Automatic tank feeding question

[brmc1985]

That Avast plank feeder is like 100 bucks more pricey imo hard to bite the bullet

BTW..
Wonder if I can get a wifi model feeder from Amazon and turn on a air stone into feeding ring at the same minute... Lol.

Will that enable pellets to sink in fast so my dumb tangs can get it too...?

Looking for ideas for surface agitation..

What do y'all think?

Just get a floating feeder ring and a small power head to put under it. Pellets will soak up water and sink to the water column. I feed PE pellets and chromacolor and they don’t have a problem sinking.

 

[Shirak]

That Avast plank feeder is like 100 bucks more pricey imo hard to bite the bullet

BTW..
Wonder if I can get a wifi model feeder from Amazon and turn on a air stone into feeding ring at the same minute... Lol.

Will that enable pellets to sink in fast so my dumb tangs can get it too...?

Looking for ideas for surface agitation..

What do y'all think?

I use the Hikari seaweed extreme pellets for the tangs and they sink very quickly, within a couple seconds of hitting the water... The ring is over one of the powerheads which is set to pulse quickly when food is dispensed so stuff goes all over for a couple minutes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Does apex feeder disperse food into water column like Avast?

I do use apex systems that's why

No but has been reliable in delivery to the tank. The drum extends then disburses food

 

[kris2001]

thx all I just ordered the plank feeder for $199... yay!

 

[LeftyReefer]

Didn't really take the time to read responses.

I use to own the Apex feeder...but after about 12mos it quit working bc I feel the internal electronics fired bc of salt creep

At $120 for the Apex feed I looked elsewhere

Found this:

Eheim Auto Fish Feeder $25

The thing is a solid performer. So quiet that if you sat 10ft from it, you'd never hear it..

Does the job and at 1/4th the cost of Apex.

Been using it 6mos, flawless.

If it died tmrw I'd immediately buy it again

I hope you know there are very similar feeders on Amazon now that are Alexa/Google enabled for the same price.
They are basically the eheim feeder with added smart/wifi capabilities. You can program them or just tell Alexa to "feed the fish" from anywhere. I paid under $25 for mine.
There is Zero reason to buy that (dumb) Eheim feeder when you can buy a smart eheim feeder now for the same price.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Issue I have is the feeding ring... Lol other fish get the floating pellets before they soak up and fall...

Tangs never get floating food...

I load my feeder with a mix of several different pellets. Some float, some sink slowly, some sink faster.... so when my feeder goes off, I have food floating, food sinking, and food suspended, so everyone gets it where they like it. Tangs included.

 

[moreef]

My apex feeder was ok till it broke. The eheim is excellent choice for the money. Currently have the avast and love it but it is pricey and does require periodic cleaning. If you use the eheim get the plastic attachment to keep the food together till it sinks.

 

[mermaid_life]

Does apex feeder disperse food into water column like Avast?

I do use apex systems that's why

I 3D printed this for my Neptune afs - same concept

 

[moreef]

 

[kris2001]

Hi all.
Received the Avast feeder.
I can't line up the crescent shaped thing with the tube... The whole pump assembly is wiggly and wants to fall lol.

Plus there's this screw thing I can't remove that blocks the pump assembly in going up further. How did you all install the pump seems like a pain?

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Didn't really take the time to read responses.

I use to own the Apex feeder...but after about 12mos it quit working bc I feel the internal electronics fired bc of salt creep

At $120 for the Apex feed I looked elsewhere

Found this:

Eheim Auto Fish Feeder $25

The thing is a solid performer. So quiet that if you sat 10ft from it, you'd never hear it..

Does the job and at 1/4th the cost of Apex.

Been using it 6mos, flawless.

If it died tmrw I'd immediately buy it again

I have used Eheim feeders for years and run them every day. Next vacation will be with two on each tank, one set for morning and the other in the evening. That way I have a backup. If you are worried about food getting stuck, open it wider and tape half the opening on one side (only) with tape.

 

[AcroNutt]

I use the AFS Neptune feeder and it's inside my hood. Never had a problem with the food and moisture. It's a mix of fine SPS all the way up to LPS and Fish pellets.

Always thought about doing this. Have you noticed any benefit to your corals having coral food dispensed regularly like this?

 

[JumboShrimp]

This is a special hopper by Custom Aquariums that is used with the Eheim feeder. Check it out.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Hi all.
Received the Avast feeder.
I can't line up the crescent shaped thing with the tube... The whole pump assembly is wiggly and wants to fall lol.

Plus there's this screw thing I can't remove that blocks the pump assembly in going up further. How did you all install the pump seems like a pain?

Go from the inside and remove the set pin. Took me a while to figure it out too. When pump is in..reinstall the set pin

 

[Shirak]

Always thought about doing this. Have you noticed any benefit to your corals having coral food dispensed regularly like this?

They seem happy and growing! Tentacles seem to be out most of the day on everything and the sps have good polyp extension.
When it's feeding time the apex goes into a feed program with the powerheads pulsing heavily on and off quickly for a few minutes while the feeder goes off twice so that stuff gets well dispersed. Then they go into a short pulse with long delay so the finer particles can settle on the acros, gonis and things with small polyps for about 12 minutes. So about 15min from start to finish and then the main pump kicks back on and the powerheads back to their random cycles.

This cycle goes off 1 hour after lights on and 5 hours after lights on.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

thx all I just ordered the plank feeder for $199... yay!

I like my plank. Does a great job Not going to lie to you, had I not won it for free, I would not spend 200* on a feeder. The star is because you have to spend another 30ish on the timers. Outside the price, my other complaints:

1. Takes up two sockets
2. It’s HUGE and unsightly.
3. You have to buy the timers separately.
4. assembly instructions SUCK

 

[Viva'sReef]

I like my plank. Does a great job Not going to lie to you, had I not won it for free, I would not spend 200* on a feeder. The star is because you have to spend another 30ish on the timers. Outside the price, my other complaints:

1. Takes up two sockets
2. It’s HUGE and unsightly.
3. You have to buy the timers separately.
4. assembly instructions SUCK

I like having the mixing pump on all the time because I can toss a cube or a chunk of frozen in as well and let it thaw and dispence. One less timer. I agree the instructions could be much better but customer service was really good. I somehow sliced the cord for the mixing pump the day I got it, 3 days before a vacation and desperatly needing it Justin quick shipped out a new pump at no cost.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I like having the mixing pump on all the time because I can toss a cube or a chunk of frozen in as well and let it thaw and dispence. One less timer. I agree the instructions could be much better but customer service was really good. I somehow sliced the cord for the mixing pump the day I got it, 3 days before a vacation and desperatly needing it Justin quick shipped out a new pump at no cost.

They are great. No arguments. Just pointing out the annoyances for anyone thinking about the plank

 

[moreef]

I like having the mixing pump on all the time because I can toss a cube or a chunk of frozen in as well and let it thaw and dispence. One less timer. I agree the instructions could be much better but customer service was really good. I somehow sliced the cord for the mixing pump the day I got it, 3 days before a vacation and desperatly needing it Justin quick shipped out a new pump at no cost.

Yes directions and videos suck but customer service is best in industry imo. I had problem with an old davey jones locker and also ATO kit and they replaced the sensors for free and shipped back to me.

 

[kris2001]

NJ...
Thanks for the tip I did remove the set pin and now it fits perfectly ... After I put the pin back.

actually I did use a zip tie to vertically join the pump to the circular assembly to get that to be snug so the zip tie really worked...