Hi everybody, joey here again and welcome back.
Today, I'm going to show you how to build a dosing system.
A dosing system allows you to dose trace elements, fertilizers, supplements and any other liquid
to your
aquarium.
It does so in small set amounts at set times of the day.
Many planted aquarium and reef owners dose their aquariums on a daily basis.
Some rely on a dosing
system to do it for them, while others manually dose daily.
Manually dosing does not offer a lot of consistency though.
There are times you might miss a dose, or
simply not be able to dose at the same time every day.
This is where a dosing system comes in handy
while offering consistency.
A dosing system consists of two main components: A dosing container and a dosing pump
Both are typically sold separately.
Purchased, this will run you are $200.
The one I will show you how to build will only cost you less than $30.
So let's get started.
For the dosing container
You will need a small plastic container that has a sealable lid.
Preferably spill proof and around 2 liters
in size.
This one, I paid $2.50 for.
Size will depend entirely on what you want to use it for.
You do not
need anything fancy or expensive though.
Even a simple water bottle will work.
(If it has a flat bottom)
You will also need Airline ball valves: You need two of these.
These are pretty common to find online
with an aquarium supply store.
They fit perfectly inside an airline hose and are barbed at the end so the
line does not come off.
They will cost you around $0.50 each.
Common airline hose will also be needed.
A small amount of silicone will also be used.
Start by drilling a hole as close to the bottom of the container as possible.
The hole should be the same
size as the airline hose.
Take a small piece of airline hose and attach it to one of the ball valves.
Insert the ball valve with the airline end, into the hole in the bottle.
The ball valve slightly makes the
airline wider than normal and this helps to create a seal on the bottle.
The seal will prevent leaks and
movement.
The purpose of this valve will be discussed later.
Add a dab of silicone around the ball valve to help seal it.
This completes the dosing container.
Now we need a pump.
I recommend using the "Tom Aquatics Aqua-Lifter Dosing Pump".
If you search it
online, you will come to find it will average around $15.
This is similar to an air pump, but instead of
air, it can pump liquid.
It pumps small amounts of liquid though, which is perfect for this project.
This pump is a must.
Connect the lift pump to the valve on the container.
This valve should be connected to the suction input
of the pump.
Connect a small piece of airline to the output of the pump.
Then the second ball valve.
Then more
airline.
This will serve as the return to your aquarium.
That's it.
So how does this work?
Fluid is sucked in from the container and pumped to the aquarium.
The ball valve connected to the container serves as a shut off and a place to disconnect
the pump from
the container.
The valve insures nothing leaks out when you do so.
The ball valve on the output controls the flow of liquid.
Now let's talk about how to set this up and how to get the right amount of flow out of
it.
We need to know one thing: How much water is in a drop.
It takes 20 drops of water to make 1 milliliter of water.
So for example, if you drip this at a rate of 1 drop per second, you will have dripped
3 milliliters of
water in 1 minute.
This measurement is how you will calculate the flow.
When you turn this pump on, you will notice that the water flows out and doesn't actually
drip.
You will
need to use the ball valve on the output of the pump to control the flow and bring it
down to a drip.
NEVER restrict the flow going in.
Only restrict the flow going out.
Restricting the flow going into a
pump will ruin any water pump in no time.
So now that we know how to calculate the dosing amount.
We can't have this dripping all day.
so we
need to put it on a timer.
A cheap timer is all that is needed here.
One that will allow you to switch it on and off by the minute.
Typically, these will run you around $5
Set the timer to turn the pump on once a day, for a set time period.
I like to use a 5 minute setting.
In
most cases, this is enough.
So let's take a look at an example now that we understand drip rates...
Say we need to dose 20 milliliters of fertilizer to the aquarium once a day.
That means we need to make
sure there are 400 drips to make up those 20 milliliters.
If you drip 2 drips per second, you will reach those 400 drips in a matter of 2 minutes.
So we would set
the timer to come on for 2 minutes and then shut back off, once a day.
Now I suggest Practicing with water first.
Get your drip right before adding in the real thing.
This can
take a few attempts and maybe even a few days to make sure the drip is consistently correct.
Placing the output hose near a power head or return of a filter will make sure it is
getting evenly
distributed in the aquarium and not just dosing one area in the aquarium.
So that is how to build a dosing system.
If anything else, I hope this got you thinking and possibly
inspired more ideas.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the video, I also want to thank you for watching, and
we'll see you
next time.