Auto feeder

[Brew12]

Reefers,

I'm working on my new tank setup and need some opinions on an auto feeder. Does anyone have a recommendation on one they use that is reliable? A few times a year I may travel for work/pleasure and be gone a week at a time so an auto feeder is a must for me.

Thanks!

 

[Salty1962]

I use the Eheim TWINfeeder and I really like it. Gives me 2 different chambers so I can feed 2 different types of food and at different intervals.

 

[RamsReef]

I'm just following Brew12 around copying his setup, don't mind me

Hey Brew, I hope you picked up one of those GHL Doser 2 that were on sale, I did

 

[Brew12]

I'm just following Brew12 around copying his setup, don't mind me

Not a good move! I have no clue what I am doing but there are plenty of smart people on here that can help you fix any problems I cause!

Hey Brew, I hope you picked up one of those GHL Doser 2 that were on sale, I did

I did not. When I picked up this system it came with an Apex DOS. I have no intention of dosing anything for awhile anyway. I haven't even given coral a serious thought yet.

 

[Brew12]

I use the Eheim TWINfeeder and I really like it. Gives me 2 different chambers so I can feed 2 different types of food and at different intervals.

I thought about going that route. Also thought about just getting 2 Eheim feeders for redundancy. The price difference between 2 single feeders and the Twinfeed is fairly small.

 

[RamsReef]

Not a good move! I have no clue what I am doing but there are plenty of smart people on here that can help you fix any problems I cause!



I did not. When I picked up this system it came with an Apex DOS. I have no intention of dosing anything for awhile anyway. I haven't even given coral a serious thought yet.

Yes this is why I'm following you, to not make the same mistakes

Well you got a Dos already that is good

 

[Anirban]

I thought about going that route. Also thought about just getting 2 Eheim feeders for redundancy. The price difference between 2 single feeders and the Twinfeed is fairly small.

If you have APEX then why dont you try the APEX feeder?

 

[Brew12]

If you have APEX then why dont you try the APEX feeder?

My biggest concern is reliability. Thought about going that route but it has many more moving parts since the entire food compartment moves in and out as well as rotates. Even though it is 3x the cost of the Eheim I would still consider it if people have good experience with them.

 

[Anirban]

My biggest concern is reliability. Thought about going that route but it has many more moving parts since the entire food compartment moves in and out as well as rotates. Even though it is 3x the cost of the Eheim I would still consider it if people have good experience with them.

I used Eheim single compartment feeder and now using APEX feeder. I hard bad things about Eheim that they stuck or not moving or continue moving leading to a disaster. On the other hand APEX with moving parts which can fail. But in my case none happened. I like the apex a bit more as the food remain crisp over long period which eheim fails considerably. Also apex give me controllability which I like but Eheim not that much. But finally its your call. They both are machine and can fail anytime but we need to decide which will hurt us less.

 

[Brew12]

I used Eheim single compartment feeder and now using APEX feeder. I hard bad things about Eheim that they stuck or not moving or continue moving leading to a disaster. On the other hand APEX with moving parts which can fail. But in my case none happened. I like the apex a bit more as the food remain crisp over long period which eheim fails considerably. Also apex give me controllability which I like but Eheim not that much. But finally its your call. They both are machine and can fail anytime but we need to decide which will hurt us less.

Appreciate the feedback. This is exactly the type of information I was hoping to get by posting. Everyone's experience my differ but we can learn from all of them and hopefully use that to make a more informed decision.

 

[Salty1962]

There are going to be pros and cons with any feeder, I've heard the APEX feeder isn't that reliable and is noisy. The EHIEM I've been using hasn't had a failure over several vacations, so take everything with a grain of salt and continue in your search for recommendations, feedback.

 

[mcarroll]

When I picked up this system it came with an Apex DOS. I have no intention of dosing anything for awhile anyway. I haven't even given coral a serious thought yet.

Just to throw it out there, I'd suggest starting with corals first anyway.

They are much easier than fish and having them first will even make you more successful with fish when you do get them.

Consider that you already have the doser you need for coral....vacations are definitely not an issue.

I can go on with the how's and why's, but I dunno if you think I'm crazy yet.....so for now that's my 2¢....something to think about.

 

[Waterjockey]

I used an Ehiem feeder for several years with no reliability issues. Programming was sufficent for my needs... mine is battery powered and I always replace the batteries just before I go away.
I now use an apex feeder. It is noisier....but really? It runs for mebbe 20 sec once per day.....it's not an issue...besides, I am usually away when it runs . It does keep food extremely dry. With the apex you have a near infinite of feeding options (but the Ehiem is sufficient as well). The advantage of the apex feeder is the tank integration...shut off return pump and skimmer first, wait for tank to drain down, feed, change flow patterns, wait x-amount of time then restart return pump, wait a little more, then turn on skimmer...plus four programmable "feed buttons" you can use to do anything (not necessarily feed lol). You can'tell do the whole system integration thing with an Ehiem feeder.

 

[Salty1962]

I used an Ehiem feeder for several years with no reliability issues. Programming was sufficent for my needs... mine is battery powered and I always replace the batteries just before I go away.
I now use an apex feeder. It is noisier....but really? It runs for mebbe 20 sec once per day.....it's not an issue...besides, I am usually away when it runs . It does keep food extremely dry. With the apex you have a near infinite of feeding options (but the Ehiem is sufficient as well). The advantage of the apex feeder is the tank integration...shut off return pump and skimmer first, wait for tank to drain down, feed, change flow patterns, wait x-amount of time then restart return pump, wait a little more, then turn on skimmer...plus four programmable "feed buttons" you can use to do anything (not necessarily feed lol). You can'tell do the whole system integration thing with an Ehiem feeder.

True..

 

[Brew12]

It is noisier....but really? It runs for mebbe 20 sec once per day

I actually consider the noise a plus. If you are home when it goes off it reminds you that you can enjoy watching the fish feed.

The advantage of the apex feeder is the tank integration

That is the big advantage. I would love to take advantage of that I only worry about the reliability.

 

[Waterjockey]

I have had my apex feeder running for about a year and a half if that helps ease any reliability concerns.
My fish have learned to gather under the feeder when the return pump shuts off...but they've also learned the sound/vibraton of the feeder, and if I hit it for a manual feed at a different time of day, they gather under the feeder before the drum turns lol.

 

[CheckeredPants]

I'm have an Eheim single model which I bought 5 years ago and used for three years, then it sat in storage for for two years. I've been using it twice weekly and four week long trips over the past 9 months of getting back into the hobby. I did make sure to always remove the batteries if I knew I wasn't going to use it for extended time.

I have no experience with Apex, but can say my Eheim has worked great.

PS...I have tape holding the opening between click 1 and 2 so I get a nano cube size portion of New Life Spectrum.

 

[DBR_Reef]

I would love to take advantage of that I only worry about the reliability.

I have both the ehiem and the apex. They are both about the same (as long as you tape the door on the ehiem). My only discomfort with the apex feeder is same problem I have with (almost) all their products: If the apex goes down your whole system goes down. I've seen a lot of head units get fried/die, and I wouldn't want to have my return pump, powerheads, and autofeeder go down with it. I like the ability to integrate- I just don't want to trust the tank to one system.

 

[Brew12]

I have both the ehiem and the apex. They are both about the same (as long as you tape the door on the ehiem). My only discomfort with the apex feeder is same problem I have with (almost) all their products: If the apex goes down your whole system goes down. I've seen a lot of head units get fried/die, and I wouldn't want to have my return pump, powerheads, and autofeeder go down with it. I like the ability to integrate- I just don't want to trust the tank to one system.

excellent point and one I hadn't thought of. However, if your pumps went down could it be an advantage to also not be feeding food? I need to give that more consideration based on my actual system setup.

 

[FrankAbagnale]

I've been using the Apex feeder since it came out and have had zero issues with it. It hasn't failed once. The noise doesn't bother me at all! The noise only last a few seconds anyway. I like it, because I can hear the tank being fed when it's in use. If I was you, I would uses the same feeder.