Automatic Dosing Pump Aquarium: Make Reef Keeping Simple!

Okay, here’s my story about setting up a dosing pump for my aquarium, written in the style you requested:

So, I’ve been messing around with this reef tank of mine for a while now. Things were going okay, corals were growing, fish were swimming, you know, the usual. But I started noticing that keeping the water parameters stable was a real pain in the neck. I was always dumping in solutions by hand, testing the water, and it felt like I was spending more time fiddling with the tank than actually enjoying it. That’s when I started thinking about getting a dosing pump.

I did some digging online, read a few forums, and watched some videos. It seemed like everyone was raving about these “smart” dosing pumps that could automate everything. Sounded pretty good to me! I mean, who wouldn’t want a robot to take care of their aquarium chores? I found this brand, Reef Factory, and their dosing pump. It looked neat and it said it was a smart solution for automatically adding stuff to the aquarium. So, I pulled the trigger and ordered one.

Setting it up

When the pump arrived, I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Ripped open the box and started going through the parts. It came with the pump itself, some tubing, a power supply, and a bunch of other little accessories. Honestly, the instructions weren’t the clearest, but I managed to figure it out. Basically, you connect the tubing to the pump, stick the other end into your solution bottles, and plug the whole thing into the wall. Easy enough, right?

This pump had some app, called aquaLine, that you could use to control it. I downloaded the app, connected it to the pump, and started playing around with the settings. You could set up dosing schedules, adjust the amounts, and even monitor the water parameters, all from your phone! It was pretty slick. You can do pretty much anything with this app, setting up different programs and what not.

• First, I filled up some bottles with the solutions I wanted to dose – calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, the usual stuff.
• Then, I calibrated the pump, which basically meant telling it how much liquid it dispensed per minute. This took a bit of trial and error, but I got it dialed in eventually.
• After that, I set up the dosing schedules in the app. I wanted to start with small, frequent doses, so I programmed the pump to add a tiny bit of each solution every few hours.

The Results

Once everything was set up, I just sat back and watched. At first, I was a little nervous. Was it really working? Was it going to overdose my tank and kill everything? But after a few days, I started to see a difference. The water parameters were much more stable, and the corals looked happier. No more wild swings! It was like the tank was finally on autopilot.

It’s been a few months now, and I gotta say, this dosing pump has been a game-changer. I’m spending way less time messing with the water chemistry and more time enjoying my little underwater world. Corals started to grow a lot more, and I didn’t have to add things by hand. The tank looks better than ever, and I’m actually relaxed when I look at it, instead of worrying about what I need to do next. If you’re on the fence about getting a dosing pump, I say go for it. It’s totally worth it!

It’s a wrap. The dosing pump is working as it should, adding all the necessary things to my aquarium. Now I just need to remember to refill those bottles.