DIY Fish Feeder
Automatic fish feeders are available from pet stores and specialty fish stores, and come in handy if you're going on vacation, aren't home during fish-feeding hours, or even full-time for the fish hobbyist who has no time for feeding. It's also possible to make your own fish feeder. Most of the supplies needed are readily available in your house. Items such as a 2-liter bottle, 24-hour mechanical timer, silicone sealer and few other materials can assist in making an automatic fish feeder that supplies brine shrimp to fish.
Things You'll Need
- 2-liter plastic bottle, including bottle top
- Cordless drill and bit
- 2 pieces of 2-inch rigid 0.8-inch diameter pipe
- Small tube of silicone sealer
- Metal box cutter
- 3-foot-long piece of air line tubing
- Wall-mounted bracket to hold a 2-liter bottle
- Small volume of aquarium water
- Live brine shrimp
- Vibrator air pump
- Electrical alarm clock timer
Instructions
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1
Twist off the top of a 2-liter plastic bottle. Drill two 0.9-inch holes in the top section of the bottle, no more than 6 inches apart and within a straight line of one another.
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2
Insert a 2-inch piece of plastic pipe that is 0.8 inches in diameter into the first hole.
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3
Squeeze a pea-sized amount of silicone sealer onto your index finger. Spread the silicone around the hole and 2-inch plastic pipe; spread enough silicone to form a watertight seal.
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4
Insert a second 2-inch pipe piece into the second hole. Spread silicone to where the pipe meets the hole with your fingers; ensure that enough silicone coats the area. Allow the silicone to harden for at least 20 minutes.
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5
Cut a 3-foot long piece of airline tubing, with a metal box cutter. Slice the tubing into a 2-foot long piece. You will have a 1-foot piece left over, which you will use.
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6
Put the free end of the 2-foot long piece into your aquarium. Place the other end over the 2-inch plastic pipe sticking out from the hole.
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Connect the 1-foot-long airline tube to the other 2-inch plastic pipe. Attach the free end onto the exhaust nozzle of a vibrator air pump.
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8
Plug the vibrator pump into a 24-hour mechanical timer and insert the mechanical timer's power plug into a wall socket. Do not turn on.
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9
Fill the 2-liter plastic bottle halfway with aquarium water. Add live brine shrimp into the 2-liter bottle.
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10
Place the bottle cap onto the bottle and screw tight.
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11
Turn the 2-liter plastic bottle upside down. Secure the bottle within a wall-mounted holder, directly above the aquarium.
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12
Check that the feeder is functioning properly, by turning on the vibrating pump. Air from the pump should immediately flow into the bottle, pushing water and brine shrimp through the tube. The process will take time -- the brine shrimp will slowly find their way through the airline tubing and into the aquarium, becoming quick meals for fish.
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13
Set the 24-hour mechanical timer to run at 15 minutes intervals each hour. Observe the 24-hour mechanical timer to ensure it is working properly. Watch for the brine shrimp to travel through the airline tubing and into the water. Fish will migrate to the area and begin feeding.
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Tips & Warnings
It might be necessary for you to tweak the angle of the bottle so shrimp are able to go through the plastic pipe.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
