Collection: Dosing Pumps

How a dosing pump works

A peristaltic head squeezes flexible tubing against a rotor, so the solution touches only the inside of the tube and never the mechanism. Volume follows how far the rotor turns, which is what makes these pumps calibratable: run a delivery into a measuring cylinder, tell the pump what it actually produced, and later doses follow that figure. The tube in the head is the wear part and is changed periodically.

Choosing a pump

• Channel count - one head per solution. Two-part dosing needs two; a fuller supplement routine needs four or five.
• Motor type - stepper-driven heads hold calibration longer and suit very small doses; geared DC motors cost less.
• Control method - standalone pumps programmed from a phone app, or modules that require an aquarium controller.
• Duty cycle - continuous-duty pumps are built to run without stopping, which is what a calcium reactor feed needs.
• Expansion - modular ranges dock several pumps to one base station and power supply.

Setting one up

Dose the two halves of a calcium and alkalinity routine at separate times so the solutions mix into the tank rather than into each other; most pumps carry a built-in delay between heads for exactly this. Start from what your test results show is being consumed, raise the daily volume in small steps, and recalibrate after any tubing change. Keep the delivery lines above the water line or fit a siphon break, since a line sitting under water can drain a container into the tank if the pump stops. Email info@jlaquatics.com to size a doser to your routine.