Fish Feeders - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T15:54:13Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/fish-feeders?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A16326&feed=yes&xn_auth=noRon where did you find the co…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-25:4778851:Comment:2376832011-10-25T22:21:06.784ZTom McLemorehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TomMcLemore
<p>Ron where did you find the corn auger? I have been playing with a feeder design but haven't found the auger I am looking for. Thoguth of building my own but if I can buy a ready made one it would save a little time.</p>
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<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Tom</p>
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<p><cite>Ron Thompson said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/fish-feeders?x=1&id=4778851%3ATopic%3A4547&page=2#4778851Comment6507"><div><div class="xg_user_generated">Quick update on my…</div>
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<p>Ron where did you find the corn auger? I have been playing with a feeder design but haven't found the auger I am looking for. Thoguth of building my own but if I can buy a ready made one it would save a little time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Tom</p>
<p> </p>
<p><cite>Ron Thompson said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/fish-feeders?x=1&id=4778851%3ATopic%3A4547&page=2#4778851Comment6507"><div><div class="xg_user_generated">Quick update on my DIY Feeder -- I have it up and running. I will be building a second unit in the next few weeks for Michael and will thoroughly document the process with directions and photos and a parts list.<br/> <br/>
I will be building a second unit in the next few weeks for Michael and will then retire from manufacturing. However I thoroughly document the process with directions and photos and a parts list to post to the list.<br/>
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The unit I have will hold around 10-lbs of dry pellets but can easily be made larger or smaller depending on your need. It isn't really any cheaper than the commercial units but is far sturdier (especially over the Koi Chef feeder, pure garbage) and can feed anywhere from 2 ounces to 10-lbs at a time. Except for the gearmotor and auger, everything needed can be bought at a Lowes (or Home Depot, etc). It isn't difficult to make and the heaviest piece of equipment needed is a hacksaw.<br/>
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For those planning to participate in the Central Florida Aquaponics Tour later this month, I'll have it with me at Michaels place.<br/>
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The rest of you stay tuned for the plans.</div>
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</blockquote> I have some one check on thin…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2371592011-10-24T21:52:06.029ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
I have some one check on things here when we are away but I can't really expect them to measure out feed for several different tanks. They just check to see that pumps are running, there are no dead fish, there is food in the feeders and they fill the chicken feeders and collect eggs. Doing much more than that and they would need too many instructions and would be tied into coming here at specific times of day which I can't really expect.
I have some one check on things here when we are away but I can't really expect them to measure out feed for several different tanks. They just check to see that pumps are running, there are no dead fish, there is food in the feeders and they fill the chicken feeders and collect eggs. Doing much more than that and they would need too many instructions and would be tied into coming here at specific times of day which I can't really expect. I think I would have a hard t…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2374262011-10-24T21:39:19.413ZStephen Corbetthttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/StephenCorbett
<p>I think I would have a hard time trusting any feeder to go a week without being checked on. My system runs pretty well but I always get someone to check on things when I'm away for even 2 days. We left for a week once and ended up paying someone to stay at the house. Too many things that could go wrong, and chickens and dog need attention as well.</p>
<p>Hence the belt feeder works fine for me.</p>
<p>My experience with the "leave it for more than a day" types of feeders is moisture seems to…</p>
<p>I think I would have a hard time trusting any feeder to go a week without being checked on. My system runs pretty well but I always get someone to check on things when I'm away for even 2 days. We left for a week once and ended up paying someone to stay at the house. Too many things that could go wrong, and chickens and dog need attention as well.</p>
<p>Hence the belt feeder works fine for me.</p>
<p>My experience with the "leave it for more than a day" types of feeders is moisture seems to frequently gum up the works making them unreliable.</p> Yea, even though when I was f…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2371372011-10-24T17:16:48.762ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Yea, even though when I was first testing feeders I was dealing with 500-600 gallons, it was still on a backyard scale system and I needed the smaller feeding increment to be closer to a single small hand full (like a table spoon) rather than on the order starting with a cup full. Which I think is a common problem for people trying to find a fish feeder for a backyard scale system. Most of the feeders are either like an aquarium feeder to feed a pinch of flake food or like a pet feeder…</p>
<p>Yea, even though when I was first testing feeders I was dealing with 500-600 gallons, it was still on a backyard scale system and I needed the smaller feeding increment to be closer to a single small hand full (like a table spoon) rather than on the order starting with a cup full. Which I think is a common problem for people trying to find a fish feeder for a backyard scale system. Most of the feeders are either like an aquarium feeder to feed a pinch of flake food or like a pet feeder that start at around 1/4-1/2 cup and the normal starting aquaponics system needs to feed something in between those two or skip feeding when on holiday (though tilapia fry will simply eat each other if you do that.)</p>
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<p>Anyway. My fish seem really happy to see me this week now that it is warming back up but I turned the feeders off the other day when the water temp dropped a bit.<a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a></p> I see. I guess that I'm feed…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2372322011-10-24T16:34:21.223ZNate Storeyhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/NateStorey
<p>I see. I guess that I'm feeding 500 gallon tanks with 200 pounds of fish in each one- so the timing cycles aren't too much for me. I see the problem with using them on smaller systems. I do use the ones with 6 feeding cycles throughout the day/night (even though I only do 3 or 4 feedings/day).</p>
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<p>Sometimes I don't feed my fish for long periods of time, it doesn't hurt them- they're pretty fat anyway, and could stand to lose some weight. Plus, it makes them love me more!…</p>
<p>I see. I guess that I'm feeding 500 gallon tanks with 200 pounds of fish in each one- so the timing cycles aren't too much for me. I see the problem with using them on smaller systems. I do use the ones with 6 feeding cycles throughout the day/night (even though I only do 3 or 4 feedings/day).</p>
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<p>Sometimes I don't feed my fish for long periods of time, it doesn't hurt them- they're pretty fat anyway, and could stand to lose some weight. Plus, it makes them love me more! :)</p> I struggled with the Moulgrie…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2370622011-10-24T14:57:48.607ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>I struggled with the Moulgrie feeders at one point in time (I'm not sure which particular model I tried compared to yours.) I think my two main problems with them were...</p>
<p>1-the timer was too limited for a small home system that might only want to feed a few seconds worth of feed. Essentially, it fed too much and could only do it once or twice a day.</p>
<p>2-no aggitator inside the bucket and no slope to where the feed enters the dispenser so there would always be quite a bit of old…</p>
<p>I struggled with the Moulgrie feeders at one point in time (I'm not sure which particular model I tried compared to yours.) I think my two main problems with them were...</p>
<p>1-the timer was too limited for a small home system that might only want to feed a few seconds worth of feed. Essentially, it fed too much and could only do it once or twice a day.</p>
<p>2-no aggitator inside the bucket and no slope to where the feed enters the dispenser so there would always be quite a bit of old feed that would never make it out of the bucket.</p>
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<p>I have one game feeder I'm now using to dispense scratch to the chickens but my problem with that one had been that it tended to feed way too much and whenever a squirrel or other critter or wind bumped it, it would drop feed too so didn't work for the aquaponics outdoors though a bag or chunk of liner would have kept the feed from going out of the tank. The other feeder was designed to flip feed into a farm pond and it didn't drop feed when jostled but it was designed to throw the feed far so it whipped the feed like bullets and even after we replaced the metal spinner with rubber it still tended to whip the feed pretty extensively and again hand the hopper issues and kinda limited programing. </p>
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<p>The pet feeders I'm using now are costly but they are much more precise in the amount of feed dropped (I have control right down to the second and can feed up to 8 times a day,) it is an auger feeder but there is also an agitator up in the hopper to keep feed from wedging and there is a little slope to the bottom of the hopper so not as much old feed wasted caught around the edges. Just wish it was easier to make them weather, bug and rodent proof.</p>
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<p>Of course this time of year with it getting cold I'll probably shut off the feeders when I leave town for a week since I'm probably better off letting the fish go hungry instead of risking an overfeeding incident.</p> http://www.bigsupplyshop.com/…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2370572011-10-24T14:18:40.865ZNate Storeyhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/NateStorey
<p><a href="http://www.bigsupplyshop.com/Moultrie-Feeders-Pro-Hunter-Feeder-Kit-MFH-PHBK_p_7349.html">http://www.bigsupplyshop.com/Moultrie-Feeders-Pro-Hunter-Feeder-Kit-MFH-PHBK_p_7349.html</a></p>
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<p>I have used these in the past- also refurbished ones that come complete from Moultrie (I think I got those for $40 apiece or so.)</p>
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<p>Nate</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bigsupplyshop.com/Moultrie-Feeders-Pro-Hunter-Feeder-Kit-MFH-PHBK_p_7349.html">http://www.bigsupplyshop.com/Moultrie-Feeders-Pro-Hunter-Feeder-Kit-MFH-PHBK_p_7349.html</a></p>
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<p>I have used these in the past- also refurbished ones that come complete from Moultrie (I think I got those for $40 apiece or so.)</p>
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<p>Nate</p> Hi TC,
You should look into M…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2372162011-10-24T14:15:20.325ZNate Storeyhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/NateStorey
<p>Hi TC,</p>
<p>You should look into Moultrie automated wildlife feeders- I can usually find them for less than $40 refurbished online. Add a plastic bag for a skirt to direct the feed downward and you've got an automated, large-capacity feeder for cheap. </p>
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<p>I've been running mine for 3 years now with no problems. You need to replace the lantern battery every year or year and a half.</p>
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<p>Nate</p>
<p>Hi TC,</p>
<p>You should look into Moultrie automated wildlife feeders- I can usually find them for less than $40 refurbished online. Add a plastic bag for a skirt to direct the feed downward and you've got an automated, large-capacity feeder for cheap. </p>
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<p>I've been running mine for 3 years now with no problems. You need to replace the lantern battery every year or year and a half.</p>
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<p>Nate</p> For certain situation I expec…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2368662011-10-24T01:59:23.940ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
For certain situation I expect those belt feeders are perfect. However, the reason I need automatic feeders is for when I'm gonna be out of town all week.
For certain situation I expect those belt feeders are perfect. However, the reason I need automatic feeders is for when I'm gonna be out of town all week. I know some folks here will c…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-24:4778851:Comment:2367712011-10-24T00:33:26.548ZStephen Corbetthttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/StephenCorbett
<p>I know some folks here will choke on the price of these. From my experience these are extremely reliable, require no electricity, and are unaffected by feed size. If you set it up right I doubt rodents will be a big problem. I used to work for an aquaculture research facility and a very well know aquarium and have used quite a few of the commercial feeders. I like these the best.The clocks work well (come in a 12 hour and 24 hour version). I picked up a used one my previous employer was…</p>
<p>I know some folks here will choke on the price of these. From my experience these are extremely reliable, require no electricity, and are unaffected by feed size. If you set it up right I doubt rodents will be a big problem. I used to work for an aquaculture research facility and a very well know aquarium and have used quite a few of the commercial feeders. I like these the best.The clocks work well (come in a 12 hour and 24 hour version). I picked up a used one my previous employer was going to throw out, put a new clock on it and have been using it daily for a year now. All I do is wipe off the belt and load the feed.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/2253/Belt-Feeders" target="_blank">http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/2253/Belt-Feeders</a></p>