This is my first automatic feeder. I've been using it continuously for ten months without any problems. When I go out of town, I have no worries about my fish.
The good:
it has worked reliably for me
it holds weeks worth of flakes
I haven't had problems with moisture, even without using the air input
adjustable feeding quantity
1 to 3 feedings/day
low battery warning
batteries lasted me 10 months with 3 feedings/day
The bad:
programming interface is poor. The 24-hour clock starts *at the time you set it up*, which means if you want the first feeding at 7am you have to wait until 7am to program it.
I can't program it without the manual. It's not simple enough to figure out, and there isn't an instruction plate on the unit. Now that I have to change the batteries, I have to go digging for the manual.
the program is inflexible. There is no way to pause the program, or to make the unit do a one-time extra feeding. The multiple-feeding/day interval is unchangeable (12 hours for 2x, 6 hours for 3x).
bulky with limited mounting options. The unit has to sit on top of your tank, with the feeder output over an opening. The base of the unit (the black part in the picture) is about 4.5", with the feeding slot (clear plastic part) extending past the base with a 1" wide opening.
I had to experiment over a few feedings to find a position that would get all the food into the water. I put velcro strips on the base and attached it to a heavy drink coaster with a felt bottom. It doesn't move around and won't scratch my acrylic top.
Despite the inflexibility, I'm happy with this thing because I really have no worries when I'm on vacation.
Have had the product for a few months now. It is working and seems to be reliable. Only wish you could program it by entering a time into the feeder. You have to set it at the time you want to feed the fish and then it just counts the hours until the next feeding...once a day, twice a day etc. The amount you feed depends on how wide you open the hopper. Make sure you have enough food in the feeder since it works off of gravity and the rotating hopper to drop the food into your tank.
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My husband has a 55 gallon for mollies and I have a 5 gallon for a Betta. He did not want to use the automatic feeder that I recently purchased and told me to buy the tetra vacation gel for the 55 gallon. I decided to set up the auto feeder for Betta and my husband dropped the Tetra Gel in the Molly tank. We left for 4 days and when we returned the water in the auto feeder was not cloudy, Betta alive and happy while the 55 gallon tank, the water was cloudy, the mollies did not look well and I found alot of the Tetra gel residue. I purchased my feeder else where cheaper, and can say it was worth the purchase. However, there are some cons I would like to point out.
Cons:
1) Cannot set a designated time;
2) Container bit small for supposedly 1 months feeding; guess if you feed once a day it will last a month; and
3) No clamp to support to fish tank only a couple of velcro strips
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I was kinda worried about how well it would work, since I bought it here on Amazon and the reviews made it look kinda sketchy, but I've owned it for nearly half a year now and I have not once had a single problem with it. I did notice though that if you place it over the surface where the bubbles from your air stone come up, the inside of the feeder does get a bit of condensation causing the food to clump a little and for it to shut down. But as I found out after doing a little bit of research, that is expected of ANY feeder, and the condensation will usually KILL it as well, so I guess this feeder is a toughy.
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First of all, setting up this feeder is the simplest thing ever. There is only one button, which pressed repeatedly, allows to select 1, 2 or 3 meals/day that have been preprogrammed at the most logical time interval of each other (that is 24h, 8h, and 6 hours, respectively). The first meal is repeated at same hour each day, which coincides with the time you set the feeder. It's up to you to decide when you want to feed your fishes the first meal each day. I don't see any problem with that, unlike many other people before me did.
The canister that holds the food is a lot bigger than you can see in the picture, most of it being hidden in the main body of the feeder. It probably can hold same amount as one of the Tetra 29 g (1.02oz) of flake food. That's (a lot) more than a month worth of food for my fishes, so no worries here. The amount of food that is dispensed at each time can be adjusted and if the amount of food still doesn't seem to be sufficient for the number of fishes you may have, I would suggest to try more frequent meals, I mean more than 1 or 2. 3 meals a day is a little too much from my experience, while 1 is not quite enough. 2 meals a day should be ideal I'd say. Another option would be buying some feeder that is double in price or even buying 2 feeders and put them to run in the same time. I guess you have to be inventive, but for any normal amateur aquarist this type of feeder is ideal and meets their needs.
The mounting is done the most natural by placing the feeder on the hood of your aquarium, and nothing else being necessary to keep it in place, although 2 velcro strips are provided. No clamp is provided but I believe that is obvious from the image. If, for any reason you can only mount the feeder by using a clamp, the alternative is to get a cheap clamp from a Dollar store but my tanks need cover anyway or else the fishes will jump out.
I even like that there is the option to connect it to the air pump so clumping is prevented. I don't know if that would happen otherwise, but I decided to use the air as well. The pressure isn't high enough to see flakes flying , but the producer made sure that the air supply is cut in the time of feeding to prevent an overdose. That being said, I believe this feeder to be very good for what it is intended, and paying more would only matter for bragging rights, not performance.
There is an update I'd like to add to what I have previously stated. After some time using two of these feeders, I have noticed that the small plastic clips that keep the canister in the body of the feeder have a very good chance to break. So you have to be careful when inserting or taking out the canister for a refill and also make sure you buy a good, intact unit. I am however considering different remedies, since plastic clips aren't going to set me back now. On a market invaded by cheaply made chinese products this isn't a surprise or is it (this product is actually Italian)?
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