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[message]Neptune DOS - Dosing and Fluid Metering System
Neptune DOS - Dosing and Fluid Metering System
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2-Part Dosing (Calcium and Alkalinity)
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Other Additives Dosing
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Automatic Water Changes
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Micro-Quantity Dosing
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Delivery of Liquid Foods and Supplements
SO, HERE’S WHAT THE DŌS CAN DO:
The DŌS is a multi-purpose Dosing and Fluid Metering System. The DŌS connects to any Apex via its AquaBus connection. The true versatility and functionality of the DŌS comes to life via the software wizards built into Apex Fusion. This takes dosing to a whole new level in terms of ease of use as well as functionality when compared to standalone dosing systems because the DŌS is part of your Apex ecosystem. Not only can you integrate it into other operations and devices you have configured, but we also will be continuing to expand on its capabilities as time goes on via software updates to Apex Fusion.
2-PART DOSING MADE EASY
The #1 reason people purchase a dosing system for their aquariums is for consistent and easy dosing of 2-part solutions (calcium and alkalinity) to their reef tanks. The most common method for doing this today is to use standalone dosing pumps and run them on a timer using seconds or minutes to determine how much to dose.
WATER CHANGES – THE NEVER ENDING CHORE
Hate doing water changes? – everyone does – so they never get done as often as they should. Not only that, water changes are disruptive to the stability of your system since all of that change is happening at once.
MICRO-DOSING OF ELEMENTS
If you need to dose tiny amounts of a particular solution, element or other fluid (like vodka dosing or Zeovit systems), the DŌS is the perfect solution due to its precision controlled stepper motor. This ability to control pump movement in such a refined manner means that you can dose all the way down to 0.1ml at a time!
HOW IS IT BUILT?
When it comes to dosing, it all starts with the peristaltic pump.First, lets talk about the pump hardware. Be aware that not all dosing pumps are built alike. Well, lets clarify that. Almost all OTHER dosing pumps are alike – But most ALL OTHERS are very different from the DŌS.
STEPPER MOTORS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
PRECISION
With the stepper motor pumps on the DŌS, you have precise control each time you dose. And, you are guaranteed it will stay calibrated pretty much forever. On the other hand, with the standard DC motor pump found in most dosing systems, it cannot dose small quantities with ongoing accuracy and consistency. They also require ongoing calibration to account for the wear of the motor and the mechanisms. When pumps fall out of calibration, they dose either too much or too little – never a good thing considering an overdose to a tank will often be its demise.
VARIABLE SPEED PUMPS
One of the great features of the stepper motors on the DŌS pumps is that they can be driven at various speeds depending on the purpose for which they are being used. For instance, dosing of vodka may require the slowest possible rotation while a water change use requires a much higher pump speed. The best part is that Apex Fusion wizards automatically select the proper speed based on the use and because of the stepper motor, accuracy is not compromised even at the higher speeds.
GEARING AND DRIVE MECHANISM
The DŌS uses a direct drive mechanism that will not slip, it will not strip, it will not grind to a halt. On the other hand, many other peristaltic dosing pumps used for aquariums have gears that can (and do) strip. Or, worse yet, some pumps work by using the friction of rubber rollers on the smooth metal motor shaft to make the pump spin. Foreign matter like salt creep, additives, etc. often get into the drive mechanisms of these pumps and make them fail or pump unknown amounts.
LIFESPAN
The stepper-motor in the DŌS has a MTBF (mean time before failure) of 5000 hours. Other systems with brush-driven DC motor pumps have lifespans measured of just a few hundred hours of use. This means the pumps on the DŌS may have up to as much as 12x the lifespan of others.