DOS, a new automatic water top off device from Neptune Systems is seen in the flesh for the first time seeks to win acceptance within the great aquatics community. Top off systems became popular in early 2007 for the ease of use and chore of having to top of evaporated water for your saltwater tanks. The new dos system allows for 2 part dosing, including micro-quantity dosing and delivery of liquid foods and supplements. How is DOS different from the competition? It uses a stepper motor versus a brush motor giving you much more precision of what exactly goes into your water supply. The stepper-motor in the DOS 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 DOS may have up to as much as 12x the lifespan of others.
Of course DOS easily connects with your Apex with an aqua buss connection and allows you to daisy-chain up to 10 DOS systems together. Additionally, it has an accessory port that will enable it to be connected to an upcoming optional accessories like the DDR – Dual DOS Reservoir. This accessory has two separate 2-liter cylinders for holding your additives. It also has optical sensors at the bottom that tell the Apex when it is time to refill and it then can send you an email or text alert. Another optional accessory will be a set of two optical level sensors you can install in the water change vessel (jug/rubbermaid/brute) of your choice.
