GBD’s Profilux Standalone Doser review has been underway over the past couple weeks. Currently we are using the Standalone Doser to pump 3ml of calcium and alkalinity solution 20 times a day, for a total of 60ml of each solution being added over a 24hr period. Balling Salts and Trace Elements from Fauna Marin will [...]
GBD’s Profilux Standalone Doser review has been underway over the past couple weeks. Currently we are using the Standalone Doser to pump 3ml of calcium and alkalinity solution 20 times a day, for a total of 60ml of each solution being added over a 24hr period. Balling Salts and Trace Elements from Fauna Marin will soon be added a la the Balling Method.
My initial thoughts:
- Logical and easy to navigate menu
- Simple “Auto” Dose Program
- Versatile peristaltic pumps
Unlike some gadgetry, navigation of the Profilux menu system comes naturally. When in doubt an escape button brings you to the home page before you can cause any changes to the dosing programs. For those less picky about their dosing schedule, a simple auto mode does the work for you. Enter in the amount of doses you want per day (up to 24) and the amount you would like added at each dose (1ml to 1000ml) and the unit computes the schedule for you. Lastly after various testing e.g. extended tubing lengths and heights, the peristaltic pumps have proven to be extremely versatile. Before diving into the full review, I think it’s important to highlight some less discussed topics—namely calibration.
Initial Set-up of the Doser (CaCl not shown)
With any dosing pump, it’s imperative the pump rate is known for calculating the correct dosing frequency and volume. On the Profilux Standalone Dosing Pump this is easy thanks to the menu set up and manual override function. The peristaltic pumps that are used on all Profilux models have an average output of 60ml per minute, however, due to tolerance deviations this number can vary. Our 4 unit model that we are testing ranged from 45-55ml per minute. Here’s a quick walk through on how to properly calibrate the unit and navigate the menu system.
What You’ll need for calibration:
- Profilux Stand Alone Doser (Or slave unit with Profilux Controller)
- Airline tubing
- RO/DI Water or supplement you desire to dose
- Stop Watch / Chronographic Watch
- Graduated cylinder or other measurement device
It’s important to get this right because the onboard computer uses the calibrated amount to calculate dosing schedules. The default rate is 60ml per minute, but a quick test and adjustment in the calibration section will change this.
Note that these pumps are not variable and only push a constant speed. When calibrating the pumps it will not increase or decrease the speed of the pump, it will only modify the dosing program.
From the main menu, a quick scroll through the options using the down arrow button will take you to the screen shown above– “Calibrate”. As indicated on the screen a press of the middle button (90 degree arrow to the left) will take you to this section. Once there it will indicate which pump you would like to calibrate, to select the appropriate number use the up and down arrows. With the proper pump selected hit the middle button, and a screen will show the default calibrated amount of 60ml, or the amount last added from a previous calibration. Keep the unit on this screen, we will change the number after testing.
To the right of each pump head and directly underneath the red activation light, is a small white square button. This is the manual override and will activate the pump instantaneously. To find the proper 1 minute flow rate, we will hold this down for exactly 60 seconds (using a stopwatch to be sure) and measure the output in a graduated cylinder. Before measuring the rate make sure all air is out of the tubing. The pumps will self prime, but run the individual pump (using the override button) for a minute or two to eliminate air bubbles as if under normal operation.
Once you flow rate is found from the 60 second test, enter this into the calibration menu (changing the default 60ml rate) using the up and down arrows. Your pump is now calibrated.
Like any pump, head and friction loss can alter the flow rate. We tested the Profilux pump in various situations and when pulling water up over a 36in vertical climb the flow rate was reduced by just 3ml (as compared to normal horizontal operation with ~6in head). We recommend calibrating the pumps in their final installation setting for best accuracy–especially in cases where the pump is required to push / pull water over heights greater than 24″ and distances greater than 36″. At these measures the pump output varied by >1ml. If more viscous fluids are being dosed, it would also be best to calibrate with the solution you plan on dosing. In this case RO/DI water substitutes just fine for two-part / Balling.
More on this review to come including how to use the manual dosing schedule to create a unique dosing schedule for multiple solutions. For more information on the Profilux SA Dosers see the GHL/Profilux instruction manual [PDF] and contact AquaDigital directly.
