Auto feeder

[dragon99]

I used an Ehiem feeder for several years with no reliability issues. Programming was sufficent for my needs... mine is battery powered and I always replace the batteries just before I go away.
I now use an apex feeder. It is noisier....but really? It runs for mebbe 20 sec once per day.....it's not an issue...besides, I am usually away when it runs :). It does keep food extremely dry. With the apex you have a near infinite of feeding options (but the Ehiem is sufficient as well). The advantage of the apex feeder is the tank integration...shut off return pump and skimmer first, wait for tank to drain down, feed, change flow patterns, wait x-amount of time then restart return pump, wait a little more, then turn on skimmer...plus four programmable "feed buttons" you can use to do anything (not necessarily feed lol). You can'tell do the whole system integration thing with an Ehiem feeder.

Couldn't you just set the time on the Apex for all that to happen at the same time the Eheim is programmed to feed? I bought an Eheim for now, but I plan to add an Apex system later and assumed I could make that work fairly easy.

 

[Salty1962]

I'm have an Eheim single model which I bought 5 years ago and used for three years, then it sat in storage for for two years. I've been using it twice weekly and four week long trips over the past 9 months of getting back into the hobby. I did make sure to always remove the batteries if I knew I wasn't going to use it for extended time.

I have no experience with Apex, but can say my Eheim has worked great.

PS...I have tape holding the opening between click 1 and 2 so I get a nano cube size portion of New Life Spectrum.

HA!! I did the same thing with my previous feeder like that.

 

[Waterjockey]

Couldn't you just set the time on the Apex for all that to happen at the same time the Eheim is programmed to feed? I bought an Eheim for now, but I plan to add an Apex system later and assumed I could make that work fairly easy.

Provided the clocks on both stay in sync for the duration of your vacation :). Most stand alone stuff I have, the clocks are terrible. My dosing unit for example gains 4 to 5 min a week. As long as you remember to sync the clocks before you leave, it shouldn't be an issue.
I have the same Ehiem feeder as Checkeredpants posted a pic of, and used it for several years, with no issues. It still sits on the shelf as an emergency backup. It's a fine feeder, I just trust my apex feeder a little more as I don't trust battery operated stuff in general as much.

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

I use a Fish Mate. Sinple & can feed up to 14 days in a row, pellet or flake or both. Pretty strait forward design on a timer & has never missed a beat in the 2 years I've owned it.
https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Mate-F1...d=1473218662&sr=8-3&keywords=auto+fish+feeder

 

[devin]

Couldn't you just set the time on the Apex for all that to happen at the same time the Eheim is programmed to feed? I bought an Eheim for now, but I plan to add an Apex system later and assumed I could make that work fairly easy.

Yes you can that's what I recently did. Pumps shut down at 17:15, feeder kicks on at 17:30. I run a eheim mostly because with works with my lid and it's a separate system. Lights and power heads also run separate from the apex.

 

[ThePriceSeliger]

I've been using the Apex feeder for two years with it rotating anywhere from one to four times a day. I have had ZERO issues with it. I could see some issues and design flaws, but as long as you keep them in mind while you're preforming maintenance and programming, I am not sure where issues would arise.

 

[wiszmaster]

I've had the Neptune Systems AFS, was too noisy for me. I now use a custom Eheim feeder, wired to power to kick it off by my GHL ProfiLux controller in feed mode. This allows me to kill the return pumps prior to feeding, so food stays in tank, not down the overflow into the sump.
As some others mentioned, most low end electronics do not have RTC's in them, as such time drift is an issue if you're looking for synchronized programs, such as turn off return 60 secs prior to feeding..