I'm considering starting to use reef chili in my tank, but I'm big on automation and bad at remembering to feed something like that regularly. Additionally if it was automated then it could be fed at night when it might be best utilized.
I debated just trying to use the apex automated feeder to dump some in periodically, but I'm afraid that it will just stay clumped up and float at the top and wind up going over the overflow and not really benefiting anything. I also use two AFS's already to feed my fish two different types of pellets and they've learned to recognize the sound (or maybe vibrations) that the AFS makes and if I just put another AFS over the tank with reef chili than I'm guessing that one of the fish will just eat the clump of reef chili that falls into the tank before it even has a chance to break up.
I also considered mixing it in small batches and using a DOS or another dosing pump to add it to the tank, but I'm not sure how long a mixed batch would be good for, plus I suspect that it may settle after a while and the DOS would have a hard time picking it up. Ideally I'd like to mix up enough for a week or two at a time, but I'm just not sure that's really feasible.
The last idea I had, which I think may be the most likely to work would be to used the automated feeder, but to put it over the baffles in my sump before the return chamber. I'm thinking that the water moving over the baffles should help to pull the food into the water column and the return pumps will grab it and hopefully break up any clumps as it gets pumped up into the tank.
Has anyone tried to automate feeding of reef chili or something like it?
I debated just trying to use the apex automated feeder to dump some in periodically, but I'm afraid that it will just stay clumped up and float at the top and wind up going over the overflow and not really benefiting anything. I also use two AFS's already to feed my fish two different types of pellets and they've learned to recognize the sound (or maybe vibrations) that the AFS makes and if I just put another AFS over the tank with reef chili than I'm guessing that one of the fish will just eat the clump of reef chili that falls into the tank before it even has a chance to break up.
I also considered mixing it in small batches and using a DOS or another dosing pump to add it to the tank, but I'm not sure how long a mixed batch would be good for, plus I suspect that it may settle after a while and the DOS would have a hard time picking it up. Ideally I'd like to mix up enough for a week or two at a time, but I'm just not sure that's really feasible.
The last idea I had, which I think may be the most likely to work would be to used the automated feeder, but to put it over the baffles in my sump before the return chamber. I'm thinking that the water moving over the baffles should help to pull the food into the water column and the return pumps will grab it and hopefully break up any clumps as it gets pumped up into the tank.
Has anyone tried to automate feeding of reef chili or something like it?