Are autofeeders worth it?

[Gumbies R Us]

I have been curious about buying an autofeeder for a while now. It's one less thing I have to worry about when going out of town. My question is: are they worth owning? Do they cause more issues than benefits? Do they make feeding your fish easier?

 

[MichaelReefer]

I have the Apex one, haven't had an issue in two years. Make's it easier if I'm out of town. I still feed frozen here and there, but it allows me to feed smaller meals multiple times a day when I'm at work.

 

[exnisstech]

I have a few ehiem feeders that I used to use when I vacationed.

 

[The Farmer]

I have the Apex one, haven't had an issue in two years. Make's it easier if I'm out of town. I still feed frozen here and there, but it allows me to feed smaller meals multiple times a day when I'm at work.

Same with me here.

 

[RoanokeReef]

I have the Apex one, haven't had an issue in two years. Make's it easier if I'm out of town. I still feed frozen here and there, but it allows me to feed smaller meals multiple times a day when I'm at work.

I use the same one, what's nice about it is I can hear it from my house running while I'm on vacation.

 

[MichaelReefer]

I use the same one, what's nice about it is I can hear it from my house running while I'm on vacation.

LOL Right?

 

[vlangel]

I have a battery operated Eheim on my tank. I intentionally chose ominivorous fish so I could use a cheap flake/pellet auto feeder. It works very well and I actually use it every day to dispense 1 meal of flake/pellets. I feed a 2nd meal of frozen every day. When I go out of town I can program it to feed 2Xs a day and the fish have always done great.

 

[BryanM]

Autofeeders are almost mandatory, unless you're retired. Otherwise I will assume one is underfeeding their fish :(

 

[Blitheran]

100% I love my auto feeder. My avast plank is a set and forget. I just ensure it’s got an adequate amount of food and let it ride.

It allows me to leave my tank for up to a week without stress or worry.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I use the same one, what's nice about it is I can hear it from my house running while I'm on vacation.

Is it really that loud?

 

[RoanokeReef]

Is it really that loud?

Yes sir, it's crazy how loud it is.

 

[gkprevite]

Auto feeders are a must if you go out of town ever. During snow season I’ll set my auto feeder up for a couple weeks before my first trip and I’ll do 1 feeding a day to get the fish used to it, then 2x a day when I leave. With my oversized ato, the doser topped up, and the auto feeder, I can leave the tank for a couple weeks. I come home to mildly dirty glass and noticeable coral growth!

 

[JGT]

I used to think they were only for when you went on vacation. I decided to try the Plank and it’s been a game changer. I have it run 6x a day and I load it up with freeze dried foods, pellets and flakes. The beauty is that it micro feeds so you can control the amount of food it dispenses. The fact that it rehydrates the freeze dried means the food doesn’t float into your overflow. Worth every penny.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Is it really that loud?

Yes, sounds like a car starting up LOL

 

[keagan]

I used a battery operated auto feeder before probably the same one referred to above the:
Eheim Everyday Automatic Fish Feeder

It was really loud and it worked well but I had to underfill it because the NLS pellets would clump together (from humidity? Salt creep?) after a couple days. Never tried it with flake or freeze dried just pellets.

 

[BriDroid]

I run two of them on my tank. I have the Hydros Wi-Fi feeder that puts pellets in and I also use the InD aF4 frozen feeder. That one I make a whole tank slurry with Reef Nutrition products and frozen brine and mysis to feed the whole tank. I couldn't imagine having to remember to feed everything and thaw out food, it's just so much easier. Especially when I'm not going to be home. Consistency and stability matters, at least that is what I always try to do.

 

[vlangel]

I used a battery operated auto feeder before probably the same one referred to above the:
Eheim Everyday Automatic Fish Feeder

It was really loud and it worked well but I had to underfill it because the NLS pellets would clump together (from humidity? Salt creep?) after a couple days. Never tried it with flake or freeze dried just pellets.

My Eheim is pretty loud but the fish hear it and rush to the surface to partake so I am OK with the noise once or twice a day.

 

[me & my baby]

I have two , an apex and a cheap eBay one . The issue with the apex is it doesn’t feed 2mm pellets good enough. The setting are rather to much or not enough plus it’s loud . I have to keep it on the lowest setting and just do multiple turns of the drum . The eBay is pretty much the same with the pellets . I just use it for flakes . With my work schedule I never know what time I am going to be home. So yes they are a benefit just got to take the pros with the cons

 

[Grog]

Autofeeders are almost mandatory, unless you're retired. Otherwise I will assume one is underfeeding their fish :(

I am partially retired and my partial job is 100% remote, so... I feed frozen and nori sheets manually, so no auto-feeder. (I'm not paying the prices vendors want for frozen auto feeders. nope!)

So, I have a few auto-feeders but don't use them any longer.

I do travel a lot, but I have a several friends who are in the hobby and can look after both the tank and the dogs if I'm gone. I usually set aside frozen portions for them in the fridge for the duration of my travel.

One point about my system. I have an enormous pod population. Several of my fish could care less about my feeding schedule. They graze on pods and algae in the tank all day and ignore my patterns. The tangs and trigger though. They are like dogs at feeding time.

 

[kfries]

I use the Apex feeder to feed in the morning. I feed frozen in the evening. The Apex feeder is a great alarm clock. I took it apart once, not recommended, to see if it was broken. It was not. It is naturally loud, like a toddler. It works well for me and how I run my tank.