Seeking feedback on refrigerated auto-feeder plan

[monicalooze]

This is the plan for my auto-feeder. The biggest question I have is whether using the RODI line to clean out the food line will work, and what kind of valve/T fitting I need in the middle to prevent water/food flowing into the wrong place. Thoughts?

TIA!

 

[T-J]

You're going to have food sitting in your ATO line until the next time the ATO kicks in. Plus, depending on the length of the run, you'll have to pump a stupid amount of food to push it through.
EDIT: I also don't know if it's possible to have your doser push that stuff up through the tubing the way you have it.

 

[monicalooze]

I have a canister filter. See diagram. I can time it so the doser on the ATO happens right after the food doses. My tank runs with lily pipes, so I dose RODI based on evaporation.

 

[monicalooze]

Yeah - I don't think it will work the way I had it... (bear with me while I learn plumbing on a public forum).

But I think I could do it like this guy's:

DIY Fresh Food Auto-Feeder

Background I learned of DIY fresh food feeders first through Scott Sweet’s fresh food auto-feeder design. Where the Scott Sweet Feeder uses 1/2” rigid plumbing and similarly scaled components for a continuously flowing system, I went minimalist in construction and with low water flow. I...

www.bareefers.org

Except, instead of flushing the lines by creating a closed loop with the sump, tank water, and an extra circulation pump, I would connect the RODI line directly to a manifold inside the fridge, then use the four channel doser to inject food into the manifold, and finally flush the line right after the food is injected using the RODI line on a separate dosing pump.

I have to add over a liter(~1200ml) of RODI into my tank over 12 dosing intervals per day, so there is plenty of fresh water running through the system to flush the lines.

 

[monicalooze]

Or...Would it make more sense to run the inflow tube from the canister through the fridge and then use a venturi to inject the food directly into my inflow (in reef language, return line)? I can't decide...the risk with the manifold is that it gets clogged because the RODI water isn't flowing constantly, and I think the risk with the inflow tube is that the food will sit mixed in the manifold forever. You're not supposed to mix reef nutrition products long term, and the original design from Bay Area Reefers (Squist), avoids this.

Thoughts @ReefSquad? @Reef Nutrition?

 

[scottsweet]

Got my fresh food autofeeder working today :).

Such a great idea!! Love it. Still using this and still working great??

www.reef2reef.com