DIY auto baby brine feeder.

[enderg60]

I saw a thread on RC where Paul B made this setup and decided to try it out. Basically you use a auto feeder to dump baby brine eggs into a funnel. The funnel is then connected by tube to a small box with a screen (or in this case stocking) cover. A small pump is used to pump water into the funnel that will bring the eggs down the tube and keep fresh water flow to the box(I tapped off my closed loop for that)

I made one a few days ago that was too big to fit where i wanted but here is the new one. Here you can see the bottom of the funnel the tube(1/2" pvc") and the box.

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Up top I crammed an Ehiem feeder with some brine eggs and set it to dump about 1/8 tsp once a day. You can see the water outlet from the closed loop.

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The first day I put it in my mandarins were all over it and actually started doing mating dances around it. That one is only about 2" x 2" x 5". Ill post some pics once this batch hatches.

And if anyone else wants to try it out, I have the other box I dont need anymore which is 2"x4"x5" and fits onto 1/2" pvc.

 

[butch]

What did you use for your clear box?

 

[enderg60]

Its made of 1/4" acrylic

 

[genesis]

Awesome, I want to use this idea for my mandarin. So how does the brine shrimp get down the tube to the box? And I thought that you had to use an airline to hatch the eggs?

 

[butch]

From what I read on RC, the water that is pumped into the funnel (slow moving) keeps the eggs tumbling and pushes them down. When they hatch, they head down towards the light and out the bottom.

 

[enderg60]

Yup the slow water flow pushes the eggs down to the box and keeps the water in the box renewed. The eggs hatch and then come out the screen.

You can use pretty much anything for the box. Just has to have an open top you can put some kind of screen over.

This thing is working so well my anthias have been hanging out around it too. I just ordered a pound of brine eggs to keep this thing going all day every day.

 

[ichthyoid]

This is a great idea!

I toyed with hatching brine shrimp using tank water years ago, but could never seem to 'automate' it, which is what this appears to do.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[genesis]

Can you post more pics of how you have the water coming in to the funnel

 

[enderg60]

Not really. I tapped a 1/4" line off my closed loop piping. You can kinda see the valve for it behind the oceans motions. Its just snaked around all the other crap and dumps into the funnel.

 

[bobz]

This is very cool! I am definitely going to try setting this up at some point.
bob

 

[bulkrate]

What size mesh are you using? The earlier version seems to be sized to trap the newly hatched brine so they can be "sucked" out by foraging mandarins & seahorses. But I kinda like the doser method you're using to just poof a cloud of brine out at periodic intervals.

 

[enderg60]

Im just using one of my GF's stockings like Paul B did. Its working great so far. The hole size depends on how much you stretch it over the box. Ive got mine pretty stretched out.

If you keep the holes bigger you need to lower the flow so you dont blow the eggs out of the box since they are about the size of a grain of salt.

 

[genesis]

Did you ever get rid of that extra box you had?

 

[enderg60]

nope still got it, available to anyone that wants to pick it up.

Feeder is working great. The screen clogs up after a bout a week so Im looking into something different to use, but other then that I love this thing. My mandarins look like they swallowed a grape they are so fat now.

 

[hzheng33]

if not too much trouble, can you post a video on how it works? especially where you force the eggs down the pipe? the water that goes into the funnel is controlled by a controller correct?

 

[enderg60]

Not really anything to show in a video the pics dont show.

Update though. The feeder is working wonderfully. I am changing the stocking about once every 1-2 weeks as it gets clogged up, and am still looking for a better option but for now its working just fine.

I have it set to dump about a pinch of eggs twice a day.

My mandarins are so fat now Im going ahead with plans to get a pair of ruby scooters and a pair of pipes. Even my anthias are hanging around the feeder area now.

If anyone has hard to feed fish, this is the way to go.

 

[dylpik27]

What's everyone's opinions about setting one of these up right next to my return pump in my sump? Do the brine swim out of the box enough that they will be inhaled by the pump and thrown into my display? Obviously some or all won't survive the impeller, but I still think my anthias would love some freshly hatched brine during the day when I'm not home.

 

[enderg60]

Chromis have found the feeder.

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[enderg60]

Wouldnt work to well, the shrimp will head towards the light and either miss the pump or get chewed up by it.

These work best in the tank at the bottom.