Looking for a good Auto feeder

[TimTen]

Its getting close to vacation time, and I need to start thinking of getting an Auto feeder. Can anyone recommend a good one? Also what do you guys feed while gone on vacation? Everything I use needs to be in the frig/freezer.

[Al G Blenny]

Get the Eheim one. I have used basically every one there is on the market and most of them are terrible. The Eheim one is by far the best. Just make sure you read the instructions. You might think you have programed it when you actually have one more setting to do. That is the stupid arrows that tell it how many times a day to feed. If you don't set that it won't feed at all. You won't be able to find something that will feed frozen or refrigerated food other than having a person do it. Just use some sort of flake food. If you have an overflow be sure to get a feeding ring so the food stays floating in one place. You can also just make a feeding ring yourself with acrylic. Just make a square frame that reaches the water and braces that will hold that suspended on top of your tank.

[Vincerama2]

I agree with Matt on the feeding ring. Without it, my flake immediately got sucked into the overflow!

I used flake food with a rotating penn-plax feeder. it worked, but using it for over a week seems to fail because the flake gets all clumped up by the moisture! Crushing the flake seems to make the feeder work a bit better.

My final advice is to TEST and observe the feeder for a few days before relying on it to feed your fish. Then start it up a couple of days before you go on vacation to ensure it works.

As a backup, I always toss in one or two of those "7 day pyramid feeders" which are those dissolving blocks.

Oh, and clean your skimmer before you go to make sure it will run at optimal efficiency in case of a vacation-time disaster, and also to prevent it from overflowing.

And what about top-off? Make sure your reservoir is full. What I do is add extra RO water to the sump so that it can absorb some un-attended evaporation without pushing the salinity too high.

V

[Paladin]

I have the Eheim one too. Simple to use and I luckily found one cheap at a lfs. It's on sale now at Drs Foster & Smith.

[Al G Blenny]

The only times I see them get clogged is when the feeder is in a canopy that is not ventilated very well and it is really humid or after it has been in use for a month or so without cleaning. If you are going to be gone less than two weeks don't worry about it. The opening is in the up position away from evaporation 99% of the time. Other feeders have it over the water for a lot longer (daily double) if not all the time (pet mate). Just make sure it is not overly humid.

I second the suggestion to run it a few days ahead of time. You don't want to be overfeeding.

I think some other feeding rings are made by Ocean Nutrition and you can also find one of those tubifex/blackworm feeding rings. Some of them have a cone that pops out. You can just use the ring. That would only really work on Euro-braced and glass tanks because it doesn't stick out very far from the inside wall. Most of these rings are attached with a suction cup. The DIY version is much better.

[Vincerama2]

I have the "daily double" feeder, plus a canopy. That may be the reason for my clumping/clogging! Next time I'll keep the canopy open.

V

[MorandiWine]

eheim actually has a dual feeder now, so you can feed two different types of dry food.

tyler

[GreshamH]

Didn't the older models of Eheim have a air inlet so you could drive air thru it to keep the humidity down?

[Sparkss]

They have a fan built it that aerates when it tumbles, IIRC (We have one that we have had for 2 years or so now, and still use it, I just don't recall on the air intake )

[Qwiv]

The eheim has a fan in it that turns on when it feeds to keep moisture out. I think the dual feeder is silly because you can just mix the foods in the single. Works fine unless they are very different tyeps.

[MorandiWine]

I think the idea with the dual was that you could feed flake and pellets without having them stratify in one tumbler.

tyler

[xinumaster]

Best auto feeder I had is my neighbor. Not only does he feed the fish he also visually check the tank for any possible trouble. He can also empty the skimmer cap

[TimTen]

Thanks for all the help. I ordered an Ehiem feeder but since the vacation is still a month out I hope to get everything worked out by then. I'm hoping to us it once I week just so I feel comfortable with it and the fish know where to go.

[kh6sat]

I've been thru most of them. Eheim has been the best!

[Dyngoe]

How long of a vacation?

Fish can live without food for 3 days easy. Just "plump" them up a little before and they'll go 4 without blinking.

If you are going longer, get the Eheim. I always have a fish-sitter while I'm gone so I gave mine to a friend and he loves it.

Or.......dump 10 bottles of tigerpods in right before you leave. Those little critters will dash for the rocks and get eaten over the next 7+ days when they come out of hiding.

[raddogz]

I just bought the Eheim one from Aquarium Concepts $40.00.

This feeder works best but it assumes you have a wide center brace or somewhere to mount it to.

[Vincerama2]

Do you guys use them only for vacations? Or do you just use it to feed on a daily basis? Feeding is often one of the fun parts of the hobby! (and sometimes the tedious part!)

V

[Qwiv]

Mine feeds everyday. I hate feeding my tank. Anything besides looking at it is work to me.
The feeder makes keeping anthias much easier.

[klam114]

Eheim daily. Manual feed frozen foods.

[raddogz]

I use my Eheim to feed daily for my larger tank.

I still have to feed manually for the smaller tank.

[mobert]

Mine feeds daily Golden Pearls and Cyclopeeze mix. Great for the filter feeders.

[Qwiv]

I like that I am not the only lazy reefer here. You all rock.

[Vincerama2]

Hmm...you bums! You may have just cost me $40!



V