Long weekend feeder options for salt water?

fishoholic · #1 03-25-2013, 01:59 PM

I have an 8g bio-cube set up at my work, The bissell centre. There is 1 clownfish, 1 green clown goby, 1 hectars goby a peppermint shrimp and a cuc. We are closed for 4 days over the long weekend. I do not have the code for the alarm (I will be asking for it, so I can go in and feed the fish) but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have it.

I know there are those white cubes of food for fresh water fish to pick at if your gone away for awhile but I don't know if there is anything like that for saltwater fish. The repashy food (the uneaten portion) rots after 2 days so that won't work and since it's a bio-cube I can't think of a spot I could put a fish food timer on. Any ideas?

Skimmerking · #2 03-25-2013, 02:17 PM

Laurie the fish should be good for that long I wouldn't worry about it

reefwars · #3 03-25-2013, 02:19 PM

absolutely, 4 days is nothing , they could go 2 weeks i bet if needed.

Myka · #4 03-25-2013, 02:40 PM

I wouldn't worry about 4 days either.

However, I've found some awesome fish feeders recently. Fish Mate F14 feeders. It stores 14 meals for 1 feeding per day for 14 days, or it will feed up to 5 feedings per day. You can feed 1 pellet per day if you want or up to about 1 tsp per meal. It is very versatile and very simple. It also has an airline hook up if you need it. Drs Foster & Smith used to carry them for $25 (sale for $18-20), but they don't carry them anymore. Amazon.ca has them for $37 I think it is.

don.ald · #5 03-25-2013, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

I wouldn't worry about 4 days either.

However, I've found some awesome fish feeders recently. Fish Mate F14 feeders. It stores 14 meals for 1 feeding per day for 14 days, or it will feed up to 5 feedings per day. You can feed 1 pellet per day if you want or up to about 1 tsp per meal. It is very versatile and very simple. It also has an airline hook up if you need it. Drs Foster & Smith used to carry them for $25 (sale for $18-20), but they don't carry them anymore. Amazon.ca has them for $37 I think it is.

These are what I use, it allows for different foods in the same feeder if you wish.
I find them through amazon.com and they only ship to U.S. addresses (correct me if I'm wrong) and wish they were avail through Canadian suppliers.

kien · #6 03-25-2013, 02:58 PM

I will also add to the '4 days is OK' crew. I now use an EHEIM auto feeder but prior to getting it my fish would often go for 3-4 days without feeding during long weekends or short vacations. Once my fish even went 7 days without food when my auto-feeder broke. It fell into the tank while I was on vacation and I instructed my tank sitter not to bother feeding because I didn't want them to OVER feed the tank.

Myka · #7 03-25-2013, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by don.ald

I find them through amazon.com and they only ship to U.S. addresses (correct me if I'm wrong) and wish they were avail through Canadian suppliers.

They will ship to Canadian addresses, but you can also order through www.amazon.ca which is the Canadian version of www.amazon.com.

www.amazon.com is $27.54 plus about $9 shipping.
www.amazon.ca is $35 or $37 with free shipping. I don't see anyone offering the feeder on amazon.ca right now though.

Reef Pilot · #8 03-25-2013, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

I wouldn't worry about 4 days either.

However, I've found some awesome fish feeders recently. Fish Mate F14 feeders. It stores 14 meals for 1 feeding per day for 14 days, or it will feed up to 5 feedings per day. You can feed 1 pellet per day if you want or up to about 1 tsp per meal. It is very versatile and very simple. It also has an airline hook up if you need it. Drs Foster & Smith used to carry them for $25 (sale for $18-20), but they don't carry them anymore. Amazon.ca has them for $37 I think it is.

My problem with fish feeders, is that I can't lower my pump speed at the same time as the auto feedings. As a result, the food gets whipped around so much the fish have a hard time catching it.

Would be nice to be able to connect a feeder to my Apex.

kien · #9 03-25-2013, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

My problem with fish feeders, is that I can't lower my pump speed at the same time as the auto feedings. As a result, the food gets whipped around so much the fish have a hard time catching it.

Would be nice to be able to connect a feeder to my Apex.

don't most feeders have timed feeding? I'm not familiar with any other feeders other than the EHEIM that I use, but mine is set by the time. Because of this I can program my controller for a 5 min feed pause to sync with the auto-feeder's set time(s).

Reef Pilot · #10 03-25-2013, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

don't most feeders have timed feeding? I'm not familiar with any other feeders other than the EHEIM that I use, but mine is set by the time. Because of this I can program my controller for a 5 min feed pause to sync with the auto-feeder's set time(s).

Yes, but the timer is stand alone, and can't connect to anything else. So you have to ensure the time is in sync with your controller. And if you have a power outage while you are gone on vacation, for sure you will be out of sync.

In my specific case, even that is a moot point, as my pumps aren't connected to my Apex anyway.