# Auto doser



## Adumlee (24 Jan 2022)

Hi does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably priced auto doser, I plan on dosing a complete on a 100L aquarium. 

Thanks in advance


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## hypnogogia (24 Jan 2022)

D-D H2Ocean P1 Dosing Pump
					

D-D H2Ocean P1 Dosing Pump These smart pumps have been jointly developed between D-D and Kamoer, a company with a strong reputation for the




					www.aquariumgardens.co.uk


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## Adumlee (24 Jan 2022)

Brilliant thanks looks a good bit of kit will make life easier!


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## ScareCrow (25 Jan 2022)

Jebao dosers are pretty good. I've been running one for a few weeks and a friend had his for several years. I've not tried the newer WiFi units but the standard models don't allow for rest days or alternate day dosing (you can trick it though) but probably not a concern if you're doing all in one.


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## arcturus (25 Jan 2022)

ScareCrow said:


> Jebao dosers are pretty good. I've been running one for a few weeks and a friend had his for several years. I've not tried the newer WiFi units but the standard models don't allow for rest days or alternate day dosing (you can trick it though) but probably not a concern if you're doing all in one.


The trick is not good enough IMO because you will end up with 2 week cycles and cannot set (or skip) the dosage for water change day. In the old version this relied on changing the time/date while setting the schedule. But I am not sure this trick works in the wifi version anymore because you use an app to set the schedule. Mixing macros and micros is also not a good solution as the risk of precipitation is high. The doser that @hypnogogia suggested (as  well as other reef dosers) supports daily scheduling, but getting 2 H2Ocean pumps is more expensive than a 4-pump jebao.


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## ian_m (25 Jan 2022)

DIY Project - DIY dual peristaltic dosing pump with alternate switching.


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## Wookii (25 Jan 2022)

ScareCrow said:


> Jebao dosers are pretty good. I've been running one for a few weeks and a friend had his for several years. I've not tried the newer WiFi units but the standard models don't allow for rest days or alternate day dosing (you can trick it though) but probably not a concern if you're doing all in one.





arcturus said:


> The trick is not good enough IMO because you will end up with 2 week cycles and cannot set (or skip) the dosage for water change day. In the old version this relied on changing the time/date while setting the schedule. But I am not sure this trick works in the wifi version anymore because you use an app to set the schedule. Mixing macros and micros is also not a good solution as the risk of precipitation is high. The doser that @hypnogogia suggested (as  well as other reef dosers) supports daily scheduling, but getting 2 H2Ocean pumps is more expensive than a 4-pump jebao.


 
We have to remind ourselves that the main (only?) reason alternate day dosing was employed under EI was to make it as easy as possible on the hobbyist dosing dry salts or pre-mixed liquids into a tank - just one thing to remember each day; micro, macro or water change.

The reality is we can dose those ferts as often as we like as long as we stick to the overall weekly target ppm's we've selected. The beauty of an auto-doser is you can dose those ferts whenever you like without any inconvenience. You could even dose every hour if you wish (and your auto-doser is accurate enough and has enough time slots), or you can dose your micros at midnight, and your macros at lights on - whatever suits your objectives.

You can certainly dose micros and macros on the same day - sure you might want to give it half an hour or so (depending on the flow past the dosing point) between each dose, so higher concentrated areas of water don't mix and increase precipitation, but outside of that the tank water will always include long run equilibrium levels of both Fe and PO4, so the precipitation risk becomes a bit of a moot point. If anything, dosing both daily spread over the full 7 days increases stability and consistency of the overall fert levels.


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## ScareCrow (25 Jan 2022)

arcturus said:


> cannot set (or skip) the dosage for water change day


Yeah I just accept that I'm going to waste a few ml of ferts on water change day, it goes on the house plants/garden anyway in my case. It does have the benefit that if I miss water change day, I'm not missing a dose, to then do water change on a day when I am dosing. Should say, my tank is low tech so not on a knife edge when it comes to ml accuracy/consistency.
I only realised the limitation of the doser after I got it. It does store the settings and it might (can't remember or know for how long) keep track of time, even when unplugged. So I did consider putting it on a timer.


arcturus said:


> Mixing macros and micros is also not a good solution as the risk of precipitation is high


I had considered all in one but want to keep macros and micros separate. So I dose 12hrs apart either side of the photo period. Not ideal but plants should've absorbed some of the PO⁴ during the photo period and so precipitation should be less likely when the iron gets added. It saves having to remember to does it every morning at least, so does improve consistency.

For the cost of the unit I think it's pretty good. Ok you don't get all the functionality of other units but it's a lot cheaper.


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## arcturus (25 Jan 2022)

ScareCrow said:


> For the cost of the unit I think it's pretty good. Ok you don't get all the functionality of other units but it's a lot cheaper.


It is a lot of cheaper than most reef dosers. But the D-D H2Ocean 1 pump unit costs ~75 EUR, so ~150 EUR for 2 pumps. The Jebao 3.4 Wifi with 4 pumps costs ~130 EUR. If you are just dosing micros and macros, then 2 H2Ocean pumps can be a good alternative to the Jebao.


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## ScareCrow (25 Jan 2022)

arcturus said:


> It is a lot of cheaper than most reef dosers. But the D-D H2Ocean 1 pump unit costs ~75 EUR, so ~150 EUR for 2 pumps. The Jebao 3.4 Wifi with 4 pumps costs ~130 EUR. If you are just dosing micros and macros, then 2 H2Ocean pumps can be a good alternative to the Jebao.


Fair enough, I've not got a clue about the WiFi version. Like I said I'm using the older one, which is still available, comes in 2, 3, 4, 5 head versions (I think you can expand up to 8 heads with the slave units).


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## Hufsa (25 Jan 2022)

Highly recommend an auto doser in general, it has helped immensely for my chronic consistency deficiency and just makes life a lot easier. If youre good on money and like extra safety I would go for one of the "brand" ones, but for a budget Jebao works fine. Mine is a second hand non-wifi one, and the time setting has a tendency to drift a little bit over time, but other than that it has worked perfectly fine. Keep your dosing line well above your aquariums water surface, and you will reduce the danger of backflow as well.


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## DaveWatkin (26 Jan 2022)

I would recommend the Jebao dosers over the P1. I run both on different tanks and the P1's are twice the price and I don't think they are worth it. They need to be connected to at least once a week to correct time drift (loses a few minutes a day) although they do hold the calibration well.

On the other hand my Jebao was a little more difficult to set up/calibrate as but once you have a baseline I have had it running for a year and never had to look at it except to change the bottles out.

Edit, my Jebao is the cheap 2 head version, no need for fancy connectivity in this case I think.


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## arcturus (26 Jan 2022)

DaveWatkin said:


> I would recommend the Jebao dosers over the P1. I run both on different tanks and the P1's are twice the price and I don't think they are worth it. They need to be connected to at least once a week to correct time drift (loses a few minutes a day) although they do hold the calibration well.
> 
> On the other hand my Jebao was a little more difficult to set up/calibrate as but once you have a baseline I have had it running for a year and never had to look at it except to change the bottles out.
> 
> Edit, my Jebao is the cheap 2 head version, no need for fancy connectivity in this case I think.


Can you share how are you scheduling the micros and macros with the Jebao?


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## jamiepearson (26 Jan 2022)

there's a Guide


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## Hufsa (26 Jan 2022)

Or just dose macros and micros 12 hours apart, easy peasy, zero hassle


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## DaveWatkin (26 Jan 2022)

arcturus said:


> Can you share how are you scheduling the micros and macros with the Jebao?


Sorry, I use an all in one and excel with it. Should be easy enough to dose EI with though


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