Best Timer for Plank Feeder

[SeaShine]

Negative, it needs to run for at least 1 minute.

Great to know. Thank you! I just ordered two Meross plugs but they also had better stars on Amazon, so I thought they might also be more reliable. And I just programmed the Smart Socket recommended by Avast to go off for a minute and it worked. I guess I could do a full minute and limit my feedings to two a day. I'm not sure. I feel like my pink streaked wrasse needs to eat more often but maybe I'm over thinking this.

And, I also put the Reef Jerky in my Nutribullet to grind the pieces smaller, which worked great, but more might be dropping out than usual (my female clown bit off more than she could chew the other day and it was a little scary).

 

[Tcook]

Thank you! I tried that one, but had issues. Good idea to run it with your Apex! If you'd tried this one, you might have found that if you wanted to feed for seconds (e.g., 20 sec) vs a full minute, you need to set it to go off every hour within your chosen time frame (and this is what the Avast video shows). This is because you need to indicate how many minutes/secs on and how many mins/secs off, and the timer doesn't allow you to enter more than 59 minutes off.

And even though you're supposed to be able to set different time intervals, such as three feeding intervals with each set to go off for say 20 secs, after much trial and tribulation, we couldn't get it to work.

Even feeding for only 15 seconds every hour seems like too much for 20 gallons. And, within those time frames my clowns might gobble it all up before my pink streaked wrasse gets any. I did just purchase two more timer versions from Nearpow and might have to return them but I wanted to play around a little more. The one I had actually stopped working trying to get it to work for so long.

Glad I went with Apex. 15 seconds is way too long. I set mine at 7-10 sec 3-4 x day for 15 fish in a 120, wrasses, angels, and anthias.

 

[SeaShine]

Glad I went with Apex. 15 seconds is way too long. I set mine at 7-10 sec 3-4 x day for 15 fish in a 120, wrasses, angels, and anthias.

That amount sounds ideal. And yeah, I do think a minute is too long. I spoke with BRS a little while ago and they said the Apex junior, which is on sale for $319, would work. I was just about to bite the bullet and order it but just read the reviews which stopped me. It got numerous 1 star reviews and they are the things of nightmares. People say it keeps knocking off of the wifi and it's totally unreliable. So now, I don't know what to do.

 

[SeaShine]

So, for all of you anti-smart pluggers, I'm converted. I just woke up to see the Smart Socket on and running. It wasn't even programmed to go off until 10 a.m. this morning so it's working on its own schedule. It completely emptied the canister into the tank. That was about a quarter of a canister of Reef Jerky mixed with TDO pellets. The TDO pellets were the first give-away since they're all settled on the bottom by the rock. I guess I have a big water change ahead of me! So glad this happened BEFORE I went away!

 

[dangles]

So, for all of you anti-smart pluggers, I'm converted. I just woke up to see the Smart Socket on and running. It wasn't even programmed to go off until 10 a.m. this morning so it's working on its own schedule. It completely emptied the canister into the tank. That was about a quarter of a canister of Reef Jerky mixed with TDO pellets. The TDO pellets were the first give-away since they're all settled on the bottom by the rock. I guess I have a big water change ahead of me! So glad this happened BEFORE I went away!

Yikes! I’ve had reliability issues with smart plugs as well. I have an Apex now. I started with the Jr and upgraded to the regular one. The Jr is great though. My tank is only 50 gallons and currently fish-only. It’s really gives peace of mind and nearly limitless options for upgrades down the road if you choose.

As for the feedings, why 3-4 times per day? Honestly that’s seems like a lot especially for just 4 fish. 1-2 twelve hours apart might simplify your scheduling issues if you end up just using a basic timer.

 

[SeaShine]

Yikes! I’ve had reliability issues with smart plugs as well. I have an Apex now. I started with the Jr and upgraded to the regular one. The Jr is great though. My tank is only 50 gallons and currently fish-only. It’s really gives peace of mind and nearly limitless options for upgrades down the road if you choose.

As for the feedings, why 3-4 times per day? Honestly that’s seems like a lot especially for just 4 fish. 1-2 twelve hours apart might simplify your scheduling issues if you end up just using a basic timer.

The problems I've had so far trying to run this feeder would almost be comical if weren't for all the time and frustration!

The reviews on BRS's website for the Apex Jr. aren't great, so I paused on that purchase and I'm a little concerned about the learning curve in what's starting to get to be pretty close to my vacation time. I was even considering returning the Plank and getting another Eheim feeder but I just realized I threw the box away. Plus, the Eheim failed on me on my last vacation, which is why I bought the Plank.

I hear you about the feedings. I wanted three to four 15 second feedings for my new Pink Streaked wrasse, who is high energy. I don't want to starve the little guy. But it looks like that's not going to happen now.

I could only get the the simple timers I've tried (Smart Socket and Nearpow) to run for a full minute each feeding, which seems to be a lot. But maybe it would be okay with only two feedings. According to Avast's website, 3 minutes of run time equals one frozen cube, so, two minutes of run time would be less than a cube a day. But, I still need to get a simple timer to run properly. I have two more versions of the Nearpow coming today and maybe one will work.

Or, I could purchase the Apex Jr. I have a day to decide before the sale ends and to get it in time. I'm relieved to hear that it worked for you. Reviews say it can't easily be reset after a power outage. My cats knock my wifi out all the time, but my cats will be with me for this trip anyway. Did you ever have your wifi go out with it?

 

[dangles]

The problems I've had so far trying to run this feeder would almost be comical if weren't for all the time and frustration!

The reviews on BRS's website for the Apex Jr. aren't great, so I paused on that purchase and I'm a little concerned about the learning curve in what's starting to get to be pretty close to my vacation time. I was even considering returning the Plank and getting another Eheim feeder but I just realized I threw the box away. Plus, the Eheim failed on me on my last vacation, which is why I bought the Plank.

I hear you about the feedings. I wanted three to four 15 second feedings for my new Pink Streaked wrasse, who is high energy. I don't want to starve the little guy. But it looks like that's not going to happen now.

I could only get the the simple timers I've tried (Smart Socket and Nearpow) to run for a full minute each feeding, which seems to be a lot. But maybe it would be okay with only two feedings. According to Avast's website, 3 minutes of run time equals one frozen cube, so, two minutes of run time would be less than a cube a day. But, I still need to get a simple timer to run properly. I have two more versions of the Nearpow coming today and maybe one will work.

Or, I could purchase the Apex Jr. I have a day to decide before the sale ends and to get it in time. I'm relieved to hear that it worked for you. Reviews say it can't easily be reset after a power outage. My cats knock my wifi out all the time, but my cats will be with me for this trip anyway. Did you ever have your wifi go out with it?

I understand the concern about the learning curve. It’s definitely a thing. What you could do is get 2 of these, and set 1 to feed once a day, and the other to feed twice a day. If one fails, you’ll still have the other. At least while you’re away. But I’ve had really good luck with this one. No failures in 6 months and I have 2 of them.

Petbank Automatic Fish Feeder -...
It would be a good short term solution until you’ve got a better long term one figured out.

 

[dangles]

I did have to cover half the feeder opening with painters tape though. Even on the lowest setting quite a lot of food comes out - especially for 4 fish.

It wouldn’t hurt to slow down the feedings just for the week you’re away honestly. You can resume higher frequency when you return.

 

[SeaShine]

I understand the concern about the learning curve. It’s definitely a thing. What you could do is get 2 of these, and set 1 to feed once a day, and the other to feed twice a day. If one fails, you’ll still have the other. At least while you’re away. But I’ve had really good luck with this one. No failures in 6 months and I have 2 of them.

Petbank Automatic Fish Feeder -...
It would be a good short term solution until you’ve got a better long term one figured out.

You know I was just looking at that one this morning. That is an option and glad to hear you've found it reliable. Yeah, the video on Amazon does show it dropping out a lot so tape would definitely be in order. I'd probably also get a couple of feeder rings although the TDO pellets do sink pretty quickly. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm also still considering the Apex Jr. Maybe I'll buy everything, lol.

And yeah, the little guy (Peeps) will probably be okay, as long as my piggy clowns don't eat everything. I have a small refugium in the back of my AIO with pods also, but that's been slow going and they're not ready to feed the tank yet. I guess I could buy another bottle of Tigger pods and empty it into the tank for additional food, but with shipping, that's almost $70. But it could help with fewer feedings.

 

[Tcook]

The Apex will continue to run if it loses wifi. You won’t be able to check in remotely but it will still run. Essy to program the plank. You can program the rest of the stuff when you get back. Here’s my program to feed 5 seconds every 3 hours (180 minutes) between 2pm and 11:30 pm. I will go back to 3-4 times a day with longer feeds when the anthias arrive.

Fallback OFF
OSC 000:00/000:05/179:55 Then ON
If Time 23:30 to 14:00 Then OFF

 

[SeaShine]

The Apex will continue to run if it loses wifi. You won’t be able to check in remotely but it will still run. Essy to program the plank. You can program the rest of the stuff when you get back. Here’s my program to feed 5 seconds every 3 hours (180 minutes) between 2pm and 11:30 pm. I will go back to 3-4 times a day with longer feeds when the anthias arrive.

Fallback OFF
OSC 000:00/000:05/179:55 Then ON
If Time 23:30 to 14:00 Then OFF

Thank you. Great to know. The Apex Jr. is on sale right now for less than $200. I haven't made the decision yet, but if it's not too difficult to set up, maybe I should just do it. Thanks for your program too. That's very helpful. Everybody has been so helpful. I really appreciate it.

 

[dangles]

You know I was just looking at that one this morning. That is an option and glad to hear you've found it reliable. Yeah, the video on Amazon does show it dropping out a lot so tape would definitely be in order. I'd probably also get a couple of feeder rings although the TDO pellets do sink pretty quickly. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm also still considering the Apex Jr. Maybe I'll buy everything, lol.

And yeah, the little guy (Peeps) will probably be okay, as long as my piggy clowns don't eat everything. I have a small refugium in the back of my AIO with pods also, but that's been slow going and they're not ready to feed the tank yet. I guess I could buy another bottle of Tigger pods and empty it into the tank for additional food, but with shipping, that's almost $70. But it could help with fewer feedings.

Check out @Eldredge for pods (although probably too late for this trip)

 

[dangles]

In order to use the Plank with an Apex you’ll need either the EB832 or the EB4 so don’t forget to factor that cost in as well

 

[SeaShine]

In order to use the Plank with an Apex you’ll need either the EB832 or the EB4 so don’t forget to factor that cost in as well

Oh wow. I literally just placed an order for the Apex Jr. two seconds ago and didn't know about those items....What are they and how expensive?

 

[misturrtinnie]

Oh wow. I literally just placed an order for the Apex Jr. two seconds ago and didn't know about those items....What are they and how expensive?

They are about $120 for the EB4s new, or you could possible find a EB832 used for about 180-200. I actually have a couple I'm not using if you're interested in a EB832. Comes with 8 plugs so everything can be controlled on your 20g.

 

[SeaShine]

In order to use the Plank with an Apex you’ll need either the EB832 or the EB4 so don’t forget to factor that cost in as well

I just looked up the EB832 on the BRS website and its like $260. Wow. If I need to spend another $260. I think I'm going to try to cancel the order.

 

[dangles]

I just looked up the EB832 on the BRS website and its like $260. Wow. If I need to spend another $260. I think I'm going to try to cancel the order.

Given the short time before your trip I’d just do the dual Amazon auto feeders for simplicity. That way too you’ll have backups when you switch over to the plank.

 

[SeaShine]

They are about $120 for the EB4s new, or you could possible find a EB832 used for about 180-200. I actually have a couple I'm not using if you're interested in a EB832. Comes with 8 plugs so everything can be controlled on your 20g.

Thanks for the offer. I think that's more than I need though. I will actually probably never upgrade, since it's just a softies tank and I already have controllers for my heaters...this is just about feeding the fish.

 

[SeaShine]

Given the short time before your trip I’d just do the dual Amazon auto feeders for simplicity. That way too you’ll have backups when you switch over to the plank.

I hear you. I am literally starting to to nuts over here. I even had a long conversation with someone at BRS and he never mentioned the extra equipment. To be fair, maybe he didn't know but this is really starting to feel like a roller coaster ride.

 

[dangles]

Then yeah keep it simple with the Amazon feeders for now. You can figure out a timer for the Plank after you get back.

PS - I REALLY want a Plank. Let me know how you like it once you get it settled in!