Automatic Frozen/refrigerated food dispenser

[ReefFrenzy]

I'm glad you are having success with it and I hope you didn't think I was being overly harsh in my reply. With the Holiday season coming up there are more posts about folks going on vacation and thawing out 7-8 days worth of food in the fridge popping up on Facebook. I try to explain to as many as I can that that is a really bad idea. Simply smelling the container of thawed food on day one verses day 7 will make that readily clear. In your scenario with the preservatives you are way ahead of the game, and likely won't have an issue. Overall it is a great write-up and I was impressed with the degree of which you researched the preservatives and the importance of keeping the food just over freezing. Have a great Thanksgiving!

 

[kolalysy]

Hi DRB, I tried to make it but have some problems.

I made the food exactly as described. I used brine shrimp, mysis and fish meat and mixed it with water and prescribed chemical substances. The fishes (all) do not eat that (I have many pseudanthias squimpinnis, gramma loreto, yellow tank ond others - mainly quite easy to care fishes). This is the main problem - maybe I should dose less these substances ?

As I understand for 1 liter of water it is 50 grams of vit C, 50 grams of citric acid, 10 grams of sorbic acid and 10 grams of the last one)

What I notices is the ORP goes down drastically afetr dosing this food even in small amounts (from 250 to 130 ORP). Probably the vitamins C makes it.

I have a problem with mixing it as this is quite constant (tried the magnetic stirrer but it is to weak, tried very small pump and the same - will try the stronger air pump). The food goes down, in the upper part of the jar there is the water.

But the main problem is that fishes do not eat that ... any clues ?

 

[kolalysy]

Sorry didn't noticed wrote the same twice.

And maybe I found the answer: this is 0,5 % not 5 % ?

 

[DBR_Reef]

Sorry didn't noticed wrote the same twice.

And maybe I found the answer: this is 0,5 % not 5 % ?

Correct, The prescribed preservatives for 1 liter of water it is 5 grams of vit C, 5 grams of citric acid, 1 grams of sorbic acid and 1 grams of Calcium Proprionate.
And if you are keeping it for under 3 weeks (which I recommend if possible), then 0.5 grams of sorbic acid and 0.5 grams of the Calcium Proprionate.

You were basically feeding your fish sour warheads (which if you don't know, is a candy in the US that's sole goal is to be sour, and gross in every other way), so I am not supersized they were not very interested in eating it.

The magnetic stirrer is probably the best method of stirring. I'm not sure exactly what is going wrong- but here are a few things to try: a smaller stir bar (less torque required), a shallower container (less vertical turnover required), less food per volume of water, or maybe a better stir plate.

 

[kolalysy]

Thank you. Now the fishes eat it .

I had problems with the dosing pump (AquaMedic SP 3000) that was not going to start in the low temperature. Dedicated silicon grease was the problem - in the low temperature (in the fridge) it was very very thick. Now I use WD40 and it works.

As for now I use the air pump to mix the mixture, will see if it shortens the period of food availability.

As I remember you are using Apex, could you send the command that you use for this ?

 

[kolalysy]

Hi,

attached photo of my system. The fridge (-3C) is above the tank, there is a hole in the bottom of the fridge through which the food goes down (gravity). The pump is AquaMedic SP 3000. In this temperature the mixture doesnt freeze. It is mixed by the air pump but I'm g going to change it and use magnetic stirrer (but by this ocasion I will see how long the food will last being mixed this way).

Generally great idea and one more time I'd like to thanks for the author of this concept (especially that way how the food may be presereved - in my opinion it is the greatest issue in this topic).

 

[DBR_Reef]

Thank you. Now the fishes eat it .

I had problems with the dosing pump (AquaMedic SP 3000) that was not going to start in the low temperature. Dedicated silicon grease was the problem - in the low temperature (in the fridge) it was very very thick. Now I use WD40 and it works.

As for now I use the air pump to mix the mixture, will see if it shortens the period of food availability.

As I remember you are using Apex, could you send the command that you use for this ?

Sure. I have a stir outlet that stirs every hour- I believe for for 2 minutes. you may want to reduce the frequency by deleting a few lines, or duration by using a delay, as the stirrer does beat the food up a bit.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 01:00 to 01:01 Then ON
If Time 03:00 to 03:01 Then ON
If Time 05:00 to 05:01 Then ON
If Time 07:00 to 07:01 Then ON
If Time 09:00 to 09:01 Then ON
If Time 11:00 to 11:01 Then ON
If Time 13:00 to 13:01 Then ON
If Time 15:00 to 15:01 Then ON
If Time 17:00 to 17:01 Then ON
If Time 18:00 to 18:01 Then ON
If Time 19:00 to 19:01 Then ON
If Time 21:00 to 21:01 Then ON
If Time 23:00 to 23:01 Then ON

For the Dosing pump, I have it on for 9 seconds, three times a day

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 15:00 to 15:01 Then ON
If Time 18:00 to 18:01 Then ON
If Time 21:00 to 21:01 Then ON
Defer 001:51 Then ON

 

[kolalysy]

why do you stir it every 2 ours ? any specific reason ?

 

[DBR_Reef]

why do you stir it every 2 ours ? any specific reason ?

When I first set this up I was using a stir plate that was a little bit on the fritz (it was about 50 yrs old), and it sometimes had a tough time stirring on startup, especially if the food was compacted down over 12+ hours. I've given up on that stir plate and am using a different one that does just fine, but I never corrected the code. If you have a weaker stir plate the code is probably fine as is, if you have a better one then you only need to stir it when feeding.

 

[dputt88]

Yeah, the complete airtight container could actually be a problem. I did think about this, but with the small about of food taken out each time, I don't think it will be a problem for most people. My "airtight" container is not very air tight, and will actually leak a small amount of water over time (I tested it), which evaporates and freezes on the coil. I figured if people shoot for airtight they will get watertight, hopefully. If you can get a true airtight container then I think a vent line would be a great idea. Ideally the food reservoir would also be above the sump, but I know that is not practical for many set ups.

Just used a plastic airlock. Common in the homebrew hobby.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Great write-up. Been running something similar on my system since this summer, but I do use the reef nutrition foods. Let's me have more precise control over what particle size goes in at what times. (I feed oyster feast and phyto at night for corals and filter feeders since they'll feed 24/7 and the mysis and roe go during the day)

These feeders help your fish exhibit more natural behavior rather than just swimming at the glass when they see you. Well..... my rabbitfish still does, but that's because he's a pig. I also think fish are healthier with lots of small feedings throughout the day, especially schooling planktivores like fairy wrasses and anthias.

My system has a constant flow of water ran into the fridge through pvc as can be seen in the 2nd pic. The murloc T ties in the dosing line. Prevents any exposure of food to above refrigerated temps until it hits the water. This line is fed from the manifold on the fuge and frag tank pumo and then discharges directly above the main return intake and is then distributed through the 4 return nozzles in the display.

 

[reefwiser]

My friend Scott Lief made up a nice video that I used for my set up a couple of years ago.

 

[kolalysy]

just to inform you, I made the food excactly as DBR described it. After 5 weeks of mixing it via airpump not magnetic stirrer it is still OK I mean it doesnt smell, and fishes eat it.

 

[DBR_Reef]

just to inform you, I made the food excactly as DBR described it. After 5 weeks of mixing it via airpump not magnetic stirrer it is still OK I mean it doesnt smell, and fishes eat it.

This might be a bit overkill, but if you have a extra co2 tank and solenoid lying around, then mixing it with co2 would actually help preserve the food. Just a thought.

 

[adhd_nerd]

Just wanted to share for those that may be interested in using Neptune DOS (or possibly GHL Maxi...waiting for mine) for auto feeding setup. I am able to swap the stock tube with the larger .25" ID silicone tube. Calibration does not work. When you run calibration 40ml actually results in about 140ml. Putting 140ml into apex does not take. This means you will have to do the math manually.

1) Prime the tube; note the larger ID tends to let the water run due to gravity. So hold silicone tube up during priming.
2) Run calibration into measuring cup
3) Read the amount of water for the 40mL calibration (normally you put this value in the calibration field)
4) Actual Value (ml)/40ml. In my case it is 140ml/40ml = 3.5

Now whenever you want to dose Y amount, divide Y/3.5. So for 40ml, you would dose 40/3.5=12ml. I tested and it comes pretty close.



I put some tie wrap to keep the tubing in place. I have several tanks I am setting up auto-feeder. One will use DoS and the other will use GHL Maxi. Waiting on Maxi for this one.

 

[kecked]

A possible way the keep it cold it to use thermoelectric cooling, since your container is small and the requirement small adapting a cpu cooler might do the trick and shrink the size down.

 

[adhd_nerd]

A possible way the keep it cold it to use thermoelectric cooling, since your container is small and the requirement small adapting a cpu cooler might do the trick and shrink the size down.

This is the design of the cooler in the picture.

- 2" thick rigid foam insulation- R10
- TEC1 12715 Peltier Chip
- Corsair H100i V2 CPU cooler

It is large enough to hold 2 weeks worth of containers for dosing inside. I have discovered that there needs to be a defrost cycle every couple of days to keep cooling at optimum. Otherwise, ice accumulates on the inside aluminum heat sink and temperature rises. Putting desiccant inside also helps with frost. Defrost is just shutting off the cooler for 15 minutes every couple of days; which I have it cycle using apex controller. I estimate the cost to run is equivalent to a 60W light bulb.

 

[kecked]

Nice job. Hard to see on a phone screen but it sure makes sense. You can defrost by reversing current on the tec. Just set the control to do it once a week or so. You can also purge the air with dry nitrogen but that’s a pain. Well thought out. I think I’ll try it.

We control temp based on dew point for laser diodes. We also purge the box with dry nitrogen. Stay above freezing a few degrees and no frost on tec. If food can stay thawed but cold this should work.

 

[Devaji]

wow...
any updates on this guys? sure would love to try this. i love to feed my DIY fish food why I travel.
hows this working for you guys that did it? worth the time/effort/ expense?

 

[adhd_nerd]

We w

wow...
any updates on this guys? sure would love to try this. i love to feed my DIY fish food why I travel.
hows this working for you guys that did it? worth the time/effort/ expense?

I will update when I return. I am on a two week trip now. Prior to leaving it seems to be working fine. Although, I had to run defrost once a day.