Anyone used these dosing pumps

[Deano3]

I am interested in purchasing auto dosing pumps has anyone used the ones below, they currently selling at my local store horizon aquatics and look good.

Dean

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[Alex Papp]

Hi,
George farmer uses this on his EA1200 for tropica premium ferts. I know people who have D-D dosing pumps for marine systems. So theyre probably alright. My only thought about any dosing pump is potential backsyphoning and compounds like Magnesium sulfate and Potash crystalising and blocking the tubes. Probably not an issue if you make sure nothing evaporates (the pipes are always full with ferts)

 

[rebel]

Looks like a premium unit. I have a cheap Jebao and it's just fine for many years now! Once you go dosing, you can never go back.

 

[Deano3]

thanks for that think when have some spare pennys i will buy a couple of these for me Ei dosing look like good units.

Dean

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[Andrew Butler]

Hi @Deano3 - you say pumpS as in more than one?
I say this as if you need more than one channel then look at the versions which offer this, both from this line and others which could possibly be better value for money.
D-D are a big name in aquatics and this pump is one they have built with Kamoer who are known for quality products so essentially it's a Kamoer pump with D-D putting their name on it which is something they are known for.

I wouldn't worry about what @Alex Papp says; you can buy spare dosing pump heads which normally just clip on/off so no worries there, pipes should always be full due to the way the pump works, they are intended to be used and not just have solution sat in them but I have always flushed my pipes through with some warm water from time to time which is easy to do. The silicone tube used in the pump head will be a premium grade and what you connect to it is upto you, whether that's platinum cured silicone tubing or a simple food grade one (appropriate for the chemical you are using).

Why try remembering to dose your tank when a simple device can do it for you, more time to just enjoy the aquarium.

 

[ChrisD80]

I am interested in purchasing auto dosing pumps has anyone used the ones below, they currently selling at my local store horizon aquatics and look good.

Dean

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Hi [mention]Deano3 [/mention] I am using one of these dosing pumps linked to a 5litre supply of TNC complete.

I think it’s great, but i haven’t used an alternative pumps so can’t offer any comparisons.

Some notes from my experience:
The sales rep advised using a check valve at the fertiliser bottle end to prevent backflow but I found this led to air bubbles in the tubing which interfered with accurate dosing so I got rid of it.
I use a glass u bend to take the tube over the rim of the aquarium
I keep the end above the water surface so that there’s an air gap
The end can crystallise you where the fertiliser is exposed to air but this is easily wiped away as part of weekly maintenance
I have mine set to dose Xml on the hour and I have noticed the timing has slipped so that for example it doses at 12:07 rather than 12:00. This isn’t a problem but is strange and I am going to contact the manufacturer about this

Hope this helps
Chris


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[Deano3]

Hi @Deano3 - you say pumpS as in more than one?
I say this as if you need more than one channel then look at the versions which offer this, both from this line and others which could possibly be better value for money.
D-D are a big name in aquatics and this pump is one they have built with Kamoer who are known for quality products so essentially it's a Kamoer pump with D-D putting their name on it which is something they are known for.

I wouldn't worry about what @Alex Papp says; you can buy spare dosing pump heads which normally just clip on/off so no worries there, pipes should always be full due to the way the pump works, they are intended to be used and not just have solution sat in them but I have always flushed my pipes through with some warm water from time to time which is easy to do. The silicone tube used in the pump head will be a premium grade and what you connect to it is upto you, whether that's platinum cured silicone tubing or a simple food grade one (appropriate for the chemical you are using).

Why try remembering to dose your tank when a simple device can do it for you, more time to just enjoy the aquarium.

Thanks for that Andrew very helpful and totally agree one less thing to do and gives more time to enjoy the aquarium.

I am all for supporting local buisness and just seen horizon aquatics sold them thats why i was asking, i will be doing EI so will only need 2 one for micros and one for macros. What do you normally use to store the liquids if you dont mind me asking?

I will be dosing recommend amounds from the start and hopefully any problems that come up adjust from there.

Dean

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[Andrew Butler]

Hi @ChrisD80 I thought I'd try and pick up on your input also.
Was the check valve definitely the correct type, installed correctly and sealed to the hose and good itself; it sounds a little strange to allow air in with and (assumedly) function fine without. Did you ever try it the other side of the dosing pump itself? - I'm not advising this if the rep has suggested otherwise.
You make a good point about the build up of crystallization but that is something I think you agree is easy to resolve as part of weekly maintenance and isn't within the actual pipes itself. As I mentioned before a flush through with some clean, warm water from time to time is a good idea and one easy to carry out also.
Interesting to hear about the time 'slipping' - does it auto correct the time when you connect it to the app?
D-D are normally quite good with customers so hopefully you will get a straight answer from them, fingers crossed.
Hi @Deano3 I think storage depends on a couple of things - budget and what space you have.
I've used a whole host of different container types along the way, most recently 'TMC EASI-Dose - Dosing Containers' which fitted nicely under a 600 I had and also some 5L rigid containers (that I made sure were safe with the chemicals), with these I used a push-fit bulkhead union fitted through the lid with an acrylic rod down into the container and then simply connected the pipe to the top with a tube-barb connector, although this wasn't strictly required. The 5L is a big size and unsure I'd use them with a small aquarium but if you can find a small, suitable container with lids then is a route of going that doesn't cost so much.
*I did speak with the company who make the push-fit fittings to ask about the insides and tolerance to chemicals etc.
I know there was/is a craze about using Voss water bottles, something that may, or may not be worth looking at.
The more expensive types used mainly with marines are good and rigid but the price isn't wallet friendly, it makes me cringe when I think how much I spent on them.

 

[Sammy Islam]

I have two of these pumps that i bought with a gift voucher on amazon. I've used them for about a year and they are actually awesome. Literally takes less than 5mins to calibrate and programme and is very user friendly. I would definitely recommend them, i have my dosing lines cable tied to my twinstar bracket and they sit about 0.5cm above the water.

The only negatives that i can think of is that:
1) if theres a power cut you have to connect to the doser to ge it to resume the programme but it doesn't seem to forget your setting which is good.
2) the doser seems to dose 1m later each day, so by the end of the week the dosers will probably dose about 4-5mins late because it doesn't have an "internal clock" and syncs it's time with your phone every time you connect.

Not a big deal as i login every water change to "reset" the time when i shake my bottles.

 

[jameson_uk]

They are the ones @Aquarium Gardens sell so figure they are going to be decent quality. I noticed they do have a four channel model but it is quite expensive

 

[Andrew Butler]

The only negatives that i can think of is that:
1) if theres a power cut you have to connect to the doser to ge it to resume the programme but it doesn't seem to forget your setting which is good.
2) the doser seems to dose 1m later each day, so by the end of the week the dosers will probably dose about 4-5mins late because it doesn't have an "internal clock" and syncs it's time with your phone every time you connect.

Not something I would expect with a doser from a company like this and at this price point, would certainly make me reconsider this as an option.

 

[Sammy Islam]

Not something I would expect with a doser from a company like this and at this price point, would certainly make me reconsider this as an option.

For me it's not a deal breaker especially as i bought them discounted with an amazon giftcard. I thought the power cut thing was fairly generic issue - for instance with my old fluval lights, you would need to connect to the app after a power cut to resume the programme.

The time thing was definitely annoying, when I first set it up i thought it was broken as it didnt dose on the exact time i had set and didn't know about the time drifting. After emailing the support, they were great and responded within a couple of hours. After a while they informed me the time could drift a little because it doesn't have an "internal clock" and that the time syncs with your phone when you connect to the app. After monitoring the doser, it hasn't missed a dose it just dosed around 1min later each day. I'm not sure what the maximum time it could drift if you didn't log into the app weekly.

But generally i think its very good, i love that you can calibrate and programme your schedule within 5mins, realistically 2min if it isn't your first time.

 

[Andrew Butler]

I think we will agree to disagree here @Sammy Islam - I just think that this being sold as a premium product should have an internal clock, for me the doser is about having something reliable I can just leave to get on with things and not have to check on it. I get power cuts quite often, even these days which has been put down to all the new housing going on around us. I've never had this feature missing from dosers I've owned in the past.

The hobby for me is more pointing in the direction of minimum effort, maximum reward as time goes on.

 

[Sammy Islam]

I think we will agree to disagree here @Sammy Islam - I just think that this being sold as a premium product should have an internal clock, for me the doser is about having something reliable I can just leave to get on with things and not have to check on it. I get power cuts quite often, even these days which has been put down to all the new housing going on around us. I've never had this feature missing from dosers I've owned in the past.

The hobby for me is more pointing in the direction of minimum effort, maximum reward as time goes on.

Don't get me wrong i totally agree with you on the points you have made. But for me, they don't impact me much as we don't get many power cuts and my tank is in my office. I guess now you've said most dosers continue like normal after power cuts it is a bummer.

 

[Andrew Butler]

I guess now you've said most dosers continue like normal after power cuts it is a bummer.

Only from my experience, these days you should be able to hook them upto WiFi and have remote control etc in my opinion, surely?
I've aired my view, shame really as I was looking at this product.

Has anyone experience of the Jebao 3.1 or 3.4 doser? the 3.1 seems a very similar looking product but this is what Jecod/Jebao do best. I know it uses direct WiFi connection and not bluetooth (not remote WiFi from a quick look)

 

[steveno]

Has anyone experience of the Jebao 3.1 or 3.4 doser? the 3.1 seems a very similar looking product but this is what Jecod/Jebao do best. I know it uses direct WiFi connection and not bluetooth (not remote WiFi from a quick look)

Hiya Andrew,

I've recently purchased a jaboa 3.4 dosing unit, pretty convenient to use via the jaboa app, however i don't have any other experiance using these types device, but I'm liking it.

If your interested in my experience with this device please refer to my current journal 'Eruption,' my lockdown scape' (hope it's ok to reference my own journal ).

 

[Andrew Butler]

Hi @steveno maybe worth adding a link here.
The main question is does it hold time in a power outage?

 

[steveno]

Hiya Andrew,

Heres a link to my journal:

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/eruption-my-lockdown-scape.61631/post-607667

From my own experience, when i unplugged the device it seemed to resume the dosing at the correct time when I replugged the device, thou I also assume that my setting are saved in the app, so every time I re-connect to device it probably update the settings.

 

[Sammy Islam]

Only from my experience, these days you should be able to hook them upto WiFi and have remote control etc in my opinion, surely?
I've aired my view, shame really as I was looking at this product.

Has anyone experience of the Jebao 3.1 or 3.4 doser? the 3.1 seems a very similar looking product but this is what Jecod/Jebao do best. I know it uses direct WiFi connection and not bluetooth (not remote WiFi from a quick look)

Definitely would rather connect via wifi than bluetooth, and it would make sense for it to continuing to work when the wifi comes back on after a power cut.

 

[Andrew Butler]

From my own experience, when i unplugged the device it seemed to resume the dosing at the correct time when I replugged the device, thou I also assume that my setting are saved in the app, so every time I re-connect to device it probably update the settings.

Thanks for the link, I did find it but always easier if you link it in a thread.
If you are to turn the device off, then back on again does it still remember the time or do you have to connect to it through the app so it knows? I think this is a big factor here as with the D-D version you have to connect to it after every power outage before it will operate so it knows the time as I understand it. Maybe you would be kind enough to just pull the power 15 minutes before a dose is due, not connect to it and see if it doses? Maybe worth pulling the socket from the wall and leaving it unplugged for 5 minutes, you'd know then too.
The reading I found before you added the link was only coming up with people reporting connection issues and having to ensure you use the 2.4 GHz over 5GHz to connect to it which is simple if you know how.
Does this give you remote access (away from the house) also or is it just a direct WiFi connection?
Maybe @CooKieS and @Nick72 along with yourself and anyone else with the product would start a thread on the new style Jebao 3.1 and 3.4 doser and link that thread in here for people to review and stop clogging up this thread, sorry @Deano3
Thanks