Help for feeding while away

[Idech]

I’ve used Eheim for decades. It’s flexible and reliable.

 

[Biokabe]

Going just a bit deeper than everyone else:

Go with Eheim if you don't want to spend a lot or if you need it immediately. Go with Avast if you want a more robust and higher-quality solution that can stay on your tank permanently.

Eheim is the budget option of choice. It works great with pellets or flakes, and with a feeding tube it might work well with freeze-dried foods. I don't know whether they include a mounting bracket with it, but if you have a sturdy platform for it to sit on it'll be just fine. Cost is $30-$50 over here, probably similar in the UK.

Avast gives you a lot more with some caveats. The hopper is huge on it, the auger drive mechanism is precise and robust, and the included feeding tube + mixing pump really helps you deliver high-quality food to your fish without wasting a lot of it down your overflow. It includes a mounting bracket, and can be mounted either above your display tank or above the return pump chamber in your sump. The major caveat with the Avast is that it's designed to work with an aquarium controller - it has no built-in timer functionality. When the hopper is receiving power, it's dispensing food. So you either need something like an Apex to plug it into, or a programmable wall timer if you don't have a controller. With an Apex you can program it to dispense food on a regular schedule to the second, but most wall timers only go down to a minute, and the Avast can dispense quite a bit of food in a minute.

Knowing nothing at all about your tank beyond what you've posted here I'd say the Eheim is probably a better fit, but if you have the right setup the Plank is amazing.

 

[Dave-T]

Going just a bit deeper than everyone else:

Go with Eheim if you don't want to spend a lot or if you need it immediately. Go with Avast if you want a more robust and higher-quality solution that can stay on your tank permanently.

Eheim is the budget option of choice. It works great with pellets or flakes, and with a feeding tube it might work well with freeze-dried foods. I don't know whether they include a mounting bracket with it, but if you have a sturdy platform for it to sit on it'll be just fine. Cost is $30-$50 over here, probably similar in the UK.

Avast gives you a lot more with some caveats. The hopper is huge on it, the auger drive mechanism is precise and robust, and the included feeding tube + mixing pump really helps you deliver high-quality food to your fish without wasting a lot of it down your overflow. It includes a mounting bracket, and can be mounted either above your display tank or above the return pump chamber in your sump. The major caveat with the Avast is that it's designed to work with an aquarium controller - it has no built-in timer functionality. When the hopper is receiving power, it's dispensing food. So you either need something like an Apex to plug it into, or a programmable wall timer if you don't have a controller. With an Apex you can program it to dispense food on a regular schedule to the second, but most wall timers only go down to a minute, and the Avast can dispense quite a bit of food in a minute.

Knowing nothing at all about your tank beyond what you've posted here I'd say the Eheim is probably a better fit, but if you have the right setup the Plank is amazing.

A Kasa smart plug can be programmed to turn an outlet on at a certain time and off at another time, and has granularity to the second. And you can access the programming over the internet. And they're fairly cheap.

 

[Biokabe]

A Kasa smart plug can be programmed to turn an outlet on at a certain time and off at another time, and has granularity to the second. And you can access the programming over the internet. And they're fairly cheap.

I assume they've improved their reliability since the last time I used them?

I tried out the Kasa plugs back around 2012-2015. Based on how they performed then I wouldn't want to trust anything critical to them - they frequently failed to turn on and off correctly, both on schedule and on-demand. They also didn't have second-level granularity.

If they're better these days, that would be both another reliable way to control an Avast and a solid alternative to an Apex.

 

[dsh92056]

Tried them all, but Avast Plank is by far the best hands down. Especially if you have a controller Hydros, or Apex, ect.

 

[edsbeaker]

I am one of the few that really dislikes the Avast Plank, and would choose the eheim over it. Due to the great reviews I have tried the plank 3 different times and always end up selling it and returning to the Eheim. In fact I have my third for sale, and gone back to my eheim.

What I don’t like about the Plank. I find the auger is not pushing out a consistent amount of pellets each time. Sometimes there is a lapse with nothing coming out and then, suddenly a huge amount. Since the amount of food being fed each time is my number one concern, I have just not trusted it fully. I also find maintenance a pain when you have to clean out the tube and pump requiring a lot of dismantling.

What I like about the Eheim. Very simple programming with the amount of food very consistent each time. Nothing to maintain except making sure the batteries are good. Great flexibility allowing you to feed up to four times per day and having the drum spin once or twice per feeding. I have mine mounted with the clear tube that you can buy separately with the mounting stand. I have also velcroed the feeder to that mounting stand so it can’t get knocked off. I have one of my power heads behind the tube so that food is dispersed around the tank similar to the Plank feeder. I have also noticed on the Eheim that the slide that you push open to set the amount of food that gets dispensed sometimes delivers too much or two little, so to get exactly the amount that works for me every time, I find a piece of duct tape to hold that sliding piece exactly where I want it works wonders.

 

[get-salty]

I am one of the few that really dislikes the Avast Plank, and would choose the eheim over it. Due to the great reviews I have tried the plank 3 different times and always end up selling it and returning to the Eheim. In fact I have my third for sale, and gone back to my eheim.

What I don’t like about the Plank. I find the auger is not pushing out a consistent amount of pellets each time. Sometimes there is a lapse with nothing coming out and then, suddenly a huge amount. I also find maintenance a pain when you have to clean out the tube and pump requiring a lot of dismantling.

What I like about the Eheim. Very simple programming with the amount of food very consistent each time. Nothing to maintain except making sure the batteries are good. I have mine mounted with the clear tube that you can buy separately with the mounting stand. I have also velcroed the feeder to that mounting stand so it can’t get knocked off. I have one of my power heads behind the tube so that food is dispersed around the tank similar to the Plank feeder. I have also noticed on the Eheim that the slide that you push open to set the amount of food that gets dispensed sometimes delivers too much or two little, so to get exactly the amount that works for me every time, I find a piece of duct tape to hold that sliding piece exactly where I want it works wonders.

 

[BryanM]

I managed to find a hydros auto feeder and am quite happy with it. But sans that I was going to go with Avast.

In any case I would strongly urge you to get a feeder, as there are so many nuked tank threads from having a friend feed your tank when away, that just scares the heck out of me.

 

[Dave-T]

I assume they've improved their reliability since the last time I used them?

I tried out the Kasa plugs back around 2012-2015. Based on how they performed then I wouldn't want to trust anything critical to them - they frequently failed to turn on and off correctly, both on schedule and on-demand. They also didn't have second-level granularity.

If they're better these days, that would be both another reliable way to control an Avast and a solid alternative to an Apex.

I'm not sure when I started using them, but I've never had a problem. I probably have about 20 of them that I'm using for various things around the house. Maybe sketchy Wi-Fi can cause problems with it?