Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
You can get peristaltic pumps pumps from ebay for pretty cheap, I got a "Aspen" peristaltic pump to pump water into my "sump" in the loft for the original scrubber I had, got it cheap on ebay and has worked continuously 24x7 for 9 months, the Aspen one was designed for air-conditioning units to pump condensation out, but works perfectly for my needs (pumps at a rate of 6 litres/hour), the only other thing you need would be a decent electronic timer, that's what would cost the money.
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
any one know if this auto feeder is any good ( Reactor - Auto Phyto/Frozen Feeder 200mls )
saw it on ebay
http://www.cleartides.com/page28.htm look at this link
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
If you can feed 24ml per day or more, then you can get a used Ross Patrol on Ebay for under $100 USD
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
Very interesting.
A daily feeding dosage (mine's about 10 ml/day), mixed with prepared water to bring up to 24ml, then chilled (per your idea) and pumped throughout the day would work in my opinion. The only thing to watch is if the food settles poorly.
I think I'll try it, and let you know.
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
Like most enteral feeding pumps, it goes down to 1.0 ml/hr, which is 24 ml/day. You'll have to dilute your food with rodi to do that, and your storage/chilling container will thus be much larger. But yes it will work.
I got up to 73 ml/day but overloaded my scrubber. Now I'm back to 12 ml/day. It's amazing the difference in coral growth at the higher levels.
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
Very interesting project, SantaMonica. It looks like this system would have many applications, for larval and microphagous fish, molluscs, and crustaceans as well as corals. I look forward to more updates!
One question: when you use mysis, are the shrimp crushed by the wheel on the pump? I am curious about using the system with live microcrustacea, but this would not work if there is too much compression at the wheel.
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
There is no compression for the most part... the food stays between the wheels.
However, I found that mysis get stuck in the anti-back-flush valve. So I removed that valve, and filed smooth any internal edges I could find. I'm now feeding blended oysters and phyto, at particle up to 2mm, with no problem.
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
Re: Automatic Continuous Feeder - DIY
No, it's lowest is 1.0 ml per hour:
http://www.moog.com/products/medical-pu ... nteralite/
Here are other options:
Kangaroo Pet: Is 1.0 ml per hour, but you can delay it a number of hours.
Zevex EnteraLite Infinity: Is 0.1 ml per hour (the one I use).
Cadd-Prizm VIP 6161: Is 0.1 per hour.
Baxter AP II Ambulatory Infusion Pump: 0.1 per hour (continuous, so might clog)
Zevex Entera Orange Enteral Feeding Pump: 0.1 per hour.
Ross Embrace: 1.0 ml per hou, but you can delay it a number of hours.
Get them from Ebay... it is much cheaper.