aquamedic mod

[loismustdie]

First off, THANK YOU to the MR family for being so kind to me, my wife and our new son.
As many of you know(due to the new baby), I've been doing a lot to make my system as automated as humanly possible. One purchase I made was an Aqua Medic Twin Doser to help me with my Randy 2 Part. Let me start by saying that not only from a manual labor stand point, but RESULTS! My growth has never better.
Everyone, please keep in mind that again, I am biased. I had a calcium reactor, I've used other 2 Part solutions, but none have been cheaper or more effective for me.
The problem is the doser. If you do not have or plan to buy an Aqua Medic Doser, this thread is useless to you.
I like the doser. Results are better with the doser on a steady flow 24 hours a day than they were with me doing heavy doses 3 times a day. The problem is, the doser does not handle the chemicals very well. I had to make modifications to make the whole thing work.
First off, have plenty of Surgilube on hand. Surgilube is a water based lubricant which the pumps need to work. For all you dirty Manhattan Reefers who actually have a life outside of your tank... this is not a dual purpose lubricant.
Second, air line tubing will clog too fast. The check valves that come with the Aqua Medic SUCK. I bought Thera-Bands from Perform Better to replace air line tubing. I also picked up heavy duty industrial check valves from Aquatic Eco. Again, all of these upgrades increased my costs, so if you are planning this type of automation, shop around.
Here are some pics.
#1: the pump
#2: the check valves
#3: the tubing
#4: the lube for you dirty birds

 

[House of Laughter]

Chris, congrats on the little (big) man -

are those SP 3000's?

House

 

[Craig]

Cool setup

What type of resevoirs do you have them hooked up to? Do you do anything to stir the solutions?

 

[loismustdie]

No... 228225's on a used Poland Spring bottle? If we're talking about the same thing?

 

[loismustdie]

Craig, I use warm water to mix the 2. This dissolves most of the solution. I do not mix it up after that (consistency between the batches).
Also, the Surgilube is applied to the peristaltic tubing inside of the pump... trust me.

 

[fritz]

That sucks (and is a good heads up) I was planning on getting one of these. I was considering the tri or quad doser to give the option of adding some phyto to the tank. How do you think this pump would handle phyto?

 

[spykes]

chris air lines didnt work for you? i thought your thing came with check valves why did you have to get new ones? i didnt know they cloged that fast though.

 

[fritz]

I"m surprised they clog so fast as well. Perhaps your solutions aren't completely dissolved and it's pulling up the mung from the bottom.

 

[jhale]

the mods look good Chris.
I have the same doser, it's been running about 3 months with no problems yet. how long did it take for yours to clog up?

 

[SlamaJama]

..... Surgilube is a water based lubricant which the pumps need to work. For all you dirty Manhattan Reefers who actually have a life outside of your tank... this is not a dual purpose lubricant.

lmao

 

[herman]

:iamwithst:funnypost

 

[loismustdie]

Jon, I clogged the check valves that came with the pump in under 5 days on the part 2 pump. The check valves are really bad IMO. I hope the upgrades I made help me go 3 months with no maintenance. I wonder if there is a difference in our 2 part that led to my problems? I think it was the clogged check valve that led to the connections for the peristaltic tubing on the part 2 pump to clog. I corrected this, now during my last refill, i noticed the air line tubing seemed brittle, so I went with the thicker tubing.
Jon, also, how are you dosing? How often is the pump running? I wonder if this has anything to do with my issues. Mine goes on for 30 seconds every hour. I'd like to know why my check valves died so fast while you seem to be doing quite well.
Fred, it's a good pump. I actually wish I bought the quad. I don't know about phyto. I think I remember hearing to drip phyto in the tank, rather than using a pump, but I have no idea why. I've never dosed phyto to my tank.
Last, I'd like everyone to keep in mind that I am not trying to discourage anyone from buying this. I really do love it and the automation is worth every penny. I just found that I had to make improvements. The new check valves cost $3 each and I don't remember what I spent on the therabands since I bought them a long time ago with some fitness equipment.

 

[jhale]

Chris,
I have my doser set to come on just once a day.
I know it should be split up but I have not re-programed it yet.
I did notice once that some buildup had occurred on the end of one of the valves, but it was not preventing the solution from coming out.

for comparisons sake I'm dosing once for 3:30 minutes and my levels have been steady at 420 ca and 120 alk. I test them once a week.