Author Topic: Views on automatic feeders whilst on holiday (Read 15148 times) 15 replies

James Weigall · « **on:** April 12, 2016, 08:52:38 AM »

Can anyone recommend a particular auto feeder or ones to avoid?

fcmf · « **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2016, 09:05:04 AM »

Welcome to the forum.

Quick reply as I need to start work: I use the Fishmate auto-feeder - the only one I've ever tried but which I like.

See the following threads for my thoughts on it in response to previous questions:
http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forums/new-fishkeepers/going-on-holiday/msg15181/#msg15181
http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forums/fish-food-product-reviews/fish-tank-auto-feeder/msg17921/#msg17921
http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forums/tank-equipment-reviews/automatic-feeders/msg21932/#msg21932

Hope that helps.

Littlefish · « **Reply #2 on:** April 12, 2016, 12:21:58 PM »

Hi James and welcome to the forum.

James Weigall · « **Reply #3 on:** April 13, 2016, 11:25:43 AM »

Thanks! Looking to start up a tropical tank having only kept coldwater fish in the past ( along time ago)!

Littlefish · « **Reply #4 on:** April 13, 2016, 12:02:10 PM »

What fish are you thinking of getting?
I've spent many a happy hour looking through the fish profiles and playing with the community creator on this site.

Paddyc · « **Reply #5 on:** April 13, 2016, 04:49:04 PM »

Welcome along James, you don't need anything else other than this forum to get all the right answers. In the last 5 weeks the people here have helped me setup, fishless cycle and stock my 180 litre tank. Oh, and they helped me through the process of taking the whole thing apart during moving house as well. So far all the fishes who survived the transition seem to be thriving.

Look forward to hearing of your progress

James Weigall · « **Reply #6 on:** April 20, 2016, 02:17:34 PM »

Have ordered a tank , Jewel Lido 200 which should arrive this week and will look for the best place to site it out of a couple of alternatives . Has big capacity but is deep rather than long so I guess the surface area will restrict the number of fish . Once I've set up and done the fishless cycle I will look to start up with some small stuff - thinking Neon Tetras , possibly molly's and maybe some Corys. Would also like to add Gouramis if suitable at a later date. Have started using the community creator but not really had time to get serious about it!

Any suggestions? - looking forward to getting started ( although a bit unsure of what goes with what )

Fiona · « **Reply #7 on:** April 20, 2016, 02:46:41 PM »

Do you have hard or soft water? Mollys need hard water and neons soft water.

Also the pH?

How are you going to cycle it, fishless is the recommended method. What are the dimensions of the tank?

Corys need a mature tank with an established biofilm before you add them, so you might need to wait.

Once we know your water parameters we can make suggestions

James Weigall · « **Reply #8 on:** April 20, 2016, 03:09:55 PM »

Not set up yet so not sure about PH , water in our area tends to be quite hard. If Mollys like hard water , what else would go with them? Was thinking about salt and pepper corys , will introduce different types gradually .

Richard W · « **Reply #9 on:** April 20, 2016, 03:49:01 PM »

Salt and pepper cories are very small and like all small cories can be quite prone to health problems. I'd have something bigger with mollies.

I wouldn't worry too much about surface area. That is largely a hang over from the old days. A modern filter constantly circulates the water so that it all comes to the top of the tank in time and gas exchange can take place. Today's filtered tanks are much less dependent on surface area, though you wouldn't believe it to read what some people will tell you.

Sue · « **Reply #10 on:** April 20, 2016, 04:12:52 PM »

The main thing to bear in mind about tanks like the Lido (which is almost a cube) is that for the volume they have less swimming length than 'standard' shaped tanks of the same volume. So you need smallish or sedate larger fish, nothing that likes to dash about. The fish you have suggested are all fine from that point.

ColinB · « **Reply #11 on:** April 21, 2016, 10:16:39 AM »

At 71cm long then there's a lot of choice. Because of the extra depth in the Lido 200 then choosing fish for the bottom, middle and top is important. The fish profiles on this site will help in this respect.

James Weigall · « **Reply #12 on:** April 25, 2016, 03:17:44 PM »

Have looked on local water company's website and hardness comes out as 'moderately hard @ would that rule out neon/cardinal tetras ?

Sue · « **Reply #13 on:** April 25, 2016, 06:52:38 PM »

Does the website give any numbers? Looking on Fishbase, cardinals are fine up to 12 german degrees hardness though neons need softer water.

As long as your hardness is under 12 german deg, cardinals should be fine.
If your water company does give numbers, make a note of the unit as well as there are half a dozen different ones for hardness.

James Weigall · « **Reply #14 on:** April 28, 2016, 09:20:40 AM »

Thanks - I checked the water company website and German Degree hardness is 11.06 so should be alright. I put three spot Gourami in the community creator and it tells me that the tank is too small - that doesn't seem right to me?

Littlefish · « **Reply #15 on:** April 28, 2016, 09:34:44 AM »

The profile says that the minimum tank size is 90cm, so that will be why the CC has flagged a tank warning.
I've had a quick look on some other sites and they confirm that quite a large tank is required for those fish. Due to the adult size and their nature I'm guessing they need quite a lot of room.

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Views On Automatic Feeders Whilst On Holiday

Views On Automatic Feeders Whilst On Holiday

Author Topic: Views on automatic feeders whilst on holiday (Read 15148 times) 15 replies

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