Automatic fish feeder with your own hands - photo, video, review, description. Automatic feeder for aquarium fish: purchased and made by yourself Automatic feeders for fish in an aquarium

Do not forget that aquarium fish are just as much pets as dogs and cats. Like other pets, fish should have their own place for feeding. Inexperienced aquarists are sure that the inhabitants of an artificial reservoir do not care how and where they eat. But, if you consider feeding through a feeder, it becomes clear that this method has many advantages. So, the fish get used to the place and time of feeding. Creating a routine has a beneficial effect on the health of the inhabitants.

What is the use of feeders?

A fish feeder is a kind of discipline. Feeding will be associated with only one location. Thanks to this, you can improve the condition of the water in the aquarium, since the residues will settle in only one place, which allows them to be removed from the aquarium or collected by catfish. The catfish will not have to scour the entire ground in search of food; it will know exactly where to look for the treasured delicacy. The minimal distribution of food in the aquarium prevents rotting processes, which means the water stays clean longer.

A feeder for live food greatly simplifies the feeding process. The fact is that particles of such food are heavier than water and quickly sink down, so slow fish or those who do not know how to feed from the bottom do not have time to fully enjoy live food. Thanks to a properly selected feeder, particles are retained in it, which will allow the fish to slowly eat all the food offered.

Variety of models

Today in the pet store you can find a huge assortment of different aquarium feeders. But if you don’t want to spend money, you can build a simple structure yourself. All models can be divided into floating and automatic.

If you decide to purchase a floating option, then it is more convenient to purchase a model with suction cups. Such feeders are attached to the wall, which will not allow the fish to move it and the pump to be carried away. Most often there are plastic frames with food poured into the middle. But if you don’t yet know where the power supply will be located, then you can choose a regular model without fasteners.

Pay attention to live food feeders. In appearance, it looks like a cone, at the sharp end of which there is a mesh. The cone is conveniently located under water, so changing the height of the water will not affect convenience in any way. All the worms remain in the cone until the fish grabs them on its own. If you remove the grid from the bottom, you can use it as a regular feeder for different types of food. A fixed feeder on one of the walls of the aquarium is also inconvenient due to the natural lowering of the water level. If the aquarium feeder is fixed on one side, then after changing the level, the feeder will tilt and stop performing its functions. Manufacturers have thought about this, so you can find modern floating models with guides that help it adjust to the water level.

People who:

Often go on business trips or travel;
Contains a large number of aquariums.

The automatic fish feeder is mounted on the upper edge of the side wall. It is a can with an engine. The timer sets the time when the food will be delivered to the pets. As soon as the appointed time approaches, the box automatically throws out the portion. Since the amount of food varies depending on the type and number of inhabitants, the feeder is equipped with a quantity regulator. To begin with, you will have to spend a lot of time to adjust the optimal amount. Remember that in no case should the food settle to the bottom and rot, no matter how hungry the fish may look, it is worth limiting their diet.

An automatic feeder is ideal as the main source of food, but you shouldn’t leave things to chance. After all, it can only dose dry food, and fish need a balanced diet. Give your fish live or plant food.

The feeder must be installed in the opposite direction from the filter and compressor. If you place it in the same corner, then the flow of water will simply wash the food out of the feeder. So, the fish will remain hungry, and the food will spread out in all directions.

How to make a feeder yourself?

Not everyone wants to buy a feeder, since you can make it yourself. To make it you can use:

Plastic,
Styrofoam,
rubber tube,
Plexiglas.

The easiest way to make a feeder is from foam plastic. Even a child can cope with this task. Find a small piece of foam that will be 1 to 1.5 centimeters high. Decide on the optimal length and width of the feeding area and cut out a frame from foam plastic. It is advisable to go over the edges with fine sandpaper to remove excess. This feeder has significant advantages: excellent buoyancy, ease of construction and low cost. However, there are some drawbacks - a short-lived design that easily absorbs odor and dirt.

Making a feeder from a rubber tube is even easier. It is enough to find a suitable tube with a diameter of 1 centimeter and glue the hollow ends together. It is important to do this very carefully, because if water gets into it, the ring will sink. This feeder is not afraid of mechanical damage and will last a long time.

For live food, it is better to use plastic and plexiglass. Take a piece of material up to 2 mm high. Make a frame from four strips, gluing them perpendicular to each other. Place a piece of plastic with drilled holes in the middle and glue it securely to the prepared frame.

Of course, the aesthetic side of homemade feeders remains in question. In addition, their cost in pet stores is not so high that you waste time on independently preparing the necessary attribute.

Hi all.

In today's review we will talk about an automatic fish feeder in an aquarium, which I purchased on eBay.

Summer is ahead - the season of vacations and trips out of town. But what if there are animals at home that you cannot take with you? In my case, these are aquarium fish. You can’t drag them along with you to the dacha :) And coming back every evening to sprinkle a couple of pinches of food is also a so-so option... If you leave for two days, then it’s okay, but what about vacation? In general, I had to think about something. And the only viable option was to purchase an automatic feeder.

At first I went to local pet stores, but I couldn’t find anything cheaper than 40 rubles. Why spend 40 rubles (about $22) if you can buy the same thing for half the price? So it was for this reason that eBya became the place of purchase. Automatic feeders are presented there in a wide variety. If you wish, you can buy feeders with a large/small feed tank, with or without a screen, cheap or not so cheap. I chose the mid-priced option, with push-button controls and a large feed compartment.

After a short correspondence with the seller, an agreement was reached between us that the parcel would be sent with a full track. She spent about two weeks on the way from China to Belarus. All information on the track can be viewed.

So, the feeder is supplied in the original factory packaging, which is a cardboard box with multi-colored printing. Looking at the front side of the box, you can see an image of the feeder inside, as well as find out its model. As it turned out, this is a “HOPAR H-9000” :)

On the back of the box the main characteristics of the feeder are listed, as well as the controls are schematically indicated.

The delivery set includes: the feeder itself, two “tripods” for attaching the feeder (one with suction cups, the other with plastic screws) and small black and white instructions.

The feeder was packed in a plastic bag, which pleased me - there was no foreign smell, which is often present in plastic products. As for the workmanship, everything is quite good here too. No cracks, cracks, unnecessary gaps or other unpleasant little things were found. Conventionally, the feeder consists of two parts - a feed tank and a programmable engine compartment.

The box says that the tank will last for 30 days. I think this is more than a modest statement. Its volume is about 200 grams, so if the aquarium is small and there are not many fish in it, then after filling the tank, you can completely forget about feeding for two months :) The total size of the feeder is approximately 16 x 8 centimeters. It’s quite difficult to call her miniature.

At the end of the tank (under the lid) there is a feed supply regulator. With its help, you can adjust the size of the portion of food that will be poured into the aquarium at one time. The mechanism is incredibly simple, we turn the wheel combined with a rectangular valve that closes/opens the hole in the tank. The valve is closed - little food comes out, the valve is open - the portion is large. There is a sign on the lid indicating which way you need to turn the ring to increase/decrease the portion.

The feeder is programmed using buttons located on the engine compartment. There are only two buttons: ON/OFF - on/off (if you hold it pressed for 3 seconds - fast feeding) and SET - setting parameters for the frequency of feeding. All indication is carried out via 4 diodes of different colors located above the buttons. After switching on, the red “POWER” diode begins to glow. By pressing the “SET” button you can select one of two feeding modes - every 12 hours or every 24 hours. The green diode under “1” is flashing - feeding will be carried out once every 24 hours, the yellow diode under “2” - once every 12 hours. In addition, when switching modes, the red “POWER” diode flashes. During operation of the feeder - when the tank is spinning, the blue diode under the letter “M” lights up.

The feeder runs on two AA batteries. To be honest, I don’t know how long they should last, but it seems to me that since the energy costs are minimal, they will last a decent amount of time. As I already said, the kit includes two fasteners - one with plastic screws for mounting the feeder on the wall of the aquarium, the second with suction cups - for fastening in other places :) However, for some reason I only had 3 instead of 4 suction cups. Apparently, one It got lost somewhere, and the seller didn’t bother to check the completeness.

In principle, there is nothing else interesting in the appearance and design of the feeder, which means you can move on to checking its performance. We hang it on the wall of the aquarium, set the feeding mode and wait. When time “X” arrives, a buzzing sound begins to be heard from the inside of the feeder, and the feed tank begins to spin. It makes one full revolution around its axis by 360 degrees. When the feed valve is down and direct feeding occurs. For a better understanding of the process, a short video of what it looks like in reality:

As you can see, everything works as it should. The feeder is suitable for any dry food, so there is no need to worry about this.

To sum up everything that has been written here, I can say that the feeder copes with its duties perfectly. Now you can safely go on vacation without worrying that the fish will be left without food. The feeder has one drawback - the lost suction cup. And yet, wall mounting is only possible if the aquarium does not have a lid, since the feeder protrudes above the level of the walls. I installed it on the lid, so that everything would fall exactly into the feeding hole. True, I had to modify the original bracket a little, but these are minor things. In general, the purchase turned out to be successful and may be useful for those who have fish at home, but no one to look after them if you leave.

That's probably all. Thank you for your attention and your time.

I'm planning to buy +23 Add to favorites I liked the review +19 +31

Even experienced aquarists have situations when they forget or, due to certain circumstances, cannot feed their silent pets in a timely manner. In such cases, an automatic fish feeder can be an excellent solution. This is a unique device that allows you to fully automate the process of feeding the inhabitants of the aquarium.

Such devices provide dosed feed, thereby preventing excessive accumulation of the feed mixture in the water. This ensures normal and healthy nutrition for the fish in the absence of the owner.

Functional features of automatic feeders

Almost all modern models have the same operating principle, based on portioned feeding of feed in a certain time period. They may differ from each other in additional functions, for example, the presence of a digital display or a fan.

Automatic drum-type fish feeders are in high demand. In this case, food is supplied using a special drum dispenser, through the opening of which one portion of food is discharged into the water. After which the drum rotates, returning to its original position, and is again filled from the common chamber. The capacity of the supply compartment can be adjusted using a special valve, which can be moved in one direction or another until a characteristic click is formed.

In addition, the market offers automatic feeders with auger feed distribution, in which a spiral acts as a dosing mechanism, as well as disk devices, where fish food is supplied sequentially from compartments on the disk.

Without exception, all models of automatic feeders are equipped with an electronic control unit, which ensures continuous and proper operation of the device. Devices of this kind can operate either from the mains or using the energy of AA batteries.

Making your own automatic feeder

As an alternative to purchased devices, you can use a homemade automatic fish feeder. Manufacturing such a device does not take much time and does not require special skills.

In order to make your own automatic feeder you need the following tools:

desk clock with alarm;
lightweight plastic container;
plastic tube with a diameter of 7-8mm.

An automatic fish feeder with your own hands is made as follows:

A hole is made in the plastic container, the diameter of which should be slightly smaller than the size of the tube. Thanks to this, there will be no need to use glue. After which a tube is inserted into the resulting hole.
Dry food is poured into the drum. To prevent the granules from falling out all at once under their own weight, it will be enough to fill the container two-thirds full.
A homemade drum is placed on the hour axis of the alarm clock, after which it is attached with tape to the hour hand. The position of the container should be selected so that the opening of the tube is at the bottom twice a day at a certain time.
Feed will be supplied until the clock hand travels a certain path along the dial.

For owners of artificial reservoirs, a do-it-yourself fish feeder in a pond can be an excellent helper. Today there are a lot of different ideas for home-made manufacturing of such devices; you can also use your imagination and come up with something of your own, more perfect.

To summarize, we can say that an automatic feeder is an indispensable device that will help organize adequate nutrition for fish in the absence of the owner.

Video about automatic fish feeder

What is the use of feeders?

Variety of models

People who:

Often go on business trips or travel;
Contains a large number of aquariums.

How to make a feeder yourself?

Not everyone wants to buy a feeder, since you can make it yourself. To make it you can use:

Plastic,
Styrofoam,
rubber tube,
Plexiglas.

Of course, the aesthetic side of homemade feeders remains in question. In addition, their cost in pet stores is not so high that you waste time on independently preparing the necessary attribute.

Automatic fish feeder with your own hands - photo video review description.

What is the use of feeders?

Automatic feeder: general principle of operation

The operating principle of the device is based on portioned feed supply per unit of time. The mechanics of most modern automatic feeders are, in principle, the same: a strictly dosed portion of food is poured into the water through a hole in the drum.

After food is served, the drum rotates and its compartment is refilled from the common chamber. The capacity of the feed compartment is adjusted using a special curtain, which can be moved in one direction or another until a characteristic click is heard.

In addition to drum-type devices, there are:

Fully automated automatic feeders with feeding during the opening of a special shutter (like curtains in old mechanical cameras).

And screw devices, when the feed dose is regulated by the number of turns of the worm shaft.

Also available for sale disk samples, where food for the fish is supplied sequentially from compartments on the disk. At a certain time, the lower disk rotates and all the food from one compartment is poured into the aquarium. Next up is the next drive bay.

But the main technological unit in all commercial automatic feeders is, of course, the electronic control unit.

Many devices can be powered by both household AC power and ordinary batteries.

How to make an automatic feeder for an aquarium?

The process of making an automatic feeder with your own hands is very simple and does not take much time. For work we will need the following materials:

small analog clock with alarm;
plastic transparent container;
a transparent plastic tube with a diameter of about 7-8mm.

Now let's look at the instructions for making an automatic feeder for an aquarium with your own hands.

We make a hole in a plastic container with a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the cutting and insert the tube. Then you won't have to use additional glue.

The drum does not need to be fully loaded. It is enough to fill it two-thirds, then the food granules will not fall out all at once under their own weight. In addition, the clock hand can withstand a certain weight and should be loaded experimentally gradually, and we will attach the container to it.

How does a do-it-yourself automatic fish feeder work? A container with food pellets is attached to the clock hand. Since the container makes two revolutions in 24 hours, granules will spill out of the hole in the tube twice a day. This is quite enough for feeding.
The size of the hole in the tube of the self-made automatic feeder will determine the number of pellets that will fall out at a time. The larger it is, the more food will enter the aquarium.
The automatic feeder for an aquarium with your own hands is ready and now you can safely use it in practice.

Choosing a place for the feeder in the aquarium

It is up to you to choose what you will use - an automatic fish feeder or a conventional one that requires manual manipulation. However, you should remember one rule: carefully choose the place where you will have it, preferably where there is no aeration system and heating devices. Ideally, it is advisable to turn off the aeration system during feeding so that the feed does not spread over the entire surface of the water. However, as you can imagine, if an automatic fish feeder is used, this item may not be feasible.

Feeder functions

Such designs are very useful when using live and dry food. It is they who prevent food from spreading over the entire surface of the water, ending up in hard-to-reach places where it will safely rot. In this regard, an automatic fish feeder is a real lifesaver. When using live food, the feeder is also very important. It allows you to keep heavy worms on the surface of the water, preventing them from getting lost under rocks at the bottom, where they are likely to rot.

In what cases can you not do without an automatic feeder?

A working aquarist always has to solve the problem of regularly feeding his pets. Being away from home all day, this can be quite problematic. When you go on vacation for half a month, you can’t take an aquarium with you either, so a lifesaver like an automatic feeder comes to the rescue.

Nowadays, as was done in the days of our grandparents, there is no need to “reinvent the wheel”, because given the demand for automatic feeders for aquariums, some manufacturers of pet products have adopted them. These devices have a variety of designs and are programmed for feeding hours and feed volume.

Brief overview of commercial samples

Like all other aquarium accessories, automatic feeders from various manufacturers are quite widely represented in the retail chain. They vary in size, container capacity, design and, of course, price. Moreover, the cost depends mainly on the degree of automation: the more electronics there are in the feeder, the more expensive it is.

Model Eheim TWIN

The German company Eheim produces expensive, elite equipment for aquariums, and the samples of automatic fish feeders presented by this company are no exception.

Has 2 feed compartments with a total capacity of 160 ml. Each compartment operates independently, serving different types of food at different times. However, you can program the feeding process in any way you like.

To prevent the formation of product lumps due to moisture, the device is equipped with a mini-fan that automatically dries the food in the compartments.

The model is powered by 4 AA batteries, which are included in the delivery set; their resource is enough for about 4 months of work. Of course, the price of Eheim TWIN is not small - about 7 thousand rubles for a 600-gram device.

Hagen

Another German company, Hagen, has taken the path of reducing the size of its equipment.

Thus, the electronic model Hagen Nutramatix weighs only 140 g, and its hopper holds much less feed - only 14 g.

This sample is well suited for feeding fry, since it can deliver doses of even the smallest dry food 2 times a day at a programmed time. The device runs on 2 batteries.

Juwel

A budget version of automatic feeders is offered by the company Juwel (Germany).

The drum-type model weighs 300 g, runs on 2 batteries, does not require labor-intensive maintenance and provides twice the feed per day.

You can install the device anywhere, the main thing is to cut a corresponding hole in the lid of the aquarium.

The volume of the hopper for this sample is 100 g, and many aquarists believe that this device is almost ideal in conditions of long-term absence.

FERPLAST CHEF

The Italians are not lagging behind German manufacturers.

The FERPLAST CHEF automatic feeder (screw type) accurately doses food, can serve it 3 times a day, protects food from humid air and operates for quite a long time on 2 batteries.

In short, the variety of branded automatic fish feeders allows you to choose exactly the option that is needed at a given time. But you can make this device yourself.

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How to make an automatic feeder with your own hands

Automatic feeder for aquarium fish Auto Food P-01

DIY automatic feeder for aquarium fish

DIY aquarium controller. Light, filter, temperature, feeding fish.

There are electronic gadgets and devices that make caring for pets easier. Water heaters, ecosystem monitoring devices and automatic feeders have been invented for aquarium fish. During the long-term absence of the aquarist, it is the automatic fish feeders that will provide the pets with daily feeding.

All types of automatic feeders dispense a dosed portion of food at certain time intervals. The structure can be different; power is supplied from the mains and from AA batteries. The second type is much more common.

Types of feeders for aquarium fish:

Drums. The most common among commercial devices.
Screw. The amount of food in such units is controlled by a rod with a screw surface.
Feeders with a valve. The feed is supplied with the opening of a special valve.
Disk. Disks divided into compartments. At the right moment, the contents of the compartments are poured into the aquarium.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages include:

clear dosage of food;
constant feeding at the same time;
attaching the feeder to suction cups in a suitable area of the aquarium;
portability;
the fish will get used to getting food in a certain place.

There are also disadvantages:

feeding only adult fish;
inability to use live and frozen food;
high price.

How long will it work

The number of working hours of the device depends on the power of the batteries and the capacity of the feeder. Models are sold that allow you to feed aquarium inhabitants for a week. More capacious and expensive models will feed the fish for 2 months.

Based on the battery life, the aquarium feeder can function uninterruptedly for up to 4 months. However, fish should not be left unattended for too long.

Where to install the feeder

Attach the feeder above the water surface opposite the filter and aerator. Food should not be washed out of the feeder.

How to make it yourself

An alternative is a homemade fish feeder. Enthusiasts have come up with several working options. You can make such feeders for an aquarium with your own hands.

Bottle and smartphone

Simple method. The following items will be needed:

bottle;
narrow tape;
phone with vibration mode.

An automatic aquarium feeder can be made in five steps:

Cut the bottle in half.
Turn the part of the bottle with the neck upside down.
Leave a small gap between the cork and the neck. Secure the structure with tape.
Fill the container with food. If some of them wake up, it’s okay.
Place your charged phone there.
Secure the tripod above the surface of the water. When you make a call, the vibration of the phone will cause grains of food to fall into the water.

In this way, you can provide your fish with food while away from home.

Using an alarm clock

This automatic feeder for an aquarium is more difficult to make with your own hands. You will need:

plastic container with a lid (cup or container);
tube with a diameter of 7–8 mm;
small alarm clock.

It is made as follows:

Make a hole in the container with a diameter of less than 8 mm.
Insert a tube into the hole so that the inside does not touch the opposite wall of the container.
Fill the container two-thirds full with dry food and close the lid.
Remove the glass from the alarm clock.
Place the resulting drum on the hour axis of the alarm clock and glue it to the arrow with tape. The hole should be from below twice a day at certain hours.
The food pours out when the hour hand takes the desired position, moving along the dial.

Commercial samples

Eheim Twin. Expensive automatic feeder with a volume of 160 ml. Equipped with a fan that prevents food from rotting and forming lumps under the influence of moisture. There are two compartments for different types of food. Powered by 4 AA batteries. The feeding process is completely customizable.
Eheim Feed Air Digital Automatic. Another sample from Eheim. Digital feeder with fan and feeding fish up to 4 times a day.
Tetra. The device will provide the fish with food up to three times a day. Food is protected from exposure to light, moisture and air. There is a convenient mount with height adjustment. The volume of the food compartment is 100 ml. Food in the form of flakes, chips and granules is suitable.
Ferplast Chef. Battery-powered feeder with a capacity of 100 ml. Powered by two batteries, it provides three meals a day for fish with precise dosage of food.
The drum-type device will feed your pets twice a day. Weighs 300 g, container volume – 100 ml. Used to feed small fish that consume small and medium pellets.
The feeder runs on two batteries and holds only 14 g of small food. Suitable for feeding young fish. Serves food to the fish twice a day.
Fish Mate Automatic Feeder. The feeder has 14 compartments for storing food. It is possible to set up automatic feed supply up to 4 times a day.

After purchasing, test the feeder for 2-3 days. Identifying faults and defects will protect the fish from overfeeding and water pollution.
When leaving fish for too long, it is better to be on the safe side. It is safer to entrust feeding to an automatic device, the functioning of which must be monitored. Friends should visit once a week.
Leave the friend assigned to supervise the operation of the feeder with all the necessary contact information and instruct him where to contact in case of equipment breakdown.
Do-it-yourself devices are best preferred for short-term absences.
If automatic feeders are used constantly, pay attention to the diet of the fish. Poor nutrition, consisting only of dry food, has a bad effect on the health of pets. You can diversify your diet with live, frozen and plant foods.
Cone-shaped feeders are convenient for feeding live and frozen food. Such samples are inexpensive.
Buying a fish feeder is not always necessary. For up to 7 days, purchase food that gradually dissolves in water.
When leaving the aquarium, do not forget to also change the water, wash the filter and check other equipment.

A myth has formed around aquarium fish about their short memory. In fact, fish are smart creatures that don’t forget to eat and can remember the owner’s face. Therefore, the aquarist must remember to provide them with constant feeding.