Poll: Auto Feeder - Do You Use One?

[ReeferAl]

I use a DIY auto feeder for (thawed) frozen food. It dispenses small amounts of food about 6 times daily. This is a mixture of brine shrimp, Mysis, copepods, daphnia, small krill. I also have a Neptune auto feeder that dispenses pellets once daily.

 

[dbl]

I use a DIY auto feeder for (thawed) frozen food. It dispenses small amounts of food about 6 times daily. This is a mixture of brine shrimp, Mysis, copepods, daphnia, small krill. I also have a Neptune auto feeder that dispenses pellets once daily.

Any info on the DIY auto feeder? Had one shared earlier with the mini-fridge. Curious what you came up with.

 

[ReeferAl]

I've posted pictures and info on another forum in the past. I don't know if I'm allowed to link to that?
The key elements are:
1. Fridge to keep food chilled
2. Peristaltic pump to dispense food. It has 3/8" ID tubing for larger food items. This is the hardest part of the doser to obtain.
3. Stirring mechanism to suspend the food before dosing.
4. Flow loop from tank to carry food away from fridge to pump intake in sump.
5. Timing mechanism to initiate feed cycle.

 

[ReeferAl]

The feed cycle works like this:
Trigger starts stirrer and flow loop.
After about 3 minutes the peristaltic pump is activated for about 1 sec.
Stirrer and flow loop continue another couple of minutes and then shut off until next trigger.

I first built this over 10 yrs ago and have been using it, with a few early modifications, ever since.

 

[dbl]

I've posted pictures and info on another forum in the past. I don't know if I'm allowed to link to that?
The key elements are:
1. Fridge to keep food chilled
2. Peristaltic pump to dispense food. It has 3/8" ID tubing for larger food items. This is the hardest part of the doser to obtain.
3. Stirring mechanism to suspend the food before dosing.
4. Flow loop from tank to carry food away from fridge to pump intake in sump.
5. Timing mechanism to initiate feed cycle.

Can I assume this is what you're referring to? http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1308644. Another great DIY project for sure.

 

[ReeferAl]

I'll have some time tomorrow so I'll try to get some current pics and start a new thread showing the feeder.

 

[Gamma]

I have a cheap battery run a to just for my couple of vacations each year but have question...for those of you who feed throughout the day with ATO do you just feed or do you have flow reduced somehow?

 

[Reefer1464]

I get the reasons and advantagous of alto feeders, but what about the powerheads surely they should be off?

 

[Caliguy1983]

I have an ehiem I use for pellets but feed frozen food everyday manually.

 

[srad750c]

As promised, here's some pictures I just took of the auto feeder fridge.

what temp is fridge set at, I noticed your doser is inside fridge, no problems with electronics?

 

[ReeferAl]

Here's the thread I started about my doser:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/auto-frozen-food-feeder.330344/#post-4105609
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/auto-frozen-food-feeder.330344/#post-4105609
For mine, I have the doser motor attached to the back side of the fridge and the doser head inside the fridge. That keeps motor heat out but keeps food trapped within the tubing in. My controller board is also outside the fridge. The stirrer for the food has its plug inside the fridge so I have a water resistant plug to keep it dry. If anyone has questions about my feeder please go to the linked thread.

Allen

 

[Labridaedicted]

what temp is fridge set at, I noticed your doser is inside fridge, no problems with electronics?

Temp stays around 35 degrees. I haven't had any issues with the electronics yet.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Yep, mine is a dosing pump set up running through a mini fridge. I ran a line off my manifold into the side of the fridge and plumbed in 3 murloc t's and dose 3 kinds of reef nutrition refrigerated foods: mysis feast (3x per day), oyster feast (2x per day), and R.O.E. (1x per day).

The line discharges next to the return pump and them is distributed through the tank via the 4 locline return nozzles so the food is spread throughout the tank.

This is an older picture showing the premise of it. I'll post pictures of it later that show it completely finished

I look forward to seeing the updated setup. We have a lot of customers that ask about auto-dosing our products from a refrigerator or wine chiller. These images can be super helpful.
Chad