# auto doser



## zwanged (Nov 4, 2012)

Hi,

I'm not disciplined enough to dose ferts to my planted tank every day, so I'm looking to set up auto-dosing of fertilizers ( i have the GLA PPS-Pro kit).

What are my options for auto-dosers? I'm having trouble finding units with good reviews. 

The best lead I've found so far is just modding a air freshener dispenser...Are there any other options? 

#54: How to Build a DIY Auto-doser for Hydroponics and Aquariums for $6 - DIY Wednesday - YouTube

Requirements:
Dosing requirements: Need to dose approx 9mL each for two liquid fert mixes daily to my 75g planted tank.
Budget: Ideally < $100, but I don't want it to be a low quality unit that just breaks on me in a year. 

Any recommendations?

Thanks, 
-Zeke


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I'm right there with you!
I have a dosing pump that came with the 120 from NJ that I plan to use.I think it is this one?
BRS 2 Part Doser â€“ 1.1 mL per minute - Bulk Reef Supply
This seems like the slowest flow so I think you would just have to "super dilute" the ferts;make a weeks worth in 1 gallon of water or whatever and adjust the timer to dose however much in 10 minutes or so?The trick is in calculating mix and to volume you can accurately inject.
I just pulled out my pump(couldn't find it?) and it says .066l/h , so roughly I think that is 1.1ml per minute?
BRS always has good stuff(might want to check them out before completing the marine build for sure!).
GREAT VIDEOS ON EVERYTHING FROM RO/DI TO DIY!


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## zwanged (Nov 4, 2012)

Great, thanks. I will look into it!

-Zeke



coralbandit said:


> I'm right there with you!
> I have a dosing pump that came with the 120 from NJ that I plan to use.I think it is this one?
> BRS 2 Part Doser – 1.1 mL per minute - Bulk Reef Supply
> This seems like the slowest flow so I think you would just have to "super dilute" the ferts;make a weeks worth in 1 gallon of water or whatever and adjust the timer to dose however much in 10 minutes or so?The trick is in calculating mix and to volume you can accurately inject.
> ...


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## zwanged (Nov 4, 2012)

What type of timer do you use? Just the cheap aquarium timers?

-Zeke


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Sooooo,I did just pull this out and have not hooked up anything yet.
We both have the same questions.
Is a basic timer with 15 minute "pins" the way to go ?Just need to calibrate daily doses to be in 15X 1.1ml dose(=16.5ml).
Or use a digital timer and only run it for 1 minute a day?
I have too many of both kinds and over time really prefer the "pin" type.
I even think running pump for 15 minutes a day is more "consistent" then 1 minute if "anything" goes wrong or different.
I would set timer for "15 min" and then have it run into a measurable cup or beaker(something to measure in ml).Then after I ran test a couple times I would confidently know how much liquid is dosed daily and mix my ferts in that proportion for however many days I could fit into the storage container.


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## zwanged (Nov 4, 2012)

This looks perfect for my use case, thanks for your help!

-Zeke



coralbandit said:


> Sooooo,I did just pull this out and have not hooked up anything yet.
> We both have the same questions.
> Is a basic timer with 15 minute "pins" the way to go ?Just need to calibrate daily doses to be in 15X 1.1ml dose(=16.5ml).
> Or use a digital timer and only run it for 1 minute a day?
> ...


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