Automatic feeders

[Inspector]

I have been wanting to add a auto feeder to my tank to take care of the mid-morning feedings. Does anyone know of a feeder that will hook up to my controller. The ones I have found on line do not. They do have interval feedings. Is the idea to try and synchronize the interval with your controller shutting down the pumps on your tank so the food does'nt get blown away before the fish have a time to eat. Something tells me I just added a new gadget to design for my tank.

[Jon Lazar]

I did this with an Eheim feeder and an X10 relay module because I use X10 for some tank items in addition to a DC8. I opened up the Eheim and attached a wire to each side of the manual feed button. The other ends of the wires connected to the terminals on the X10 relay. So when the X10 relay closes, the feeder thinks I've pressed the button. You could do this with a normally open regular relay instead.

 

I've been using X10 for most of my tank for many years and it's been totally reliable.

 

Jon

[Inspector]

Thanks for the input Jon. My idea is similar, I need to check my controller to see if I can trigger a dc8 output for only 5 sec. at a time. Or I can power the feeder for say 5 min. and set it to feed for 5 sec. a min. while the AC shuts the pumps down for 10 min. I don't want to dump to much food in at once.

[Jon Lazar]

I also use an Aquacontroller 3. When the AC3 sends the ON command, the Eheim dispenses food once. I use an OFF command a minute later to reset the status, but I don't have to.

 

If Time > 14:00 Then PM1 OFF ; turns DT return pump off

If Time > 14:00 Then TUN OFF ; turns Tunzes off

If Time > 14:02 Then FUD ON ; Eheim dispenses food once

If Time > 14:03 Then FUD OFF ; reset switch status so it displays properly on webserver

If Time > 14:12 Then TUN ON ; breaks surface tension and makes floating food sink

If Time > 14:15 Then PM1 ON ; back to normal

[Chris-]

I want to set something like that up soo bad but my crappy sicce skimmer pump will not allow me to. Sometimes the skimmer just will not start back up. I love the AC controllers and such.

[Coral Hind]

I want to set something like that up soo bad but my crappy sicce skimmer pump will not allow me to. Sometimes the skimmer just will not start back up. I love the AC controllers and such.

 

 

Why would you need to turn off the skimmer to feed the tank?

[Jon Lazar]

Why would you need to turn off the skimmer to feed the tank?

 

My program doesn't turn the skimmer off after dispensing food from the autofeeder. But I did program the skimmer to turn off and stay off for a while after I manually trigger a feed cycle. I do this because I feed a lot of small food this way, like oyster eggs and golden pearls, and I don't want to skim this small food out right away once the pumps turn back on. This gives the corals multiple chances to catch food over a longer time while the tank is running normally.

 

If FeedA 005 Then PM1 OFF

If FeedA 000 Then TUN OFF

If FeedA 120 Then SKM OFF

[Coral Hind]

My program doesn't turn the skimmer off after dispensing food from the autofeeder. But I did program the skimmer to turn off and stay off for a while after I manually trigger a feed cycle. I do this because I feed a lot of small food this way, like oyster eggs and golden pearls, and I don't want to skim this small food out right away once the pumps turn back on. This gives the corals multiple chances to catch food over a longer time while the tank is running normally.

 

If FeedA 005 Then PM1 OFF

If FeedA 000 Then TUN OFF

If FeedA 120 Then SKM OFF

 

How long is your feed cycle set for?

 

I guess every setup is different because it wouldn't matter if my skimmer was on or not. The food would get caught in my filter sock no matter what. I don't feed those types of micro foods either as I just never saw any benefit from them.

[Inspector]

I have all pumps turn off when I feed; main, skimmer, power heads. 5 min. for the power heads, 10 min. for main pump, 15 min. for skimmer. If there is any food left after 5 min. the power heads will get it moving before the sump or skimmer get it.