Is a Frozen food auto feeder a thing?

[thecodingart]

This also took the inventor over 4 years to create and they had to mortgage their house to not fail on the project

They are the first to offer a compact device, or any commercial device, to meet this demand in our hobby.

Thankfully it came out and actually looks nice and is compact

And this I will absolutely support with complete respect.

 

[rkpetersen]

I kickstarted the AF4. Have two of them up and running.

Simply superb. Very professional design and controls. Once a day automatic feeding with anytime manual feeding. Adjustable feeding amount. Reservoir holds up to 50 hikari size cubes, thawed into a slurry and kept at 35 degrees F (colder than my fridge.) Clean and refill the reservoir once a week. Pump is audible during feeding, otherwise just a very quiet fan to dissipate heat.

Being able to mix a bunch of frozen and refrigerated foods once, and then keep it right by the tank for a week, will save me so much time. And their diet will be a lot more varied, every day.

 

[toi_ss]

I kickstarted the AF4. Have two of them up and running.

Simply superb. Very professional design and controls. Once a day automatic feeding with anytime manual feeding. Adjustable feeding amount. Reservoir holds up to 50 hikari size cubes, thawed into a slurry and kept at 35 degrees F (colder than my fridge.) Clean and refill the reservoir once a week. Pump is audible during feeding, otherwise just a very quiet fan to dissipate heat.

Being able to mix a bunch of frozen and refrigerated foods once, and then keep it right by the tank for a week, will save me so much time. And their diet will be a lot more varied, every day.

Would you be comfortable leaving it to feed by itself for 3 weeks? Im considering replacing my ****** auto frozen feeder with this one but I quite frequently go on long ish trips and need to have some peace of mind. I feed in between 10-12x per day because I have multiple hyperactive wrasses like anampses lennardi and stethojulis bandanensis

 

[ind.aquatics]

I kickstarted the AF4. Have two of them up and running.

Simply superb. Very professional design and controls. Once a day automatic feeding with anytime manual feeding. Adjustable feeding amount. Reservoir holds up to 50 hikari size cubes, thawed into a slurry and kept at 35 degrees F (colder than my fridge.) Clean and refill the reservoir once a week. Pump is audible during feeding, otherwise just a very quiet fan to dissipate heat.

Being able to mix a bunch of frozen and refrigerated foods once, and then keep it right by the tank for a week, will save me so much time. And their diet will be a lot more varied, every day.

@rkperterson Thanks for the kind words!!

It SHOULD stay between 30.2F and 32F if you're on the snowflake setting! The pump IS admittedly pretty noisy. But if you're home its a nice way to know that its working - if you're not home, you're not there to be annoyed!

@thecodingart THANK YOU - we're elated to be able to offer this to the community! Its been a massive roller coaster and learning experience for us but we like where we've landed and we are very happy with the product we've created. We fully stand behind it.

@toi_ss If you have a GHL Profilux, Coralvue Hydros, Neptune Apex or controller capable of outputting a 0-10v signal you can feed 10-12 times per day with the aF4. Typical usage is 10-15 days. 21 days of use requires quite a bit of prep to maximize freshness and minimize any bacteria but we have achieved 21 days of fresh food on our unit.

 

[Rp8]

Will it run on its own or does it have to be connected to a controller? Have been looking forward to this, and appreciate the time and detail that went into it.

 

[Rp8]

@rkperterson Thanks for the kind words!!

It SHOULD stay between 30.2F and 32F if you're on the snowflake setting! The pump IS admittedly pretty noisy. But if you're home its a nice way to know that its working - if you're not home, you're not there to be annoyed!

@thecodingart THANK YOU - we're elated to be able to offer this to the community! Its been a massive roller coaster and learning experience for us but we like where we've landed and we are very happy with the product we've created. We fully stand behind it.

@toi_ss If you have a GHL Profilux, Coralvue Hydros, Neptune Apex or controller capable of outputting a 0-10v signal you can feed 10-12 times per day with the aF4. Typical usage is 10-15 days. 21 days of use requires quite a bit of prep to maximize freshness and minimize any bacteria but we have achieved 21 days of fresh food on our unit.

Will it run on its own or does it have to be connected to a controller? Have been looking forward to this, and appreciate the time and detail that went into it.

 

[thecodingart]

Will it run on its own or does it have to be connected to a controller? Have been looking forward to this, and appreciate the time and detail that went into it.

To my understanding, it can be both.

@ind.aquatics can elaborate more on the limitations or options when attempting to run it on its own.

 

[MoshJosh]

My thoughts:

Would taking the thawing portion out of the routine make a difference in your significant others compliance with the feeding regimen? I mean, would he be willing to just throw the frozen cubes in? If so it may be worth skipping the thawing (could get a feeding cup/ring).

If that ^^^ is not an option and feeding at the time is absolutely necessary, I would get a pellet feeder and use the appropriately sized @Reef Nutrition TDO.

TDO CHROMA BOOST™ LARGE (EP2)

Several different size granules or pellets, and packages sizes are available for TDO Chroma Boost ™, excellent food for creating healthy animals and eye-popping color in a wide range of animals.

reefnutrition.com

 

[rg18]

To my understanding, it can be both.

@ind.aquatics can elaborate more on the limitations or options when attempting to run it on its own.

It can do both. I watched the YouTube video on setup and you can connect a controller to schedule multiple feeds daily or you can set it to feed at a specific time during the day. You can also set the feed quantity. Very cool

 

[ind.aquatics]

To my understanding, it can be both.

@ind.aquatics can elaborate more on the limitations or options when attempting to run it on its own.

Correct - having a controller enhances the function but it doesn’t need one.

 

[Reefing102]

Any further reviews or follow ups? I’ll have to wait a bit before I can afford to get it (hoping the price doesn’t sky rocket) just never like being the first to try it either

 

[thecodingart]

Any further reviews or follow ups? I’ll have to wait a bit before I can afford to get it (hoping the price doesn’t sky rocket) just never like being the first to try it either

Just received this guy on my side, who’s going into the new 300 gallon build

 

[thecodingart]

Just received this guy on my side, who’s going into the new 300 gallon build

I put together an extremely quick unboxing video.

 

[Reefing102]

I put together an extremely quick unboxing video.

Awesome! I’m surprised and pleased at the same time at how compact it is. I was expecting something chiller sized lol

 

[toi_ss]

@toi_ss If you have a GHL Profilux, Coralvue Hydros, Neptune Apex or controller capable of outputting a 0-10v signal you can feed 10-12 times per day with the aF4. Typical usage is 10-15 days. 21 days of use requires quite a bit of prep to maximize freshness and minimize any bacteria but we have achieved 21 days of fresh food on our unit.

Okay thank you, I have my own food blend that is a mix of a bunch of frozen foods, clams and krill, some veges as well as some absorbic acid, citric acid and some calcium propionate as preservatives, the food mix stores up to around 3 months before nutrient levels start to drop off. I think I will purchase this when my dosing pump on my current auto feeder next needs to be fixed. Thanks for your help.

 

[rg18]

Will it run on its own or does it have to be connected to a controller? Have been looking forward to this, and appreciate the time and detail that went into it.

It will run on its own once daily without a controller. You can "feed now" anytime without interrupting the feeding schedule.

 

[littlefoxx]

This is cool!!!

 

[thecodingart]

The af4 is an absolutely amazing product. For a Kickstart project, that we invested in, the wait was well worth it.

Yeah it really is what I’ve been looking for. Thus far, there’s nothing like it. Totally worth it.

 

[David_CO]

FYI I got an email today about a mandatory recall due to corrupted firmware, if an RMA isnt opened your warranty will be voided. They will cover shipping both ways but not a good look.

 

[reely989]

FYI I got an email today about a mandatory recall due to corrupted firmware, if an RMA isnt opened your warranty will be voided. They will cover shipping both ways but not a good look.

Do you mind posting the email?