ctenophore April 10, 2014 Author Share April 10, 2014 Yes more details please Well since I'm working on it right now:(Valid for latest iteration only, subject to change ) Footprint ~6x6, 15" tall. Power consumption approx 60w avg duty cycle, more for hotter ambient environments, 12vdc. Should hold enough food for 2 weeks for typical 180gal heavy fish load fed 6x per day in small amounts. Should have controller feedback integration, but not certain exactly what parameters yet. Some of the control is still TBD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos April 10, 2014 Share April 10, 2014 Just let me know when you need my Master Card # Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wade April 10, 2014 Share April 10, 2014 Seriously. Being able to feed small volumes 5+ times a day would be amazing for fish health generally, and for water column feeders specifically. One thing I would worry about, and don't know if its worth addressing with the device or not, is getting the food into the water column/dispersed as it hits the tank. That way, the "pigs" (most tangs, rabbitfish, etc) don't get it all each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR-Tanked150 April 10, 2014 Share April 10, 2014 Any idea on the price range yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore April 10, 2014 Author Share April 10, 2014 Seriously. Being able to feed small volumes 5+ times a day would be amazing for fish health generally, and for water column feeders specifically. One thing I would worry about, and don't know if its worth addressing with the device or not, is getting the food into the water column/dispersed as it hits the tank. That way, the "pigs" (most tangs, rabbitfish, etc) don't get it all each time. Yes I deal with this exact problem in my tank. Solution thus far has been to put the output tube near a water jet (return pump output or tunze grille). Some fish still camp out in the stream though, but at least they're getting exercise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore April 10, 2014 Author Share April 10, 2014 Any idea on the price range yet? Not really. Building it to a) work and b) be reliable first, will worry about cost after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova423 April 10, 2014 Share April 10, 2014 Just let me know when you need my Master Card # When Avast designs something new and useful, it's like they have their own greenback printing press! I want a frozen auto feeder too my Amex is ready now lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore April 16, 2014 Author Share April 16, 2014 Sitting here waiting for the print bed to warm up, so figured I'd give a photo progress update. To make it more fun, see if you can guess what this part is for. It just came off the printer. Hint: it's not a sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wade April 16, 2014 Share April 16, 2014 Defrosting chamber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b April 16, 2014 Share April 16, 2014 Carburetor for a 1955 Oldsmobile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT April 16, 2014 Share April 16, 2014 binoculars and a HUGE float valve for fish to push to dispense food...now that would be funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wade April 16, 2014 Share April 16, 2014 A pull cord for self feeding would rock! Of course, the fish'd empty the thing in an hour and be so fat they'd get stuck on the overflow due to food coma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 16, 2014 Share April 16, 2014 It just came off the printer. Hint: it's not a sump. Heck with what it is. I want to know what 3D printer you guys are playing with. That's pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore April 16, 2014 Author Share April 16, 2014 Heck with what it is. I want to know what 3D printer you guys are playing with. That's pretty cool. Afinia H series. Nothing fancy; it's small and easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 16, 2014 Share April 16, 2014 If it's a thawing stage it's pretty cool. Looks like a john guest fitting on the top so water coming in there, and rinsing through the innter cup with the holes or something and dragging out thawed food with it? Maybe you should dose food out like a dialysis machine which has a disposable plastic cartridge which functions as a peristaltic pump with rollers. So you could keep thawed food slurry in a sleeve like a tube of gross toothpaste and just squidge it out into a cup to get rinsed into the tank. Or like a frosting bag full of frozen food that gets fed through some rollers and pulled on to squeeze out some food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k April 17, 2014 Share April 17, 2014 Carburetor for a 1955 Oldsmobile?+1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w April 27, 2014 Share April 27, 2014 My guess is that the two small chambers are to defrost food before disbursement. But I have no idea how you can get a compressor type of refrigeration system in a 6x6x15" footprint. Whatever you are doing, I hope you can sell a lot of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengeeee April 27, 2014 Share April 27, 2014 My guess is that the two small chambers are to defrost food before disbursement. But I have no idea how you can get a compressor type of refrigeration system in a 6x6x15" footprint. Whatever you are doing, I hope you can sell a lot of them. +1. Peltier cooler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 27, 2014 Share April 27, 2014 That's what I think. Thermoelectric one would do the job if you could get the heat out well enough and insulate the cold side well enough. Their low temp is really dependent on how well insulated the cold side is and how well the heat can be drawn off the hot side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengeeee April 27, 2014 Share April 27, 2014 Also upon ambient temps. Things can get pretty hot under a fish tank stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 April 28, 2014 Share April 28, 2014 Challenging project huh? We have been working on all of the mentioned hurdles for 4 years, the nut is almost cracked...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 28, 2014 Share April 28, 2014 Maybe you could dump the heat into the aquarium water instead of the outside air by putting a titanium heat exchanger on the hot side of the peltier cooler. Then you'd also have a place to inject the thawed food, downstream of the heat exchanger and, I assume, on a branch of flow off the return pump or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wade April 28, 2014 Share April 28, 2014 Most people have trouble keeping heat down more than up (though LEDs and DC pumps are changing that). I would not thinking using your tank water as a heatsink is a good idea. However, it would work very well for defrosting food as the heat extraction from the water would be minimal. I'd greatly prefer to have a system that looks clean that can be used on top of/beside the tank. Though under will work, but there is a lot of moisture/salt and heat down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 28, 2014 Share April 28, 2014 Maybe they could make it very flat so it could just kind of hang from the side of the cabinet and not be obvious what it is at all. Ooh, or make it less than 3.5" deep and less than 16" wide and it could fit in the stud cavity of the wall next to the tank. Then it could be like a wall safe with a hinged picture frame over it (and a tube going out and coming in, I guess). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos May 22, 2014 Share May 22, 2014 Update? It has been a month.....just sayin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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