Advice for an automatic fish feeder (1 Viewer)

[HamLakeReefer]

I am planning some trips this year and I'm thinking about adding an automatic fish feeder. I need some advice on which one to pick. If you've used one and you have comments on it I would like to hear it. Thank you for your help everyone.

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[marty9876]

Lifeguard- horrid

Ehiem ( check amazon pricing better than most $25 I think) fine solid feeders. I only use nls pellets with it but overall I'm happy with it. I think pellets are far easier to deal with than flake for auto feeders which is why I mention it.

Neptune has a new fancy controllable one, I think the mechanics are close to that of the Ehiem types, controllable neat but for my pigs the size and frequency of the shovel matters most. $100 unit.

Overall trick is to get the fish eating what the feed can deliver. Some fish that might never really be possible.

 

[HamLakeReefer]

Thank You Marty. How many days of food can ehiem handle?

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[marty9876]

Three variables which control how much food goes in how often.

Size of the chute opening- how much comes out with a rotation

Frequency of rotations- how often does a feeding event take place

Number of rotations per feeding event- one turn or two etc

So all depends how much your feeding how often. It holds a fair amount, I'd guess at least a weeks worth for all but the really biggest tanks.

 

[HamLakeReefer]

Thanks for all the really good information

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[David Grigor]

I have a couple of the hydor feeders. Works just fine, easy to use. Up to 3 feedings per 24hour period. The Apex one looks nice becuase it has a seal and can reduce the moisture but if just for vacations it's probably overkill.

 

[Ben Nicholls]

Sorry to butt in on your thread.

What kind/brand of food are those of you with auto feeders using?

 

[David Grigor]

I use 2 for vacations, one has the new life pellets the other has seaweed extreme nori pellets for the tangs. I don't normally feed the nori pellets only on vacations. I don't have any fish with special needs on purpose for this exact reason make it as easy as possible for tank sitters.

 

[Xavier]

I used the PetCo Brand Fish Feeder - it tended to feed inconsistent quantities of food each time it was set to go off. Sometime It would dispense 3-4 pinches, sometimes it would dispense 1 pinch.
I was using flakes in it - and found that if I ground up the flakes - it was a tiny bit more reliable dispensing amounts.

 

[Gary]

I suckered in for the Apex feeder. It looks exactly like a Lifeguard feeder I saw locally. It works well but not impressed with it forthe price. I have it programmed to feed once daily. You can control the rotations and feeding times, turn off the pumps, etc while feeding if you like. Seems like a good idea for vacations. I'm using Hikari pellets right now but the smaller fish seem to think they are too big to eat. I mix a bit of flake in with it and the pellets help the flake down the chute.

I'm worried that if the thing accidently falls into the tank, I'm out $100.

 

[HamLakeReefer]

Yeah I'm thinking 100 dollars is too much to spend on an auto feeder for me. Mixing the pellets with the flakes is a good idea.

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[David Grigor]

I personally am not fond of flakes in an auto feeder. Only becuase they float and you need a feeding ring in the tank to keep it contained and not going down the overflow. Pellet sink well before they reach the overflow and don't have to deal with a floating ring.