Automatic Continuous Feeder

[zorden]

Any loca reefers tried this?

[Ketchup]

Any loca reefers tried this?

Don't think so... Desi and me was thinking of doing it but cant find the pump locally.. Prob must check with medical device distributor to hospitals.

SM, i saw the prices on ebay varies from US$99 to say abt US$300+ and in some instances, brand new item list prices is over US$1000. Any reliable source?

[Sea_Urchin]

You can try Aqualifter as a cheap alternative. Petmart is the only LFS that has stocks of it. You will have to plug it into a eletrical timer to limit its operation to 1 min.

[SantaMonica]

Aqualifter will not work. Needs to be able to dose 0.1 ml at a time.

Med supply is way to expensive. Just keep clicking on ebay and wait for a new posting. These pumps are rock solid and worth a lot.

[Ketchup]

Aqualifter will not work. Needs to be able to dose 0.1 ml at a time.

Med supply is way to expensive. Just keep clicking on ebay and wait for a new posting. These pumps are rock solid and worth a lot.

Hi SM

I have a couple of questions on your DIY system

I know that you use this to dose 0.1 ml at a time, the 0.1ml is every minute? Is that the case as you mentioned that you dose 43ml per day... which is about 7hrs+?

Also, what is the frequency it is being released by the pump? every hour or every 15mins (i recall reading it somewhere...)?

Lastly, if it's being released at say every hour, at 0.1ml/min, thats abt 6ml/hr, so whats the harm of getting a pump that can only pump 1.0ml at a time instead of 0.1ml?

I just can't get the feeding pattern that you use for this DIY feeder.. I think it's a great idea and lifesaver for people who travels a lot like myself. Just need to get the logic and the feeding right.

[SantaMonica]

No it is not every minute. If you do it every minute, the fish will stay there and eat it all. And I'm only dosing 4 ml per DAY right now (0.5 ml every 3 hours).

Yes you could get a pump that does 1.0 ml/hour minumum, but that would be 24 ml/day. That is a huge amount of Inorganic Nitrate and Inorganic Phosphate filtering that your filters must be able to handle. My scrubber can barely do it.

Yes it's a nice feeding pattern. I paid $12 USD for the oyster feast, and it's been going non-stop for 6 weeks. I want to feed more, but I'm experimenting with the feeding/scrubbing ratios.

[Ketchup]

No it is not every minute. If you do it every minute, the fish will stay there and eat it all. And I'm only dosing 4 ml per DAY right now (0.5 ml every 3 hours).

Yes you could get a pump that does 1.0 ml/hour minumum, but that would be 24 ml/day. That is a huge amount of Inorganic Nitrate and Inorganic Phosphate filtering that your filters must be able to handle. My scrubber can barely do it.

Yes it's a nice feeding pattern. I paid $12 USD for the oyster feast, and it's been going non-stop for 6 weeks. I want to feed more, but I'm experimenting with the feeding/scrubbing ratios.

i see.. so only about 4ml per day.. Ok.. back to the drawing board and more research if i find any other possible options, will bounce it off you

[zorden]

http://www.labx.com/v2/adsearch/detail3.cfm?adnumb=407201

got those .1 ml pump

[SantaMonica]

I've now raised my liquid feeding to 12ml per day. N and P are both "clear". Matter of fact, instead of looking at the Salifert nitrate test from the top (which always looks clear now), I now look at it from the side, and compare it to an identical holder of just plain tank water. A few weeks ago it had a slight pink compared to the tank water (from the side), but today it was just as clear too. It does stay a bit "cloudy", because of the test chemicals, but the important part is that it is "clear" of any pink.

Since 12ml is double the 6ml I was feeding before, many of the coral tentacles have come out, and remain out all day, much farther than they did before.

If you are using the same pump as me, I've learned that if you are blending food yourself, the pieces don't get small enough for reliable pumping with this pump, because there is a tiny "particle filter" hidden inside the blue tubing device, designed to block large particles. What I did was pull the blue silicone off, and file off the plastic particle filter with a needle file; then put the silicon tubing back on. It worked much better. However I have since switched to the pre-made bottled oysters, and they are extremely finely blended, so there is never a clog.

[zorden]

well i am going to try this soon in my zeovit tank but mine is just skimmer and zeovit filtration. (zeolite reactor) and don think i will be using algae scrubber due to space constraints, hope i can maintain my zero nitrate and po4

[zorden]

I coral tentacles have come out, and remain out all day, much farther than they did before.

If you are using the same pump as me, I've learned that if you are blending food yourself, the pieces don't get small enough for reliable pumping with this pump, because there is a tiny "particle filter" hidden inside the blue tubing device, designed to block large particles. What I did was pull the blue silicone off, and file off the plastic particle filter with a needle file; then put the silicon tubing back on. It worked much better. However I have since switched to the pre-made bottled oysters, and they are extremely finely blended, so there is never a clog.

do u mean the blue tube that come attached with the bag?

[SantaMonica]

Yes, it's part of the plastic "U" shape. It's called a "pump set".

[zorden]

thanks for the reply.. will try to figure it out.. .after i received those bags and the chiller

[zorden]

anyone know where i can get this in singapore. If really cant get in SG, i will need to break the bank and get from from US ebay and ship it over. Thanks

[Ketchup]

I couldn't find it in SG when i was searching.

[FuEl]

D-D peristaltic pump is 1ml/min.