The tank I'm setting up is a 180 (Twiddledogs old tank). The only reason I was thinking of doing dosers is some of the nicest tanks I have seen have been using dosers/balling method. I like the idea of being able to dial up whatever I want at any given time slowly and in an automated fashion. Also eyeing the DOS system.
What is it about dosing that is a limitation on larger tanks?
The master flex pump seems like a great idea but probably out of my price range in the short term. Do you think a BRS pump would be a better short term answer than the aqualifter pump I have right now?
In the past I have had two big issues with CRs. I had an issue keeping the line from clogging that caused one big tank emergency and another issue with a regulator that failed. Of course these were in the dark ages of reef keeping before I could get a text message telling me my PH had changed.
Alex,
There's no limitation for a dosing method as long as
1)You don't mind making the solution yourself often. For a small tank, not an issue. For a big tank, it can becomes a tedious chore. I have a 10 gallon tank that I sectioned off to three compartment for ALK, CA, MG which yield about 3 gallons each. At first, in my Elos 70(55gallons), I filled it every 12months. Moving to the 200gallons, it slowly drops to 6 months then every 3 months. At this point, I'm pretty busy and making the solutions becomes more like a nuisance.
2)The more you dose, the more salinity you putting into the tank. Easily remedied by taking a cup or two of tank water to rinse out your food and let your ATO fills it back up with freshwater. Minor detail like this will have your salinity shoot up to noticeable level and your corals will not like it.
3)High PH. The more you dose, the higher the PH will be. However, this depends on the environment where the tank is. If the tank is in an enclosed room and suffer from low PH, it will be beneficial. However, if it's in an open floor plan, the PH will be high. Mine was in the 8.5-8.6 at the highest cycle.
4)Cost. It will cost you quick a bit for a larger tank
For a CA reactor, I would only run it with a Masterflex continuous peristaltic pump and an electronic controlled regulator like an Aquarium Plant. Any issue with these two components and you'll head out the reefing door pretty quickly. You can get the Masterflex at pretty reasonable price if you look around.
