- Hey, Thomas here!
Today we're going to be checking out
Red Sea's brand new ReefDose dosing pumps.
You might remember,
I've actually got a couple of ReefWave pumps
on my tank behind me, and I've been really happy with those.
So I'm really curious to see
how these dosing pumps stack up.
They have some really great features
to keep them super accurate.
The app looks super intuitive and can create
complex dosing schedules automatically for you,
which is wonderful.
Plus, they got some really good looking accessories
that go along with it, which I'm excited to show you.
So let's dig into it.
Dosing pumps have become
a staple piece of reefing gear for many reefers.
The ability to automate our dosing of calcium, alkalinity,
magnesium, trace elements, and other liquid additives
not only takes that job off of our plates,
but also in a way that adds
to the stability of our reef systems
and the success that we have with our coral.
What most reefers are looking for in a quality dosing pump
is accuracy first and foremost, for obvious reasons,
along with a easy to use interface
for setting up and programming those dosing schedules.
We'd also like it to be compact, quiet,
easy to do maintenance on,
have a solid, robust build quality
so things aren't breaking on us constantly,
and a reasonable price tag is always nice.
Red Sea's ReefDose 2 and 4
do a fantastic job of checking off those key boxes.
They're compact, using the same profile
as their ReefWave pump controllers.
They have very easy to remove dosing heads
with a keyed shaft along with
direct drive planetary gear motors
for improved accuracy and precision
down to 0.05 milliliters.
They have onboard buttons for priming your dosing lines,
a solid mounting plate,
and they are programmable through the ReefBeat app
using a very simple and user-friendly interface
that's going to make setting up a dosing schedule
quick and easy.
- Also, there are a few great accessories
I'm going to touch on as well.
And if you know me at all,
my hat being a pretty good example,
you'll know at least one reason
that I'm super excited about these.
In the box, you'll find the ReefDose
with the mounting plate already on the back,
a very nice glass graduated cylinder for calibration,
the power supply, the user manual, a set of mounting screws
and prepared labels for Red Sea supplements,
as well as a blank set of labels for making your own,
if you use other supplements.
The ReefDose comes in two models,
the 2 and the 4 sporting, you guessed it,
two and four pump heads, respectively.
Each pump head is capable of single drop accuracy
of give or take 0.05 milliliters,
a daily dose range from as little as 0.2 milliliters
up to 1000 milliliters in 0.1 milliliter increments
and three dosing flow rates of 15 milliliters per minute,
30 milliliters per minute, and 45 milliliters per minute,
depending on your needs
and also how quiet you prefer your doser to run.
I think it's pretty safe to say that most reefers
are likely going to set the pumps to whisper mode
at 15 milliliters per minute,
because we really prefer our tanks seen and not heard.
But if your tank goes through
an absolute ton of additives
or you prefer them to be dosed quickly, for some reason,
it's great to know that you have the option
to turn the pump speed up.
Taking a closer look at the dosing heads,
they're really easy to remove and click back into place
with a nice firm snap, which is great,
and makes maintenance really easy,
whether you're attaching new dosing lines
or replacing the peristaltic tubing.
Speaking of attaching dosing lines,
each head also has a pair of reverse locking nuts
to make sure the dosing tubes stayed firmly attached.
When you flip them over,
you'll notice that the shaft that turns the dosing head
isn't the typical cylindrical metal rod,
but actually a rectangular peg,
which is going to prevent any slipping
between the motor and the head,
which certainly plays a part
in the accuracy of these dosers.
They also automatically align and engage
when the motors start up, so you don't need to stress over
them being aligned perfectly
when you snap the head back into place.
Like I mentioned earlier,
the body of these dosing pumps have the same profile
as the ReefWave pump controllers,
while being deep enough front to back
to accommodate those motors,
which keeps things looking nice and symmetrical
if they're all mounted to a controller board,
which is a really nice touch.
On the back of the unit,
you have a pair of cord routing channels.
So you can run the power cord either to the side,
for those who want to be able to sit it on a shelf,
or straight down,
if you're mounting it to a controller board,
The mounting bracket is fantastic.
It feels solid while sliding on and off really easily
and still allows for access to that recessed button
on the back of the unit.
Speaking of buttons, there are actually physical buttons,
right on the front of the doser.
One button for each dosing head
so that you can prime the lines,
as well as one button on the back for wifi settings.
Beyond that, you do all of the scheduling
through the ReefBeat app.
The app is very easy to work with
and walks you through the setup of each head step-by-step,
from priming to calibrating,
to setting up your dosing amounts.
You can select the additives you're using
from the dropdown menu,
which not only includes Red Sea's line,
but also includes other popular brands of additives
like Tropic Marin and BRS Pharma, just to name a couple.
You can also select Other
and enter the name as well as the type of additive
that you're going to be using,
if it isn't already in the list.
One of the best parts of the ReefBeat app is that
it will automatically map out your dosing schedules for you.
You can select if you want that particular dosing head
to dose the supplement once daily, over 24 hours,
or even a custom schedule,
and the app will automatically map out
all of the dosing heads you've programmed,
to create a full schedule that will make sure your dosers
don't conflict with one another,
which is wonderfully convenient.
The app is also going to compensate for any missed doses,
which can happen when you're doing maintenance
and things are in feed mode,
keep track of how much supplement is left in the container,
and notify you when it's getting low,
or send you a notification
if you forgot to clip a dosing head back on,
provide a 30 day dosing log,
and even automatically trigger feeding mode
on other Red Sea gear like the ReefWave pumps
when dosing liquid foods like AB+.
If the super user friendly app wasn't enough,
Red Sea also went ahead
and made some really stunning dosing tube kits
that include not only a set of,
what I personally think are awesome colored dosing lines,
but also a set of barbed fittings for each tube
that clip into a dosing line holder,
as well as a set of three dosing tube clips
to neatly route them on the inside of your cabinet
while keeping them tidy and out of the way.
The kits come in two different color schemes:
blue/green, as well as red/yellow,
which is great for keeping track of
which lines are going to which supplements.
The dosing tube holder is actually quite nice
and has rubber pads on the inside
to firmly grip to the edge of your tank or sump.
It won't easily accommodate a trim or a Euro brace though,
so that is something to consider.
The tube clips are really well thought out.
They include double-sided foam tape for mounting,
as well as screw holes if you prefer to go that route.
And there are little slots on the inside of each clip
that hold the dosing lines,
which makes them very easy to mount,
even if you're doing it upside down,
up underneath the inside of your stand.
If maybe you don't like rainbow dosing lines,
but you do really like the idea of those clips,
you can pick them up in a three-pack by themselves,
so you can use them with whatever standard dosing tubes
that you've already got on your system.
So if you've been waiting for a very accurate
and very easy to use dosing pump,
and the ReefDose matches your reefing mantra,
you can go ahead and pick one up for yourself
by clicking right here.
(background music plays)