AquaChef Automatic Aquarium Fish Feeder 3 in x 5 14 in x 3 in
Sunday, June 14th, 2009AquaChef Automatic Aquarium Fish Feeder 3 in x 5 14 in x 3 in
Going out of town? Don’t rely on out-of-date feeding blocks when you can use the AquaChef. It’s easy to give your fish up to eight feedings a day of flake, pellet, or crumbled food. Schedule single feedings for up to four different times, use the double-feeding feature to make any of those four two feedings, sixty seconds apart, or manually override the settings if you decide to give one more feeding yourself. The AquaChef also has an adjustable hatch to control the amount of food fed and to serve as a mixing stir bar to make sure the food isn’t clumped, just like you would. The moisture-resistant hopper is easy to clean and fill. Why let your fish starve when they can have their very own AquaChef?
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars awesome!!!!!!!!!!
I bought 3 of these little suckers, the first took a few minutes to program. the third was done in about a minute. the little plastic door inside the hopper is alittle cheesy but for the price the unit as a whole is awesome. program up to 4 feedings a day with a choice of single or double feedings each time. remember to set the clock using military time. also very important to put a piece of cardboard under it when set and check the amount of food being dispensed with the manual feed button atleast 3 times so as not to blatently overfeed by accident. 3 times. by the third you’ll have a true amount for you to judge if its perfect, too much or too little. read the directions and I’m sure you’ll be as happy as I am.
5 Stars Works well with some adjustments
I am happy with the AquaChef feeder. I like the simple design: at each programmed feeding time the clear plastic drum slowly rotates for one full turn, and the plastic door at the top of the drum falls open by gravity when it reaches the bottom, releasing the food. The door shuts again as it rotates back to the top position, preventing water from (easily) getting into the drum. A small plastic paddle is set to control how much food is released each time. The feeder works on two AA batteries (included). Mine has been working regularly for about two weeks now, with only these minor adjustments needed:
1. My aquarium has a metal lip around the top edge of it on which rests the glass aquarium cover. Even though the lip is not very wide, it was wide enough to prevent the clamp from clamping properly. However, the clamp is removable (it slides off), and the feeder comes with a square of velcro to attach the feeder’s base directly to the top of the aquarium cover. I wanted the feeder to be a little higher above the water level, so I sawed off the bottom of the clamp and rubber-banded the top part of the clamp to a handle on the glass aquarium cover.
2. When I first tried the feeder out, I set the plastic paddle to a medium setting, but because the fish food I use is small pellets, it dropped an ENORMOUS amount of food into the aquarium. I would recommend doing some practice runs into a bowl to make sure it is releasing the right amount of food.
3. Once I had the right amount set, I let the feeder do its job for a few days, but because the airstone was right under the feeder, the bottom of the plastic drum was staying wet because of the bubbles rising to the surface. After a few days, some water did seep through a seam between the drum and its plastic backing, and the pellets began to get a bit damp. However, I moved the airstone to the other side of the aquarium, and now the feeder is staying dry and working fine.
Programming the feeder wasn’t too difficult (as other reviewers have said, it’s like setting an alarm on a digital watch), though I had to read the instructions a few times and experiment to figure it out. You can program up to four feeding times per day, and each of these can be a single feeding or a double feeding (in a double feeding the drum turns twice at each feeding instead of once, with 60 seconds between turns). I like the fact that there is also a button you can press to feed immediately (though this doesn’t cancel any of the programmed feedings). This was helpful in testing it out.
So, I find that once it was mounted and adjusted properly for my aquarium and food, it is pretty dependable.
5 Stars Reliable, Simple, Best fish equipment i own
Honestly, this is the best peice of fish equipment i own (and that is saying something!). It’s easy to figure out the digitable timer–there’s a step by step guide for it. I love the number of feeding options. In my experience, if you don’t have at least 2, 3″ fish or larger it will over feed even on the lowest setting. I love that my fish have a regular feeding schedule all the time– I’ve used this EVERY DAY for the past 4 months and it’s worked flawlessly, still on the original battery set.
5 Stars Excellent customer service
Seller very responsive to issues - great to deal with - prompt service and outstanding communications. Highly recommend product and seller.
4 Stars I like it, I like it a lot *
My wife and I are big fish lovers and also like to travel, weather permitting. We have three aquariums in our home. A 30 gal, a 20 gal, and a 10 gal fry tank. I work 5 days a week and come weekends we are out of here. Purchased a $40.00 auto feeder from a local Pet supply store and it worked for 20 minutes and quit. They replaced it and the same thing happened so we got our money back and purchased the AquaChef to feed the 30 gallon tank. Set it up and let it feed the fish in the 30 gallon tank for several days to see how it worked. Its hell to program if you don’t read the instructions. If you go thru them once step by step and it rather simple. My 12 year old granddaughter programmed it in about 5 minutes the first time but did not understand military time so had it feeding at the wrong time but working very well. I helped her with the time setting and it began feeding flawlessly. With the exception of the fry tank, they all will have one of these on it. Don’t let the instructions scare you, my granddaughter didn’t. Going to purchase several more by my aquariums and my daughters. I love it !!!
UPDATE:
Mounting the device with the clamping device is rather simple. The C clamp will attach to the front of all aquariums. Do this: place the device close to a lightbulb for 10 minutes to get the plastic more pliable. Not close enough to melt it however. Now remove the rubber suction cup from the inside of the clamp. This should be put away for future use. Use the non-hook side of the velcroe which is just a soft buffer for the glass. Place it where you want the feeder. Now slide the clamp down till it hits the inside of the plastic and gently open the clamp a small amount. It will spring back, no problem. Do not overdue the spreading of the clamp and do it slowely. Now the inside protion will go directly against the glass and the screw can be turned in against the velcroe. Tight and secure. Works extremely well.
