Any automatic feeders that are worth buying?

[BrianD]

Hi all,

I am going to be gone for 10 days, and to supplement feedings for my fish while I am gone (so someone doesn't have to go to my house multiple times a day, or if they forget), I was thinking about an automatic flake feeder. Anybody have one they recommend?

TIA

Brian

[ReefEze]

Rondomatic. I had the same problem, and when I got home my fish were alive and fat. Can't get much better than that!

Good luck! :thumbsup:

RE

[giorgiboy]

I have 2 nutramatics, they are not bad but have a tendency if you are not careful to get condensation on if too close to water surface and not ventilated (clogging up the flakes).

I heard of an eheim one that has some sort of airflow that gets round this?
G

[BrianD]

Thanks for the responses.

Is there a way the feeders cause the flake food to "sink"? I was worried that if the feeder just dropped the flakes on the surface, they would just float over to the overflow and drop down into the sump.

[giorgiboy]

not that I am aware of, it just drops and floats from mine which is ok since the grille on one (the freshwater) stops it and they eat it all in about 20 seconds and the marine water out is from the bottom and return at the surface...
G

[rvitko]

If you want to get fancy Brian get an Eheim Feed Air- really slick unit with a fan to keep the food dry, then the tumbler also always rests upright so the moisture from the aquarium can't get in. Position this over a Dupla Feeding Ring that will retain the food until it sinks. I also like the Rondomatic unit alot but it is a little more complicated and I found the heating system doesn't work as well as the fan to keep the food dry.

[andrejka]

Roger,

Do you know the dimensions of the Eheim feeder? I couldn't find that info on the Eheim (or retailer) site. Looks like a nice piece, but I'd like to be sure that it fits under my hood before buying one. Thank you.

[dc]

I have a Rhondomatic also Brian. I only feed once a day when I'm gone. It's electric, so if your power goes off it does too. I also buy a variety, including pellets. I think once the fish get used to the food they eat it fast enough to go into the overflow. I got it at Fosters&Smith. Also I raise mine up high to keep it from getting moist.

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20030220223118/www.drsfostersmith.com/images/products/large/pw_908352.jpg

[JonF]

Another vote for the rondomatic 400. I tried a number of these things and that was by far the best quality. gives you precise control over how much food your fish get each feeding. a lot of them are very imprecise about how much food gets to the tank. its either a tiny bit or a ton. this one's great. you put in each compartment the exact amount you want to feed.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/sc_view.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=7951

[rvitko]

Eheim feeder dimensions are- 5.5" * 2.25" * 2.75"

[simonh]

I use a couple of the Eheim autofeeders. They have a nice little built-in fan so don't need any airpump hookups etc. to stop the food sticking. I also made a 'feeding ring' out of a piece of RO tubing bent into a circle with the two ends joined together with a piece of silicone pipe. The feeders drop the food into the ring where it slowly sinks as it takes on water. I use various flake foods along with the pellet types foods.

[andrejka]

Thank you, Roger!

Simon,

Does Eheim "give you precise control over how much food your fish get each feeding"? I don't need "precise" but would like to be able to regulate the dose :)

[metamorphis]

Off Topic - I'm somewhat partial to frozen foods. What flake and pellet foods make acceptable substitutes? I notice there is a formula 1 and 2 flake available now.

[rvitko]

Use New Life Spectrum this stuff kicks *****. I just feed that and Mysis myself and I use Sea Veggies whenever a tang is involved.

[simonh]

Originally posted by andrejka
Simon,

Does Eheim "give you precise control over how much food your fish get each feeding"? I don't need "precise" but would like to be able to regulate the dose :)

It rotates a 'drum' around (you can say 1 or 2 turns) which has a small slidable opening in it that you use to roughly regulate the amount of food dropped in each turn. So for pellet foods you can keep the opening small, for flake larger.

[andrejka]

Thank you, Simon!

Just ordered one.

[mobert]

Another vote for Eheim. I've tried just about all of them. The Rondomatic is great for feeding different foods but if you ever accidently bump it and have food flying all over.... Also, I found it hard to load and clean the little trays. If you want to feed different types of food in the Eheim, just make all the different foods the same size. I have put, dried krill, blood worms, Formula One and two, plankton, etc all together. Just put each food in the mini-blender until everything is the same size. I now only use the Ocean Nutrition Flake foods as I've found that my baby fish takes it real well. I can go over a month before having to refill.

[mobert]

Best price has been Big Al's for $39.99

http://www.bigalsonline.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?inCatID=2:Automatic+Feeders&inUID=1047426486.1047426486

[BallPy]

Where can you get the Eheim??

[Wilafur]

rvitko, are the new life spectrum foods a floating or sinking pellet?

[Wilafur]

Originally posted by BallPy
Where can you get the Eheim??

ummm....errrr...........look above at mobert's last post.........

[mobert]

BallPy,

[welcome]

looks like we posted at the same time.

[andrejka]

Just checked Big Al's (out of curiosity; already ordered Eheim feeder from Marine Depot for $45). Price on Mr. Al's site is $89.99???

[rvitko]

The New Life Spectrum pellets are slow sinking. I have yet to find a saltwater fish that won't eat them and that includes Anthias and Butterflys- my Semilarvatus went nuts for them. They are loaded with mega doses of vitamins and have a lower protein content- more roughage. Being a pellet they are a more dense source of nutrition and foul the water less than flakes. They are pricey but a really well thought nutrition program and I use it in my shop on all the fish. The formula was designed by Pablo Tepoot of African Cichlid fame as a way to increase coloration without hormones and the vitamin, xanthophyl and carotene content are responsible for this effect. In personal communication Pablo told me he maintained a Moorish Idol on this formula for 3 years prior to releasing it. You can see the ingrdients list is very impressive with Krill being a primary ingredient their isn't any filler type material or empty protein like fish meal in the list.

I hope this post doesn't sound commercial as I don't sell this product on line and have no affiliation with Pablo Tepoot and New Life Spectrum farms other than I know Pablo and I sell his fish and his foods in my shop in Austin- just attesting to what I know and have seen.

[mobert]

andrejka -- somehow you got to their Canadian part of their website showing Canadian dollars. Try going back to their home page and click the US flag....

btw, Marine Depot matches prices. If you just ordered it, they might give you a credit if you give them a call.

[BrianD]

Thanks for all the great replies :)

My feeder has been ordered.

The key to reefing: dig big whole, keep tossing money in it :lol:

[BallPy]

Originally posted by Emperator
ummm....errrr...........look above at mobert's last post......... Sorry about that we must have posted at the same time.

[andrejka]

Thank you, Mona. The thought about Canadian dollars did cross my mind because of Canadian flag in the logo on the top of the page :) but they were describing shipping charges to 48 contigous states... that got me confused.

[Jimbo327]

I have an eheim automatic feeder. I really like mine. Very compact, but you have to be careful not to knock it into the tank when cleaning your glass. :D That's how I destroyed my first one.

Jim

[rvitko]

Jimbo- next time you do that let me know. Sometimes it is just the motor or the LCD display and I might be able to fix it for you. It depends on how many the wholesalers I know have run over with a fork lift and will sell for scrap:D Anyway they now come with Velcro to address this problem.