Continuous feeding NPS filter feeders
- Thread starter uhuru
- Start date
dainiusiva
New member
you are really advancing the dark side of reef keeping.what do you plan on next? water autochanger?
uhuru
New member
Low quality video of venturi feeder in action with my new fridge. Please turn up the volume so you can hear the venturi "sucking." The louder sound is the magnetic stirrer. Couple other things to note:
1) Yes I know the plumbing is crooked. I took it straight from my original setup which used a larger fridge, and it didn't quite fit in this fridge as well. Oh well, it works great and doesn't take away from the aesthetics of the tanks, and thats all that matters to me.
2) I use individual pumps which has its pros and cons. The pumps can run at the same time, this doesn't seem to cause any problems but I did change the program on my RKL so that they come on staggered 10 minutes apart. I am just testing here but I dose SD, RF and a mixture of frozen/dry foods every hour. The frozen/dry foods are mixed in the flask by a magnetic stirrer, which comes on at the same time as the pump. I also added an air pump in case the stirrer jams or fails the food still gets stirred. The entire flask is dosed within 12 hours. That's about 1.2L, or a ton of food! But it also feeds the fishes. This works GREAT for the fishes BTW. They pretty much just pick at food from the water column all day and get fat. Great for my anthias and OSFF. I dose OF every 8 hours as it tends to kill the skimmer for at least 2-3 hrs.
3) Aquabacs (Mike) really discovered the best fridge to use for this IMO. It keeps everything cooler than my compressor fridge did and uses very little electricity (less than a standard light bulb according to the box). From what I can tell it uses large computer fans. You can get it online from Staples with free 1 day shipping if you pick up in store.
Pics coming after video:
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1) Yes I know the plumbing is crooked. I took it straight from my original setup which used a larger fridge, and it didn't quite fit in this fridge as well. Oh well, it works great and doesn't take away from the aesthetics of the tanks, and thats all that matters to me.
2) I use individual pumps which has its pros and cons. The pumps can run at the same time, this doesn't seem to cause any problems but I did change the program on my RKL so that they come on staggered 10 minutes apart. I am just testing here but I dose SD, RF and a mixture of frozen/dry foods every hour. The frozen/dry foods are mixed in the flask by a magnetic stirrer, which comes on at the same time as the pump. I also added an air pump in case the stirrer jams or fails the food still gets stirred. The entire flask is dosed within 12 hours. That's about 1.2L, or a ton of food! But it also feeds the fishes. This works GREAT for the fishes BTW. They pretty much just pick at food from the water column all day and get fat. Great for my anthias and OSFF. I dose OF every 8 hours as it tends to kill the skimmer for at least 2-3 hrs.
3) Aquabacs (Mike) really discovered the best fridge to use for this IMO. It keeps everything cooler than my compressor fridge did and uses very little electricity (less than a standard light bulb according to the box). From what I can tell it uses large computer fans. You can get it online from Staples with free 1 day shipping if you pick up in store.
Pics coming after video:
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uhuru
New member
How I drilled through this fridge (Avanti 1.7 cu. ft.) and narrowly avoided another disaster:
1) Using the correctly sized hole saw, very carefully drill only through the THIN plastic lining on the inside of the fridge where you plan to run the pipe through.
2) Using a large flat head screwdriver or spoon, gently scoop out the insulation all the way through until you get to the metal sheet on the other side.
3) Look inside the hole carefully to ensure that there are no wires or pipes in the way. Then use the hole saw again to drill through the metal. Make sure you use a hole saw designed to drill through metal. Here you can see how I avoided shredding up a wire using this method. The wire is probably connected to the light switch. The light switch also controls whether the fridge turns on or off - so if you destroy the wire, you have no working fridge.
Finished product. Crowded, but I can still get in there and change out the flask or bottles easily. In case you're wondering why 4 pumps and only 3 bottles, behind the bottle of RF is a bottle of OF.
1) Using the correctly sized hole saw, very carefully drill only through the THIN plastic lining on the inside of the fridge where you plan to run the pipe through.
2) Using a large flat head screwdriver or spoon, gently scoop out the insulation all the way through until you get to the metal sheet on the other side.
3) Look inside the hole carefully to ensure that there are no wires or pipes in the way. Then use the hole saw again to drill through the metal. Make sure you use a hole saw designed to drill through metal. Here you can see how I avoided shredding up a wire using this method. The wire is probably connected to the light switch. The light switch also controls whether the fridge turns on or off - so if you destroy the wire, you have no working fridge.
Finished product. Crowded, but I can still get in there and change out the flask or bottles easily. In case you're wondering why 4 pumps and only 3 bottles, behind the bottle of RF is a bottle of OF.
uhuru
New member
Haha, I bet it is kind of irritating to look at for some of you neat freaks - but hey, the fridge door stays closed 99% of the time and looks great otherwise 
I think the biggest difference I'm going to see is better water quality, less problems with pathogenic bacteria, infections, algae outbreaks, etc. Really the biggest benefit of all this is that the food stays fresh for as long as possible. Second is much easier maintenance since bottles will last for weeks. I know Gresham doesn't support mixing of the frozen and dry foods with water but still it's gotta be better than doing it at room temperature which I have been doing for a long time (and I've been dealing with mysterious bacterial infections in my tank for a long time).
I think the biggest difference I'm going to see is better water quality, less problems with pathogenic bacteria, infections, algae outbreaks, etc. Really the biggest benefit of all this is that the food stays fresh for as long as possible. Second is much easier maintenance since bottles will last for weeks. I know Gresham doesn't support mixing of the frozen and dry foods with water but still it's gotta be better than doing it at room temperature which I have been doing for a long time (and I've been dealing with mysterious bacterial infections in my tank for a long time).
slapshot
Active member
He doesn't? Why?
slapshot
Active member
Understanding where he works and his loyaties (and I use a lot of their products) but how would you then feed dry food? drop it into the tank dry?
uhuru
New member
Yes Mike feeds dry foods that way and Claude as well. I used to do it that way but since I also want to feed frozen cyclopeeze and nutramar ova throughout the day this is the most practical way at this time. Maybe Gresham should look into doing a preserved/suspended cyclopeeze product and ova product! I currently buy my frozen food in bulk, saves me a ton of money. For my dream tank build in the future I will have a freezer above the tank functioning as a surge tank.
flying_dutchman
New member
Maybe try a system similair Wolfgang colsman's system?
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=318084&page=11
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=318084&page=11
Aquabacs
New member
This is how I do it for the Fauna Marin foods...didnt clean anything up for you
Simple fishmate autofeeder and a feeding ring.
Mike
fullmonti
now is the time
OMG!
Is it not amazing what can be done given enough imagination, time & money!
Is it not amazing what can be done given enough imagination, time & money!
glparr
Waterbox Keeper
How quickly does it break down? I'm mixing my little cocktail and in tank water and feeding it all within 12 hours. I keep it refrigerated when not feeding. My mix is two kinds of FM powder, Min D, rotifers, Cyclopeez, and Rod's Coral mix in about 50 ml. of tank water.
Gary
Gary
uhuru
New member
Seafood is very delicate. I'm sure it starts breaking down right away. My mix lasts about 12 hrs as well. Before I started using a fridge, it would smell rotten by that time. In the summer it would start smelling bad by 5-6 hrs! With the fridge, it still smells fresh. I know its not fresh, but it sure is a lot better than before.
I was a hobbyist YEARS before I started working here, and I still am a hobbyist. Even if I didn't work for Reed I would still make the same call as it comes not from a place of brand loyalty, it comes from a place of not wanting to feed a compromised product. Dry feeds are easily dosed, in fact, they easiest of all things to do. A simple Eheim automatic feeder and a feed ring is all you need. Why mix it into a liquid and start the decomposition of the product early?
Looks like an Ocean Nutrition unit.
slapshot
Active member
Sorry Gresham, I was not questioning your dedication to the hobby, your integrity or your imparting your considerable knowledge to us, at all. I did not mean it the way it sounded. The only reason I wonder if wet is better is because it is more usable. One of the main reason I like Reeds products. Any idea what the decomposition rate is? Is it really bad, as decomposition I would think would involve bacteria which may in itself become a food source. I ask these questions out of ignorance. I really want to know. I may be doing it all wrong.
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