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Esquare
06/03/2008, 04:34 PM
I am going away on vacation and need to set up an auto feeder (Eheim 3581) for the tank. I have the auto feeder set to feed twice a day but am trying to setup my AC3 to run the feed cycles at the correct time (turn pumps off etc.) Is there an easy way to do this?

Thanks in advance.
kenargo
06/03/2008, 05:05 PM
There is no statement in the AC3 to trigger a feed cycle, you would need to add "If Time" statements to turn things off/on at the appropriate times.
Esquare
06/03/2008, 05:18 PM
I was afraid of that. Too bad they don't have macros like my x10 control program.

Thanks Ken.
dovla
06/03/2008, 09:54 PM
You might like to switch to SuperFeeder (Auto Aquarium Feeder) that you can then control with AC or X10
Esquare
06/04/2008, 08:43 AM
Yeah, I saw that one at Smarthome.com. I'll probably switch to it before the end of the summer. Thanks for the suggestion dovla
Jasonf08
06/04/2008, 10:40 AM
maybe im just a noob, but couldnt you write programing that shuts the pumps off at specific times then turns them back on. then set your autofeeder to cycle at those times?

Im leaving for a week next month and plan on looking into that also.
Esquare
06/04/2008, 02:21 PM
That's what I'm planning on doing Jason. But, since there will be 2 feed cycles, it would be easier to accomplish if Aquanotes supported Macros. Even easier still would be if it allowed me you just put the existing feed cycles (FeedA-D) on timers to go on at specific times.

What dovla suggested was a feeder that worked via X10 codes (feeds when power is applied using an included light timer or an X10 system) This would allow you to control the feeder with Aquanotes and not have to worry about syncing up the clocks on the feeder and your feed cycle timers in Aquanotes.

I went with the Eheim 3581 because I have heard so many good reports about it and I haven't had the time to fully research the Superfeeder. The biggest concern with auot feeders (for me at least) is overfeeding and that's what I want to look into with the Superfeeder (I haven't heard anything bad, I just want to research it a little more). The overfeeding is more of a corcern for me as I only have 1 fish as of yet. This thread details what I did to mod the 3581 to reduce the feeding capacity.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1399022

It's not my thread, I just hijacked it. :)