Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Does anyone know a supplier of reliable automatic fish feeders or any ideas or plans of a DIY one? I'm going on holiday for five (5) weeks in a months time. I currently have a battery operated one that can be programmed for up to 90 days, but it only holds enough pellets for 4 days at the rate my rainbow trout are currently eating. Also the batteries don't last five weeks when loaded up with pellets. Any bright ideas?? Please

Check this unit out the: http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/cata ... 3&catID=61

"Tony From Tas" has linked on his thread viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6767

and has been using for awhile.

Ok, I might as well tip my hat now...

I've negotiated a bulk buy with the importer... and will be running a "special" on the Cloverleaf feeders during October.... email me anyone that is interested...

Linky PLease rupe, i am about to get a couple of feeders


disregard:

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=4803&catID=61

Very interested Rupe.

All depends on price

Yep and I can vouch for these feeders. Absolutely stoked with mine and it is working a treat.

You can program up to 8 different feed times per day on a 24 hour cycle and have each feed down to 1 sec if need be..

I have so far used 0.75mm - 5.0mm pellets in mine and all have gone through without a hitch.

A recyclable $2 shopping bag was placed over it 6 months ago now to help protect it from the elements and this is working far better than I imagined. It also helps to keep the moisture out so there have been no problems with pellets sticking together at all.

T

Comon Rupe

Is there a similar product available in the US?

TCLynx has one in her system;


http://www.aquaponiclynx.com/

Another home brew one I made used a conveyer-belt with hopper one end, but I just rejigged it to use a large drill-bit to push feed out, bit like an Auger.

I am currently using my PC to control the feed rate and feed times per day, but am about to switch it over to a microcontroller. Let me know if you want any more info.

Hi Noolie would love to know a few details about the motro you used.
Cheers
Ben

Yes, It's just a simple worm drive gear set picked up from a hobby store ($22.50). I think the reduction is something like 248:1, but it does struggle sometimes when crushing feed through the guide pipe (see drawing below). It may have been better to have a larger guide pipe so that pellets weren't being crushed between the drill bit and the guide pipe.
Alternatively, use a motor with more torque (e.g. windscreen wiper motor ).

As for the feed rate, I just measure how much it fed over a certain period, then used this as a guide, given my fish mass and feed times per day.



A drawing of the feeder is found below...

Thanks very much Noolie, another addition to the project list!

I like how you used the PVC. Do you have any problems with mice (or rats) getting into the feed? I made one a couple of years ago out of metal. I've since replaced the plastic container with a metal hopper tray....

http://web4deb.blogspot.com/2009/04/ill-admit-it.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e2cQQbMMcw around the 3:15 mark

keep up the good work!

Not really.
1. It's only been operating for a little while, so unsure if rodents are around. They used to nick my baby tomatoes rather than feed!
2. It operates during the day, so less of an issue.
3. The diagram is not entirely to scale, in that the thread of the drill bit goes right to the end of the guide pipe. So the most a rodent could get is a little bit of feed at the end, unless it could crawl through the thread (bugs might be able to??)
4. The hopper is just 75mm stormwater pipe and I use the cap to seal it.

Drawbacks:
-Not waterproof yet
-Feed limited to size of hopper (as with all feeders)
-Motor struggles a little to crush feed
-Limited pellet size (>3mm tend to get crushed a bit)
-It's just a hack!

Improvements
-Add a flap valve or down spout (read 90 degree bend) so feed drops straight down rather than out the end to discourage rodents/bugs
-Enclose for waterproofing
-Add a larger hopper (e.g. upside down coke bottle)
-Use a larger drill bit for larger feeds
-Use a larger guide pipe so that pellets are less likely to be crushed by drill bit (but the end will need to be protected from rodents/bugs)
-Add a feed light so the fish learn to associate the light with feed (they already tend to swarm around the outlet and probably hear the motor going)
-Add a self-feeder pendulum
-Log the feed rate if self feeding?
-Add network capability with web cam (watch and feed your fish from a remote location - e.g web/iphone)
-Share controller plans/code/schematics and connection options (e.g. PC, microcontroller, internet)

Any others? Feel free to add to these lists!