Ok I'm working this all out. See what u think.
I got my Jebao DP4. I know it is cheaping out on a critical piece of equip but I believe, for now, that dosers are commodities that should not command the prices charged. There is no "R&D" involved in a plastic box holding a couple of circuit boards, stock LED display, and some sourced peristaltic pumps/motors that can be found for $10 on the interwebs (yes, I opened it up to see - pics available). Regardless, I have it plugged into an Apex outlet as a "kill switch". The Apex monitors the pH and immediately pulls the plug if it spikes above 8.55 and sends an alarm in the case that the motors stick on somehow.
My 18 gal tank has been using increasing amounts of alk and it had become a problem for maintaining pH. I was topping off with kalkwasser with a float switch and adding 30 ml of BRS two part and still just keeping alk at barely above 8 dKh. In that scenario even if I dosed alk in the morning my pH was beginning to often top out at near 8.65 and my montis and birdsnests were very unhappy about it to the point of dying to prove it (I don't know who decided acros were the prima donnas of the reef tank. They just motor thru everything without complaint).
So I stopped the kalk additions and programmed the controller to add 30 ml of alk in 10 increments from 6 am to 11 am when the main lights come on. I would like to start earlier but it turns out the doser pumps are noisy and sometimes people have to sleep in the bedroom the tank is in. The 30 ml of Ca is added in 5 doses from 2 pm to midnight. This much has been keeping Ca at barely 400 ppm.
Just started this routine and not sure if I will be able to keep adequate levels without kalk, but my initial objective was to get pH under control. So far it has been topping out at just 8.48 in the evening which should be ok.
I got my Jebao DP4. I know it is cheaping out on a critical piece of equip but I believe, for now, that dosers are commodities that should not command the prices charged. There is no "R&D" involved in a plastic box holding a couple of circuit boards, stock LED display, and some sourced peristaltic pumps/motors that can be found for $10 on the interwebs (yes, I opened it up to see - pics available). Regardless, I have it plugged into an Apex outlet as a "kill switch". The Apex monitors the pH and immediately pulls the plug if it spikes above 8.55 and sends an alarm in the case that the motors stick on somehow.
My 18 gal tank has been using increasing amounts of alk and it had become a problem for maintaining pH. I was topping off with kalkwasser with a float switch and adding 30 ml of BRS two part and still just keeping alk at barely above 8 dKh. In that scenario even if I dosed alk in the morning my pH was beginning to often top out at near 8.65 and my montis and birdsnests were very unhappy about it to the point of dying to prove it (I don't know who decided acros were the prima donnas of the reef tank. They just motor thru everything without complaint).
So I stopped the kalk additions and programmed the controller to add 30 ml of alk in 10 increments from 6 am to 11 am when the main lights come on. I would like to start earlier but it turns out the doser pumps are noisy and sometimes people have to sleep in the bedroom the tank is in. The 30 ml of Ca is added in 5 doses from 2 pm to midnight. This much has been keeping Ca at barely 400 ppm.
Just started this routine and not sure if I will be able to keep adequate levels without kalk, but my initial objective was to get pH under control. So far it has been topping out at just 8.48 in the evening which should be ok.
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