New Avast Marine Auto feeder

[malfist]

A rough estimate would be about 30 seconds for RJ to Frozen Cube. What we suggest is to turn on a stopwatch and plug the feeder into a normal outlet and dispense food onto a table/napkin. When the pile looks like the amount you would normally feed in a day, note the time on the stopwatch. Then simply break that up over 2, 5, 40 etc feeding cycles throughout the day using whatever timer interface you have available to you.

Thanks! I'll do that.

I wasn't sure because freeze dried foods on a napkin look totally different in volume from a frozen cube

 

[AVAST Marine]

Curious if anyone has tried mixing in shreds / strips of nori into the plank for herbivores? Any issues encountered?

Our Reef Jerky contains 12.5% by weight of Certified Organic Seaweed that has been processed to the right consistency for the Plank use. If you decide to make your own blend I would shoot for getting the seaweed about the size of a red pepper flake.

 

[AVAST Marine]

Thanks! I'll do that.

I wasn't sure because freeze dried foods on a napkin look totally different in volume from a frozen cube

I agree it is totally different. Keep in mind frozen seafood is roughly 80-90% water weight. So one ounce of Reef Jerky (full can) is roughly equal to 8oz of frozen. Typical cube packs are 3.5 oz. So 2 packs of SF Bay mysis would be roughly 1 can of RJ.

 

[malfist]

I agree it is totally different. Keep in mind frozen seafood is roughly 80-90% water weight. So one ounce of Reef Jerky (full can) is roughly equal to 8oz of frozen. Typical cube packs are 3.5 oz. So 2 packs of SF Bay mysis would be roughly 1 can of RJ.

I hadn't considered doing it by weight, that's a great idea

 

[Jgoal55]

Hi. Planning on purchasing a Plank soon but I’ve been staring at my tank trying to figure out how to mount it.

My canopy runs along the entire perimeter of the aquarium, including the back. I have an opening that has a shelf on the back panel, but it’s about 8” of the water line and holds my cooling fans.

any other ideas how to mount?

thanks.

 

[AVAST Marine]

Hi. Planning on purchasing a Plank soon but I’ve been staring at my tank trying to figure out how to mount it.

My canopy runs along the entire perimeter of the aquarium, including the back. I have an opening that has a shelf on the back panel, but it’s about 8” of the water line and holds my cooling fans.

any other ideas how to mount?

thanks.

Post a couple pictures, let us stare with you

 

[radiata]

Hi. Planning on purchasing a Plank soon but I’ve been staring at my tank trying to figure out how to mount it.

My canopy runs along the entire perimeter of the aquarium, including the back. I have an opening that has a shelf on the back panel, but it’s about 8” of the water line and holds my cooling fans.

any other ideas how to mount?

thanks.

Is your tank rimmed or rimless?

 

[robby2782]

not sure how many people do this, but I have mine feed right into my return pump, and this disperses the food on both sides the tank. I've been doing this for over a year now with no issues with the pump, and I feed 45 seconds every hour during the day between 8 am and 6 pm. I adjust accordingly to maintain my phosphates around .08. I did this because I use glass tops to keep my jumping wrasses from splashing the lights, and also to slow down the evaporation process.

 

[Jgoal55]

Is your tank rimmed or rimless?

Rimless. But with a canopy.

Interesting idea above about dumping into return pump. However, my sump has lids on all compartments. I guess I could just remove the lid but I wonder if food that doesn’t get sucked up by return will decompose too much in sump (no CUC to scoop it up)

 

[DavidRZ]

I'm sure it has been asked before, but I can't seem to find the question in this thread.

Any chance of Apex integration in the future? Would be awesome if it could use one of the 1 link or accessory ports.

 

[radiata]

I missed something. What would you use an accessory port for?

 

[DavidRZ]

I missed something. What would you use an accessory port for?

You're right. After reading up a bit more on the Plank it doesn't work the way I was thinking. Just looking for alternatives to be able to utilize this without using a valuable plug on the EB832.

 

[MarsReefer]

I love the idea of this feeder but I’m not sure how to mount it to my tank. It has a glass “rim” about 7” down from the top that sticks out 3”. I also have 3” wide braces. The rim and braces sit about 1” above the water line. Is it safe to mount it that close to the water? If I mount it on top will it make it past the 3” rim? The black line is a secondary rim about an inch down and sticks out 1”, so I’d need to mount around that too.

my cheap little auto feeders usually just sit on the glass brace, but they are battery powered so I never worried about them falling in.

 

[AVAST Marine]

@MarsReefer I don't see a problem with mounting to your cross brace. Our Plank platform has a REALLY beefy clamp system so it would take a significant impact to move it. A cord clamp mounted above the Plank on the frame would give you a secondary security measure as would a strip of industrial velcro mounted between the brace and under the platform.

 

[MGarrison]

@AVAST Marine ,
What can I say? When I first saw the Plank, I immediately knew it was a great design. Far better than any other auto feeder that has come before it. I purchased it as soon as it was available. My fish and I have been so happy since that day. It reliably feeds the amount I set, every time! Plus, I don't have to worry about half the food going down the drain! There was no way anyone could top it!

And then you had to prove me wrong. When I saw what you did with the new version I was floored! I love what you did with v3.5. It resulted in a much cleaner installation on my system and the Sicce pump is just as silent as the old micro pump but seems to move a lot more water in the tube.

I just wanted to post this here to let you and everyone know that Avast Marine has great innovative products that work great! Also wanted to commend you on your customer support! Both Justin and Dan answered all my questions and went above and beyond to help me figure out what I needed to modernize my old Plank.

I was having some aggression issue with my fish, every time the feeder went off, everyone was jockeying for position under the tube. I now have two planks installed at each end of my 6' tank and this has allowed the fish to spread out. So far it has allowed more food to enter the water column and some of the more shy fish are able to get their fair share! One side is filled with Reef Jerky and the other side my custom blend. Now we will see if my fish like the Reef Jerky or my custom blend more!

Thank You Again!

P.S. I did get yelled at by the wife, The kids saw the sticker sheet and she wasn't too happy with the racy mermaid!

 

[Dr. Jim]

Do you think I could use the Plank for 6 months without cleaning it (with 1 tiny feeding every other day)? Or, would something get gummed/clogged up? (I will be away that long).
Thank you.

 

[MGarrison]

Do you think I could use the Plank for 6 months without cleaning it (with 1 tiny feeding every other day)? Or, would something get gummed/clogged up? (I will be away that long).
Thank you.

mine personally, gets some algae/slime that needs to be cleaned out about every 4 weeks. I was thinking that if there was some type of hood that could cover the pipe and auger to block the light it might go longer between cleanings.

 

[Dr. Jim]

mine personally, gets some algae/slime that needs to be cleaned out about every 4 weeks. I was thinking that if there was some type of hood that could cover the pipe and auger to block the light it might go longer between cleanings.

What would happen if you didn't clean it? Would the food get blocked from coming out? Or something more serious if one wasn't around to notice it? Thanks.

 

[MGarrison]

What would happen if you didn't clean it? Would the food get blocked from coming out? Or something more serious if one wasn't around to notice it? Thanks.

BTW this was with the old micro pump, not sure if the new design with the sicce pump will be any different.

So, I had one incident where I didn't clean it. The food piled up in the tube and stunk to high heaven!

 

[Viva'sReef]

The new Sicce upgrade is well worth it. My original micro pump died and when I contacted them because their website said it was Sold Out Justin told me about the upgrade. Much better design and a much stronger pump. Good stuff.