DIY "Drews Doser" Peristaltic Dosing pump
As many of you know, Bulk reef supply hasn't really been able to keep stock on these excellent pumps. Not only that but at almost 90 a pop they aren't too appealing for everyone's wallets. I went ahead and outsourced to where these pumps are made and discovered a set can be had for cheaper then 90 a pump. APT Technology is the manufacture of these pumps and they offer them in there online store, right on there site. However they sell just the pump so it will need wired and mounted in a project box.
I went ahead and called APT and found the pump I needed to dose 1.5ML/m. The beautiful thing about getting the pump direct from them is that you can buy a pump that is specific for your needs. Rather then only being able to dose 1.5ml/m. They have an assortment of options for these pumps to pump anywhere from 5.6ml/per minute to .05ml/per minute. This is done by changing the size of the internal tubing and/or the rpm of the motor
After speaking with Larry at APT I discovered I'd need an 8RPM pump with 3mm Norprene tubing to pump 1.5ml/m. Total price per pump is $67. This isn't with shipping of course.
The part number for the pump was SP101.126
The good thing about this pump is it uses the 3mm tubing inside and the output barbs work perfectly with standard airline tubing. Let this be a precaution when ordering your pumps as you will need adapters if you use lower then 3mm tubing inside the pump. (for different dosing rates)
After receiving the pumps I went ahead and picked up a project box at Radioshack to mount both pumps in it. You can choose to mount the pumps in separate enclosers but I decided one project box for both would make a nice clean install. It was $4.50 for the bigger project box
I went over to the dollar store and picked up 2 extension cords for $1.50/each
So to sum up the prices of everything.
2 - 8 RPM 3mm Norprene 115VAC Pumps $67/Each plus shipping I think was$8
2 - 6Ft extension cords $1.50/each
1 - Project Box $4.50
Various screws I had laying around
Total Cost: $141 + $8 For shipping
So for around $150 total I have 2 well built dosing pumps. I saved over $40 and used a little of my time.
Most people will hook these up to digital timers to dose automatically. I decided to hook this up to my Aquacontroller Jr. Which is smarter then buying 2 digital timers, for me at least.
Now with all my materials I went ahead and put the pumps together. Pretty much self explanatory here. The trickiest part is mounting the pumps to the project box cover. I didn't have a camera so unfortunately I couldn't take pics of the actual process. The needle roller head needs to be removed from the motor that drives it. This is very simply, there's only 2 screws that hold it in.
After mounting the pumps to the cover go ahead and wire them up. Cut both extension cords to length and wire them into the project box. Wire each pump individually to the extension cords. Solder the connections and wrap with heatshrink or electrical tape.
I wish I could have been a little more in depth with how to mount the pumps to the cover. But if your handy you'll do just fine. Any questions PM me please. I did find a camera to take a final shot of it all complete.
http://www.aptinstruments.com/Merch...e=AI&Product_Code=SP100FO&Category_Code=SP100
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062282
ENJOY
As many of you know, Bulk reef supply hasn't really been able to keep stock on these excellent pumps. Not only that but at almost 90 a pop they aren't too appealing for everyone's wallets. I went ahead and outsourced to where these pumps are made and discovered a set can be had for cheaper then 90 a pump. APT Technology is the manufacture of these pumps and they offer them in there online store, right on there site. However they sell just the pump so it will need wired and mounted in a project box.
I went ahead and called APT and found the pump I needed to dose 1.5ML/m. The beautiful thing about getting the pump direct from them is that you can buy a pump that is specific for your needs. Rather then only being able to dose 1.5ml/m. They have an assortment of options for these pumps to pump anywhere from 5.6ml/per minute to .05ml/per minute. This is done by changing the size of the internal tubing and/or the rpm of the motor
After speaking with Larry at APT I discovered I'd need an 8RPM pump with 3mm Norprene tubing to pump 1.5ml/m. Total price per pump is $67. This isn't with shipping of course.
The part number for the pump was SP101.126
The good thing about this pump is it uses the 3mm tubing inside and the output barbs work perfectly with standard airline tubing. Let this be a precaution when ordering your pumps as you will need adapters if you use lower then 3mm tubing inside the pump. (for different dosing rates)
After receiving the pumps I went ahead and picked up a project box at Radioshack to mount both pumps in it. You can choose to mount the pumps in separate enclosers but I decided one project box for both would make a nice clean install. It was $4.50 for the bigger project box
I went over to the dollar store and picked up 2 extension cords for $1.50/each
So to sum up the prices of everything.
2 - 8 RPM 3mm Norprene 115VAC Pumps $67/Each plus shipping I think was$8
2 - 6Ft extension cords $1.50/each
1 - Project Box $4.50
Various screws I had laying around
Total Cost: $141 + $8 For shipping
So for around $150 total I have 2 well built dosing pumps. I saved over $40 and used a little of my time.
Most people will hook these up to digital timers to dose automatically. I decided to hook this up to my Aquacontroller Jr. Which is smarter then buying 2 digital timers, for me at least.
Now with all my materials I went ahead and put the pumps together. Pretty much self explanatory here. The trickiest part is mounting the pumps to the project box cover. I didn't have a camera so unfortunately I couldn't take pics of the actual process. The needle roller head needs to be removed from the motor that drives it. This is very simply, there's only 2 screws that hold it in.
After mounting the pumps to the cover go ahead and wire them up. Cut both extension cords to length and wire them into the project box. Wire each pump individually to the extension cords. Solder the connections and wrap with heatshrink or electrical tape.
I wish I could have been a little more in depth with how to mount the pumps to the cover. But if your handy you'll do just fine. Any questions PM me please. I did find a camera to take a final shot of it all complete.
http://www.aptinstruments.com/Merch...e=AI&Product_Code=SP100FO&Category_Code=SP100
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062282
ENJOY
