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Re: IV doser



Hello all,

Snip........

James Purchase asked on Fri, 29 Nov 1996 

Snip........

> Dupla recommends that it's basic fertilizer, Duplant, be added to the
> water with every water change and that the micronutrient supplement,
> Duplant 24, be added on a daily basis.
> 
> I am wondering is either (or both) additives could be placed in an IV
> style dosing bag and added to the tank in a slow, continuous drip (the
> additives would be diluted with an appropriate amount of pure water in
> the dosing bag. The unit I am thinking of specifically is the Accudose
> from R.J. Hunter ($14.95). 

I have been using Continu-flo from Baxter for two years now and it works
just great. The flow rate can be adjusted very precisely. The price I paid for
the unit was  $4.50 Can. which is a real bargain. 

At first I have been using some commercial preparations then I started 
to tinker with some of my own "recepies" but after the PMDD was introduced
by Kevin and Paul that is what I have been using ever since. 

> Or would the additives oxidize while being held in the doser in a
> diluted form? If it would work, it would certainly be simpler than
> manually adding the drops every day and cheaper than a dedicated dosing
> pump.

I am using aged distilled water with very low oxigen content and I am also
adding citric acid to the solution to ensure better long term stability. One
liter bag lasts me for about a month.
 
Snip...........

> Could a "nutrient spring", such as is discussed in TOA, not be simulated
> in a large aquarium by using an IV doser held above the water line, with
> the input being introduced through a length of air-line tubing that is
> run underneath the gravel to a single release point somewhere in the
> substrate? 

Interesting idea. However you might need a Dupla dosing pump for this
one. IV might not have enough force to push nutrients through the substrate.
 

Franc Gorenc           franc at golden_net
Kitchener, Ontario     http://www.golden.net/~franc
Canada