Auto Dosing EI with a dosing pump (diagram and calculations)

[Superman]

Decided to give this auto dosing a go. Had my eye out for a peristaltic pump for some time now but have always been a tad expensive. Just brought this peristaltic pump 24V DC nutrient dosing water pump which looks like it will do the job. I've got a 24V DC adapter and a digital timer as well.

James

EDIT: Just noticed they have put the P&P up. I paid £5.00 and it's now showing £8.30.

I've been looking at those but they seem rather large ish, would appreciate a photo when you get it setup.

 

[LondonDragon]

I've been looking at those but they seem rather large ish, would appreciate a photo when you get it setup.

For the price you would pay for the pump, the hose, the power adapter, you better off just getting an SP3000. Someone mentioned they are selling online for £45! Got mine on ebay for £30.

 

[JamesC]

For the price you would pay for the pump, the hose, the power adapter, you better off just getting an SP3000. Someone mentioned they are selling online for £45! Got mine on ebay for £30.

That's very true. I think you were very lucky to get it at the price you did though. Looking on ebay they are £50 plus. Still I'm happy as I've got all the other parts needed.

Once I get it up and running I'll post up here what I think of it.

James

 

[BINKSY1973]

peristaltic pump 24V DC nutrient dosing water pump

I actually think they are a fairly good price, especially if you happen to have a power supply kicking around already. Can normal air line hose be used for our requirements?

Cheers Gordon.

 

[LondonDragon]

peristaltic pump 24V DC nutrient dosing water pump

I actually think they are a fairly good price, especially if you happen to have a power supply kicking around already. Can normal air line hose be used for our requirements?

Cheers Gordon.

You will need the special hose you see on the photo and then you attach the air line into it, that alone costs about £13, but even with a SP3000 you will need to replace that eventually, but it does come with a spare one if you buy it new and grease paste to apply to that hose (lucky enough it all came with mine).

 

[BINKSY1973]

You will need the special hose you see on the photo and then you attach the air line into it

The pump as i understand it comes with the tubing in the photo, but not the connectors. Good to know air line hose can be used.


Still on the look out for a decent second hand sp3000 though if one does not appear soon then this one will be next on the list.

Cheers Gordon.

 

[JamesC]

The pump tubing is included with the pump so all you need is the air line tubing to attach to it. Once it perishes then it should be fairly easy to get some replacement tubing.

I used to work with peristaltic pumps for years and have quite a bit of tubing at home, bit I think it may be the wrong diameter. Should soon find out.

James

 

[BINKSY1973]

The pump tubing is included with the pump so all you need is the air line tubing to attach to it

Just as i thought, thanks for confirming that one James.

Kicking my self a little now for not ordering one the other night though, its now an extra £3.30 more for postage.

Cheers Gordon.

 

[LondonDragon]

The pump tubing is included with the pump so all you need is the air line tubing to attach to it

Just as i thought, thanks for confirming that one James.
Kicking my self a little now for not ordering one the other night though, its now an extra £3.30 more for postage.
Cheers Gordon.

Taken from the ebay posting:

Please note:
* these pumps do not come with the plastic connectors in the tubing shown in the image

 

[JamesC]

Taken from the ebay posting:

Please note:
* these pumps do not come with the plastic connectors in the tubing shown in the image

I would take that to mean the two connectors on the tubing aren't included but the tubing is. I'll find out soon hopefully.

James

 

[LondonDragon]

I would take that to mean the two connectors on the tubing aren't included but the tubing is. I'll find out soon hopefully.
James

Keep us posted, and don't forget a DIY project thread hehe 😉

 

[JamesC]

The peristaltic pump 24V DC nutrient dosing water pump I ordered off ebay has arrived and first impressions are very good. Was sent by FedEx and was superbly packaged. Seems to have a good strong motor and is robustly built. It is 6cm x 6cm x 8cm approx in size.

As discussed earlier the white tubing is included with the pump but the two connectors aren't. The white tubing has an internal diameter of 5mm which I measured to be about 4.5mm. Luckily I've got loads of peristaltic pump tubing that has an internal diameter of 3.2mm and fits the pump perfectly. This means I can run the tubing from start to end with no connections. I see no reason though why you couldn't use airline tubing connected to the supplied white tubing if you wanted. You would just need to get some connectors that fit both pipes.

I've just used the pump as it is, as it easily clips on to the back of my cabinet but if you wanted to it would be fairly easy to mount it in a box so only the blue pump part is exposed. My mains timer can switch in one minute intervals which pumps 41ml to 42ml each time. Dosing solution is going to be kept in a 2 litre Robinson's squash bottle with no airstone as I find I have no problems with settling. Dosing starts today and just need to make up my 'All In One' solution. And with 2 litres of solution, 42ml a day should last several weeks.



James

 

[LondonDragon]

Looking great James 🙂 I know what I will do if my SP3000 breaks hehe where can you get that tubbing from? A continuous tube is much safer than joints, no way for the solution to leak 🙂 Also what wattage/DC does the pump need?

Thanks for posting it 🙂

 

[JamesC]

Pump uses 150mA. The power adapter I have is 400mA so no probs there. I used to work in a chemical lab and when the site was closed down many years ago we were allowed to take home what we wanted. I used to go home every night with a car load of stuff, which is where the tubing came from. A quick google came up with this - http://www.altecweb.com/home.asp?cat=Subcategory3250, but you have to buy 15m at a time. Should be other places I'd think. The tubing I have is silicone but the tube supplied with the pump and on the website above is santoprene which is food grade.

Shame I didn't take any of the Watson-Marlow peristaltic pumps with me as they are worth a fortune and are the dogs bits. I was more into doing up motor bikes at the time so kitted out my garage with industrial shelving, compressors, etc and didn't see any need for peristaltic pumps. Anyway going off topic a bit.

James

 

[three-fingers]

Potassium sorbate is perfectly safe with your shrimp and everything else as well. Just look at the ingredients of a lot of the things you eat and you will see it. But if you choose to omit it and you don't get any mould problems then great.

There are many anti-mould agents of which some may not be very nice. Not sure what 'packets of silicone' is though.

James

Good to know, will probably still use it then 🙂.

I have lot's of little things of silicone that come in...'packets' I would say. Guess you could call them tubes too, they aren't like the proper big tubes of silicone for tank building.

Loving this thread so far!

 

[a1Matt]

Yep great wtite up and pictures there mate.
How important do you think it is to mix up the mixture with the air pump before dosing?
Cheers Gordon.

Thanks Gordon, to be honest I am not sure, my current solution will end soon and my next one I am going to try it without the air pump, I am only going to use the air pump as I am mixing the powders as it disolves them in no time, specially the MgS04. I will report back with my findings.

Dosing solution is going to be kept in a 2 litre Robinson's squash bottle with no airstone as I find I have no problems with settling.

I got my peristaltic pump today and I am going to try this without an airstone\air pump for the simple reason that I do not own an airpump.

Paulo - have you tried it without the airpump yet? If so, did it make any difference?

 

[LondonDragon]

Paulo - have you tried it without the airpump yet? If so, did it make any difference?

I have been using it without an air pump for just over a week and its all good so far!

 

[Superman]

Mine's in the post as I type, along with the potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid. I plan to have a 2 litre bottle as a storage bottle but will feed a smaller one once a week (space in my cupboard is really tight!). I'm going to try and use an old TPN bottle as the smaller side will let the air in when the pump is on.

 

[a1Matt]

Paulo - have you tried it without the airpump yet? If so, did it make any difference?

I have been using it without an air pump for just over a week and its all good so far!

that is good to hear 🙂

 

[Tony Swinney]

Hi

I've just serviced my SP3000's this morning, replacing the rubber tube, and the motors. The new tubes came with end fittings, so i was about to chuck the old ones out when I remembered this thread 😀

I've got 2 used tubes with end fittings, the rubber has seen better days, but if they're of use to anyone pm me your address and I'll stick them in the post for you. They're the same as these:

http://www.swelluk.com/marine/marin...eplacement-pump-hose-with-fittings-41698.html

Tony