Crazy automated feeding question

flampton

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Hi all...didn't know what forum would be best for this so just going with general.

I am in the process of setting up a small 10 gallon NPS tank. It is going to feed into the sump of my main 57 gallon aquarium. I'll be headed to Florida over Christmas so need to set up a automated feeder to run for a week. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the Avast as it gets great reviews but it is very pricey so getting two is out of the question.

Anyways my proposal is to have it set up on the 10 gallon aquarium. Then when it feeds have it near the overflow so a lot of it drains into the sump compartment right before the return on my other tank. So what I want to see is food enter the 10 gallon, and then have a lot of it overflow and be moved to my main tank to feed my fish and corals there ( the NPS tank will have a fish as well, currently considering a CB red scooter dragonet.)

Is this idea insane or does it have merit?

Thanks!
Eric
 

reefwiser

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My concern would be what happens with water level. Overflow will need a ATO in the 10 gallon. So that the overflow continues to work. Would be easy to use a dosing pump to feed. Less chance of failure.
 
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flampton

flampton

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My concern would be what happens with water level. Overflow will need a ATO in the 10 gallon. So that the overflow continues to work. Would be easy to use a dosing pump to feed. Less chance of failure.

The 10 gallon shares the sump with the 57 gallon which has an ATO. So basically it dumps into the sump and it has it's own return pump in the sump (I'm not going with a manifold because it might have it's own sump someday)
 

DanConnor

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It seems like a good idea- I've thought of the same thing for an NPS tank. Whether the fish in the main tank get enough food will have to be tested
 
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flampton

flampton

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It seems like a good idea- I've thought of the same thing for an NPS tank. Whether the fish in the main tank get enough food will have to be tested

Yes I think you are right, I'll just have to order it and see. All my fish are very young captive bred so I don't have to worry about big guys stealing everything. So at least I have that going for me, haha!

I tried searching to see if anyone has proposed this but the search terms are just too general.
 

Timfish

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Sounds like it "should" work. I've been using ehiem for years and have good results with them (and with a couple chinese knockoffs). You'll likely need to experiement with different types of food. The "small" NLS Spectrum pellets usually float a lot longer than the larger pellets IME. Personally i would use two cheap austofeeders though.
 
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flampton

flampton

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Sounds like it "should" work. I've been using ehiem for years and have good results with them (and with a couple chinese knockoffs). You'll likely need to experiement with different types of food. The "small" NLS Spectrum pellets usually float a lot longer than the larger pellets IME. Personally i would use two cheap austofeeders though.

the avast feeder mixes with water before release so don’t have to worry about floating. However it's very expensive. So...

question about the Eheim every day feeders. Do you trust them? I've heard of complete dumps and that would crash the tank. Do you think it could do Benereefs or other powder food? Also do use a feeding ring with them?

Thanks!!
 

Timfish

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I've tried two of the Ehiem Dual feeder and it was very unrealiable, stuff seems to easily clogg the feeding screw and gears. I've been very happy with the Ehiem single feeder and have some that are years old although on average I'd say they last about 3 years before the gearing system starts getting flaky and stopping in the middle of a feeding cycle or draining batteries really fast. I'm assuming it's just getting clogged with dust and or salt. I've tried a several of the "chinese" knockoffs with variable results but one labeled "Zacon" with recharable internal battery and up to 3 feeding per time set has worked well so far, however it will still be awhile before I know if they last as long as the Ehiem. As far as dumping all the food at once my suspicion is the opening was bumped at some point. I don't see how the hopper door can move on it's own. I have had some that slide easier than others and have taped them to to ensure they don't get moved accedentally.

I don't use feeding rings but mostly because I've been able to set feeders in locations where the food doesn't get pulled into the overflow before it gets eaten. I do sometimes mix different sized Spectrum pellets and may use multiple feeders to help feed larger and smaller fish. I've also set up pieces of 4" PVC pipe on returm pump intakes so the pellets are spread throughout the tank and not localized. But while I may only feed one brand of pellets I do look closely at the feeding dynamics and the body weights of my fish and adjust how, when and where I feed to minimize weight issues and hopefully behavioral issues.

Here's a video of the mixing tube I use:
There is an elbow pointed down on the pump intake so a venturi isn't created that sucks air into the pump intake. The PVC tube as a pece of acrylic glued to the bottom to prevent water from coming in the bottom and forcing all the water through the slot(s) on the side. The slot(s) is cut at an angle in the side to help create a circular current. The size of the slot is determined by the area of the intake, what ever the area of the crossection is of the intake I roughly double for the area of the slot.

As far as feeding other foods with the success (multiple fish living decades and some outliving their wild counterparts) and ease of use I've seen with NLS Spectrum pellets that's all I've used for years. There ave been a few occasions I've used ZoPlan in addition to the Spectrum pellets to help fish start eating but I would not use it regualrly in a reef system. (See this paper, this paper and this paper on the difficulty and hazards of feeding corals.)
 
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