. They will all break down at some point. My first impulse was to pick up GHL Doser 2 because it's known for being a work horse and as I continued reading up on other Dosers, Neptune came out with the DOS. I went to the forums and compared the complaints with both the DOS and GHL Doser 2. Covers were breaking and several threads had DOS being very noisy while GHL's complaints were it's poor GUI and fail attempts to have a cloud link to the doser which is still in beta today, it works but very sluggish which is why I run in LAN mode ( access to unit within my network and VPN if I need to access this unit from the outside the network). I took a gamble I went with the Doser 2 because chances are once I calibrate and configure I would be good. It's been running since November and I could not be happier. It's a very quite unit running @ 20ml/min. In the future I want to try the DOS for my Aquaforest components 1+, 2+, 3+ on my 155g Starphire build.

Note: The GHL Doser 2 pumps Max 45ml/min, 1.67mm tubing. The Neptune DOS pumps out Max 250ml/min, 3.33mm tubing.

Thanks, good to know!
I don't think max ml/min is ever going to be an issue. I won't be using it for water changes or anything like that. Just Triton dosing.
I do like that the Doser 2 can dose down to .01 ml.

JBNY · Mar 3, 2016

If you have an apex already and can do their DOS I would recommend that. I switched to Triton about 6 weeks ago and pulled off my Ca reactor with a Masterflex pump and am using 2 DOS dosers. It's about as set and forget it as you can get.

d2mini · Mar 3, 2016

JBNY said:
If you have an apex already and can do their DOS I would recommend that. I switched to Triton about 6 weeks ago and pulled off my Ca reactor with a Masterflex pump and am using 2 DOS dosers. It's about as set and forget it as you can get.

ok, so I hopefully don't have to keep repeating myself, i've edited my initial post to BOLD and UPSIZE the statement that I already have a Profilux.
So I have no interest/need for Apex equipment.

But to that point... it does seem as though the GHL Doser 2 would make the most sense.