# Automatic Feeder Recommendation?



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Hi guys,

I need some recommendations for a good automatic feeder. Any suggestions?

-John N.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

Eheim is always good. Only problem is there's no way to attach it to the tank.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

The Eheim is very good.

I've also used the Rondomatic 400 which is also a good unit.

The main differences:

The Eheim:

- Battery powered
- Needs a flat surface to sit on (though I think if you're good at DIY you could find a way to attach it to the edge of the glass)
- A single food container that turns to drop food.

The Rondomatic:

- Needs a power cord.
- Can sit on a flat surface or be attached to the edge of the glass.
- Has 28 individual "hoppers" that drop food at the programmed times; so can have different foods at different feeding times.

I use the Eheim more just because it's easier to re-fill: pour food into the container instead of individually filling 28 small "hoppers". But then again, I'm lazy!


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

No way to attach an Eheim to the tank? Hmm, not sure how I would balance it on the canopy...
I was considering the Rondomatic but now that you point out that I have to fill in the individual hoppers I'm think I'm going to reconsider. I'm looking at these from your recommendations:

Eheim 3581 "Feed-Air" Digital Automatic Feeder - is this the one?
Rena LG100 Digital Auto Feeder - Not sure about this one..
Hagen Nutramatic 2x Feeder - Too cheap to be good?

Is condensation and moisture an issue?

-John N.


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## Supercoley1 (May 28, 2007)

I'm quite interested in this subject too.

I have a Fluval hood that the Nutrmatic fits into, but I've not heard good things about the Nutramatic, and was wondering which other feeders will fit into the same space in the hood.

Andy


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

the Eheim is the one we've been talking about.

The Hagen is exactly what it sounds like - doses 2 times a day (approx. every 12 hours). There's no way to adjust the frequency or time period. One good thing is that the battery seems to last forever on it. I took mine down from a tank 2 years ago and I can still hear it go off in the storage box (forgot to take out the battery).

I don't have any experience with the Rena model.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

John N. said:


> ...
> 
> Is condensation and moisture an issue?
> 
> -John N.


Not with the Eheim as it has a fan that comes on when the container turns to distribute the food... very clever design.


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## mhoy (Jun 12, 2007)

This is a number of years ago when I had a salt water tank. The Eheim feeder from that era had a rotating drum with an adjustable openning. It ran for a long time so no worries about it running out of power.

The fish got too smart and started squirting water up at the feeder which on occasion caused more food to fall into the water. It also caused a bit to stick to the openning on the feeder. I had a gooey mess of food to clean up when I returned from my week long trip since 1/3 of the food was now stuck on the mouth of the feeder.


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## mikenas102 (Feb 8, 2006)

Those are some smart fish. You could call them Pavlov's fish.


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## mhoy (Jun 12, 2007)

Yeah, smart enough to almost starve themselves.... I think it was a Queen Trigger fish that was shooting the water.


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

I've got both a basic drum one (Hydor Ecomixo) and a Petmate F14 (both listed on this page, http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/automatic-fish-feeders.asp, and they both work great. I like the the Pet Mate one as you can put different foods in each compartment and set it to feed up to 4 times a day. It does need an air pump really to stop clogging though. The other one is pretty reliable, but the amount of food that's fed is hard to control accurately. It's also a bit basic the timer as you have to set it going at the time of day you want to feed the fish.


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## oblongshrimp (Aug 8, 2006)

would you be able to use one of these automatic feeders to dose dry ferts into a tank or do they not have separate enough areas to contain dry ferts.


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