inD Aquatics aF4 frozen feeder
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David_CO
Active Member
My unit showed up today, build quality feels good, a few pics below.
Initial thoughts: I'm not sure if the temp probe is SS or titanium, I would hope its titanium considering it will sit in salt water.
There is a piece of foam insulation in the bottom of the unit, when I was originally unboxing i thought it might be packing foam before I realized what it was, I can see someone accidently damaging this.
The buttons are just okay, considering they wont need to be pressed that much its probably fine, but on initial impression its a weaker point.
The printing on the food container is backwards.....LOL
the unit is comes w/ a 150w power supply, during startup it was drawing 100w
I watched the videos on the unit last week and one of the first things that stood out to me is that it only feeds 1x a day programatically, anymore than that has to be triggered manually or via 0-10v to a controller. I think they should have the option for atleast 3x a day. I ordered a VDM module from a member on here so i can hook it to my apex for more control.
More to come when i set it up and swap out my DIY feeder.
Initial thoughts: I'm not sure if the temp probe is SS or titanium, I would hope its titanium considering it will sit in salt water.
There is a piece of foam insulation in the bottom of the unit, when I was originally unboxing i thought it might be packing foam before I realized what it was, I can see someone accidently damaging this.
The buttons are just okay, considering they wont need to be pressed that much its probably fine, but on initial impression its a weaker point.
The printing on the food container is backwards.....LOL
the unit is comes w/ a 150w power supply, during startup it was drawing 100w
I watched the videos on the unit last week and one of the first things that stood out to me is that it only feeds 1x a day programatically, anymore than that has to be triggered manually or via 0-10v to a controller. I think they should have the option for atleast 3x a day. I ordered a VDM module from a member on here so i can hook it to my apex for more control.
More to come when i set it up and swap out my DIY feeder.
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rg18
New Member
lol this is a inventory sale. They don’t even have the inventory on hand. They are taking your money and hoping the manufacturer can get them made and sent over to ship in 3-4 weeks. Yikes. I’ve seen how this ends. People lose lots of money when they get hit with an extra $10,000 dockage fee and can’t cover it.
Just got an email from inD about their frozen automated feeder. Has anyone seen anyone with actual experience with this? When I responded back to them about beta testers they were actually kind of snippy saying I likely wouldn’t even be able to get in on the first launch of them.
Seems snarky for a company who ran a kickstarter 4 years ago and never delivered anything. They seem to think everyone is going to jump on a $480 item with ZERO real world user feedback.
Maybe the container must be made to be read from the inside?
I got mine the other day and set it up. It's working great! My only complaint is that it is very noisy when actually dispensing food, but silent otherwise.
It was super easy to set up and programming to Apex was also easy, and can be programmed for multiple times a day or manual feeding.
Food container I believe is meant to be read from the inside so you can check and see how much is left.
Saltwater is recommended for creating the frozen food slurry. If you use freshwater it is possible it could freeze at the chill temperatures and could create problems.
I also wish the tubes were a bit longer. The gray feed tube should not be shortened. I found I had to raise the unit off the floor of my stand in order to reach straight up to get to the tank, and my tank is only 24" tall. I actually ended up just pulling it out of the cabinet and have it sitting next to the display. Noise is an issue but it only lasts for a minute or so.
It was super easy to set up and programming to Apex was also easy, and can be programmed for multiple times a day or manual feeding.
Food container I believe is meant to be read from the inside so you can check and see how much is left.
Saltwater is recommended for creating the frozen food slurry. If you use freshwater it is possible it could freeze at the chill temperatures and could create problems.
I also wish the tubes were a bit longer. The gray feed tube should not be shortened. I found I had to raise the unit off the floor of my stand in order to reach straight up to get to the tank, and my tank is only 24" tall. I actually ended up just pulling it out of the cabinet and have it sitting next to the display. Noise is an issue but it only lasts for a minute or so.
Biff0rz
Valuable Member
I ordered one, still waiting on it @ind.aquatics. I'm excited to get one and try it out, I enjoy automating as much as possible and look forward to going on vacations without having to teach my 75yo in-laws how to do it.
ind.aquatics
New Member
Did you get in on the latest sale or are you waiting from a previous sale?
The units from the latest sale (last week) will be shipping to customers the first couple weeks of August.
Mattiejay6
Valuable Member
@ind.aquatics when will the next restock be?
notclear
Community Member
As a backer I received two units. The units are well made and look nice. I test it by setting it up beside the display tank. It may be too warm inside a cabinet.
The gray hose is 6 ft and would be nice if it is a bit longer. But it does work for me.
You need to make fresh saltwater for the food. It is a bit inconvenient, but as I only need to make less than 100ml of s.g. 1.030 (to compensate the water in the food), so it is quite easy. I just need to test few times after adding salt or water to make it right.
I setup the unit for 1C. For the last few days I checked the temperature inside the food container twice and it was at 0.5C.
I bought the pump feed adapter but found that it is quite difficult to setup properly using Velcro as it is hard for me to reach the pipe in the sump. It would be better to use U-type hose clamp to just snap on the pipe like the Red Sea Reefer holds the down pipes on the cabinet side.
I also bought the Techweave Sleeve. If both of your hoses go to the same place in the tank, it is very neat. However, it takes some skill to insert the two hoses in the sleeve. My wife eventually figured it out how to do it very efficiently!
As for the noise while feeding, it is no worse than Neptune's AFS. So it is OK. It is very quiet during normal operation, just a bit of fan noise.
I also set it up with an Apex Classic which has four 0-10V ports. Very easy to setup! You can then setup feeding times.
Their support answered questions very quickly, within few hours.
This is the first time I back Kickstarter and although waiting for 5 years I didn't lose faith on Erik of inD. He kept sending updates to backers throughout the entire waiting period. Also don't forget their delay was also affected by Covid.
The gray hose is 6 ft and would be nice if it is a bit longer. But it does work for me.
You need to make fresh saltwater for the food. It is a bit inconvenient, but as I only need to make less than 100ml of s.g. 1.030 (to compensate the water in the food), so it is quite easy. I just need to test few times after adding salt or water to make it right.
I setup the unit for 1C. For the last few days I checked the temperature inside the food container twice and it was at 0.5C.
I bought the pump feed adapter but found that it is quite difficult to setup properly using Velcro as it is hard for me to reach the pipe in the sump. It would be better to use U-type hose clamp to just snap on the pipe like the Red Sea Reefer holds the down pipes on the cabinet side.
I also bought the Techweave Sleeve. If both of your hoses go to the same place in the tank, it is very neat. However, it takes some skill to insert the two hoses in the sleeve. My wife eventually figured it out how to do it very efficiently!
As for the noise while feeding, it is no worse than Neptune's AFS. So it is OK. It is very quiet during normal operation, just a bit of fan noise.
I also set it up with an Apex Classic which has four 0-10V ports. Very easy to setup! You can then setup feeding times.
Their support answered questions very quickly, within few hours.
This is the first time I back Kickstarter and although waiting for 5 years I didn't lose faith on Erik of inD. He kept sending updates to backers throughout the entire waiting period. Also don't forget their delay was also affected by Covid.
Last edited:
Regarding the Techweave sleeve - how did your wife do it? I haven't figured out an easy way yet.
I also have the Neptune AFS as well and for whatever reason I find the aF4 to be much louder. But since it doesn't last very long it's not much of an inconvenience. On the plus side, it alerts the fish that food is coming and it alerts me so I can watch them feed.
I do wish the gray tube was a bit longer. I have it working but I had to put the unit on a small stand on my fireplace hearth (which won't be ideal once winter comes) and it's adding the food right in the middle of a live rock structure because that's as far as I could stretch it, tank is 6 ft long. I'd rather it release near the open middle of the tank.
notclear
Community Member
I asked inD support, here was their answer:
******************
1. Push the hoses in as far as you can.
2. Bunch the end closest to the aF4 up as much as possible and move it further down the hoses.
3. Repeat step 2 until you’ve gotten it all the way over the hoses.
It’s a little tricky, but once you understand how the material moves - it gets easier.
********************
After reading that I still couldn't understand. My wife did.
******************
1. Push the hoses in as far as you can.
2. Bunch the end closest to the aF4 up as much as possible and move it further down the hoses.
3. Repeat step 2 until you’ve gotten it all the way over the hoses.
It’s a little tricky, but once you understand how the material moves - it gets easier.
********************
After reading that I still couldn't understand. My wife did.
Hmm. I'll try again. Thanks.
notclear
Community Member
For the Techweave:
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simplety
Community Member
So was promised shipping by mid August. Then told late August……sorry not good enough when you spend nearly 800$ and have to wait another month and a half to MAYBE see it. Better luck next time
notclear
Community Member
This link is better:For the Techweave:
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Mattiejay6
Valuable Member
sheesh.. well.. for being so dedicated to your product in your postings and checking the forum daily it would be nice to get an answer after a few weeks? @ind.aquatics
notclear
Community Member
I think it is well worth the wait. I have waited for 5 years as a Kickstarter backer
ind.aquatics
New Member
sorry - we don’t check the forum daily and missed this…if you need an answer urgently shoot us a dm or email!
We are no longer doing pre-sales so going forward all sales will be on in-stock product. We should have another sale end of the August and then another shipment arrives in late September.
ind.aquatics
New Member
Sorry we disappointed you!
About half the orders from the last sale went out last week, the remaining orders will go out 08/19 and 08/20!
ahuynh616
Community Member
Did anyone who purchase the feeder receive an email about defects with the software below?
They found a possible defect, and if I don't response within 21 days my warranty is void through no fault of my own? That statement makes me not want to purchase any of their future products to be honest.
"The aF4 product, which you now own, is the result of several years of meticulous design and development. We care deeply about your experience and strive for perfection, one of the many reasons we took so long to bring this to market.
However, it has come to our attention through real world use, our own in house testing and our manufacturer that some of the initial units shipped may contain corrupted software. We are attempting to narrow down which serial numbers were affected. Nonetheless, this issue could potentially cause the feed cycles to malfunction and, in certain cases, impact temperature regulation. While your aF4 may appear to be functioning as intended, this flaw could lead to unexpected behavior leading to degraded performance.
To ensure your aF4 operates at its full potential, we must insist that you visit our return page at your earliest convenience to process a return. Please rest assured that all shipping expenses will be covered by us. We expect the repair turn around to be approximately 3 business days after the reciept of your aF4.
We apologize for any inconveniences and we appreciate your understanding and prompt attention to this matter.
To initiate the return process, head to our return portal and initiate a "Warranty Claim".
NOTE: The order number is case sensitive! example: inD0099!
RETURN PORTAL LINK
(Please note that if arrangements for repair are not made within 21 days of this notice, the warranty on your aF4 will be voided.)"
They found a possible defect, and if I don't response within 21 days my warranty is void through no fault of my own? That statement makes me not want to purchase any of their future products to be honest.
"The aF4 product, which you now own, is the result of several years of meticulous design and development. We care deeply about your experience and strive for perfection, one of the many reasons we took so long to bring this to market.
However, it has come to our attention through real world use, our own in house testing and our manufacturer that some of the initial units shipped may contain corrupted software. We are attempting to narrow down which serial numbers were affected. Nonetheless, this issue could potentially cause the feed cycles to malfunction and, in certain cases, impact temperature regulation. While your aF4 may appear to be functioning as intended, this flaw could lead to unexpected behavior leading to degraded performance.
To ensure your aF4 operates at its full potential, we must insist that you visit our return page at your earliest convenience to process a return. Please rest assured that all shipping expenses will be covered by us. We expect the repair turn around to be approximately 3 business days after the reciept of your aF4.
We apologize for any inconveniences and we appreciate your understanding and prompt attention to this matter.
To initiate the return process, head to our return portal and initiate a "Warranty Claim".
NOTE: The order number is case sensitive! example: inD0099!
RETURN PORTAL LINK
(Please note that if arrangements for repair are not made within 21 days of this notice, the warranty on your aF4 will be voided.)"
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