Automatic feeders HELP!!

Mr.Reeefer

Mr.Reeefer

Member
Hi reefers,

I am thinking of purchasing a 3 way automatic feeder for my tank.

I am after something that will disperse liquids, (phytoplankton, rotifers, etc)

Just after some quality equipment, that is not too difficult to setup and operate, I have read there are some with spinning arms to stop settlement......

Any help will be great......:D
 
Mr.Reeefer

Mr.Reeefer

Member
ziggy said:
I'm not able to find anything commercially on it. Just past failures from folks trying to put together their own system on other forums
Click to expand...

I thought on RS heaps of reefers use them, I assumed a wealth of knowledge on good brands etc would have been supplied......maybe not
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
What are you trying to feed?

The automatic feeders you will find on the market only seem to handle dry food (flakes, pellets, etc.). Good for a freshwater tank I suppose but most of us are feeding frozen foods to our fish.

So lets say you are cultivating your own phytoplankton and successfully breeding rotifers - this is good coral food but here you will find most people don't think constant feeding is necessary for corals and could be an unwanted source of nutrients in the tank. You can use a simple gravity fed doser for phytoplankton and rotifers. Basically a gallon jug you suspend over the tank or fuge with a drip line to control the flow with no moving parts (try googling Kent aquadose for a pic).

I don't think this idea ever made it to market but if you're a DIY'er and like the idea check out the Geosapper here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/nftt/index.php
This is something I might consider for a large frag tank where I really wanted to maximize coral growth.
 
Mr.Reeefer

Mr.Reeefer

Member
thank you gladness.

my idea is this, I believe corals will feed at various times, IMO and correct me if I'm wrong, not always when you feed the corals are they feeding, then sometimes when they are feeding there is no food for them, especially in a tank that isn't mature like mine.

I work long hours and have other things to attend to at times and coral feeding and even fish feeding at times becomes difficult and slips my mind or when I can get too it it's lights out and the fish are asleep and corals and to avoid this I wanted an automatic doser. I wouldn't have this dispensing too much throughout the day but enough to keep food in the water column for corals, I was even thinking of using the doser for calcium and reef roids.

I was thinking once I have something to dispense this.
5ml plankton Monday + 5ml calcium
2ml rotifers Tuesday
5ml reef roids Wednesday
2ml rotifers thursday
2ml plankton Friday + 5ml calcium
2ml rotifers Saturday
2ml reef roids Sunday

This is just a quick example, I would probably start off with half off this to begin with and slow raise up...

I will check out your links gladness thank you, and any other advice would be appreciated or any tweeks to the feeding would be great.
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
Sounds reasonable, I'm sure your corals will love the roids and rotifers. Starting off slow while your tank adjusts is an excellent plan.

When it comes to dosing calcium it's good to be checking and adjusting alk and mag if needed too. As your tank needs increases several small doses per week (if warranted) is better than 1 or 2 larger doses for stability. My tank gets dosed through the kalk reactor every hour on the hour 24/7 which I give credit for the rapid coral growth I've seen since I switched over. Something to look at later on maybe because the cost is lower in the long run compared to dosing liquid calcium and buffer.
 
Mr.Reeefer

Mr.Reeefer

Member
Thanks gladness,

I was thinking it would be a good idea to add carbon to the dosing also as I do need to add this to my tank about once a week but as you stated instead of adding a large amount weekly small doses throughout the week sounds better, I will look into the Kalk reactor, any advices on good brands or things to look out for?

Mag isn't something I've been testing for you know, my LFS's didn't seem to think it was important, but I think I will be ordering a kit to test for this....

Do you think it is a good idea to add phyto to the dosing plan or not?

Cheers mate
 
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