Adding a dosing pump to your tank can simplify your maintenance routine, but programming and calibrating it can be confusing. We’ve written a handy step-by-step guide to help you get your ATI dosing pump up and running in no time!
Step 1: Unboxing
Open the box and remove the product from the packaging. Be sure to locate all of the components listed below:
- Dosing pump
- Power supply
- Spare dosing head
- 7 check valves
Inspect your dosing pump for damage, and plug it in briefly to make sure it powers on.
Step 2: Install check valves
Install the check valves on the left hose of each dosing head, with the output pointed away from the dosing head. The triangle inside the check valve should be pointing towards the pump head.
Step 3: Install the pump
Put the pump in its permanent location near your tank – within a few feet is ideal. In order to prevent a siphon, be sure the end of the outlet tubing is higher than the top of the dosing containers or solution bottles. It is recommended that your solution be added to a high flow area of the sump after the equipment.
Step 4: Set the date and time
- Press ↵ to enter the menu.
- Using the Up and Down arrows go to “Date/Time”, and press ↵ again to edit the date.
- Change the Date using the Up and Down arrows to adjust the value, and the side arrows to switch from year to month or day.
- Press ↵ again and repeat the above steps to edit the time.
- Press ↵ to save the Date and Time.
- Press Esc to exit to the main menu.
Step 5: Install tubing
Attach your tubing to the in/out ports of the pumps to dose your solutions.
WARNING: To prevent a siphon, the outlet tubes MUST end at an elevation higher than the dosing containers or solutions bottles. If the ends of the tubes are lower, a siphon may occur emptying the entire contents into your aquarium.
Step 6: Prime your dosing lines
Now that your pump and containers are properly mounted, you will need to need to prime the tubing. Priming your lines properly helps to remove any air bubbles, which results in more accurate dosing. Priming may cause a small amount of solution to drip from the lines. If you would like to re-use this solution, please have a clean container handy to catch the output, and simply add it back in to your dosing container or solution bottle.
On the control panel, enter manual mode from the main menu by pressing either the left or the right button.
Select the pump you would like to turn on, and press and hold ↵ to run the pump until the solution runs through the tube and out of the tubing on the other end. Make sure that no air bubbles are present in the tubing.
If the pump is unable to suck up the fluid, manually raise your solution so it is not as far below the pump. Once the lines are primed it should be able to draw up additional solution without issue.
If you are using a catch container to conserve solution, please be sure to rinse the container to avoid cross contamination between solutions prior to moving to the next dosing head. Repeat this step for every pump you intend to use. Press Esc to exit the manual pump mode.
Step 7: Calibrate your dosing heads
Your dosing pump MUST be calibrated prior to first use. We also strongly recommend re-calibrating every month as silicone tubing tends to stretch with repeated use.
To get started, find a measuring cup with graduations appropriate to measure out 100ml of solution. A typical 2 cup measuring cup will usually do the trick, but if you have access to a more precise graduated cylinder or small beaker that is preferred.
1. Press the Up or Down arrow and then select the pump you want to calibrate with the right and left arrows. Press ↵.
2. After you have selected your pump, press the Up arrow once to begin dosing solution into your measuring cup or similar.
3. Watch your measuring cup or similar carefully and once 100 mL has been collected, press the Up arrow again to stop the pump. Press ↵ to save the calibration number.
4. Pour the collected solution back into your dosing container or solution bottle, rinse and dry your measuring device and repeat steps 1-3 for every pump you intend to use.
5. Press Esc to exit to the main menu.
Step 8: Program your dosing pump
You are now ready to program your dosing pump for use. In order to prevent precipitation, it is recommended that you dose different solutions at different times. For example, if you dose calcium on the even hours, dose alkalinity on the odd hours.
Press ↵ to enter the menu, then select “Set Program” and press ↵ to get started.
Set # of Times Per Day
Select the dosing pump you would like to program, and press ↵ to program how many times per day you want the pump to activate.
You can choose anywhere from 1 to 24 times per day. We recommend dosing around 10 times per day. That way, solution is delivered to your tank in smaller increments, which makes the tank parameters more stable.
Set # of Days Per Month (the Interval Day):
Once you set the number of times you want the pump to activate daily, press ↵ to move on to the day interval. Leave that number at 0 for the pump to run every day for something like Calcium or Alkalinity, 1 to go on every other day, or up to 30 for it to come on only once a month, for something like trace elements.
Set Dosing Amount:
Press ↵ again to move on to the dosing volume. Set the volume you would like the dosing pump to dispense each time it comes on. For example, if you were to dose a total of 100ml of a solution your schedule might look like this:
4:00 = 10ml
6:00 = 10ml
8:00 = 10ml
10:00 = 10ml
12:00 = 10ml
14:00 = 10ml
16:00 = 10ml
18:00 = 10ml
20:00 = 10ml
22:00 = 10ml
Press ↵ to set the time you would like the dosing pump to dispense that amount of solution. Remember, the clock on the dosing container is set in 24 hour time.
Repeat the programming steps for each dosing interval.
When you have programmed every interval, press ↵ to exit to the programming menu, then Esc to exit to the main screen. Your dosing pump is now ready for use!