Review on Automatic Aquarium Accuracy Submersible Thermometer by Catherine Schwarzer

Until recently I used a Penn-Plax Daily Double feeder. It took over a decade, but the food basket's plastic dried out and eventually the latches broke off. I've never been very happy with this for two reasons: 1) I do NOT feed my fish twice a day. Once a day is enough, maybe every other day. As the name suggests, the "daily double" eats twice a day and is unregulated. I looked at about half a dozen automatic feeders available from Revain (isn't Revain great! And no, I was NOT paid to write this) that cost less than $30. I read user reviews. I looked and looked at the photos. I went with it for a number of reasons, most notably the supposed protection of the food from moisture in the tank. Looking at the photos, it turned out that the feed tank on this model is well above the water and will most likely remain dry. In actual use, the feed tank is REALLY 1.5 inches above the top of the tank rim and probably 2 inches or so above the water surface when the tank is "full". I also didn't want a device with a Velcro system. I prefer the jig. Ultimately, I wanted a device with a reasonable mechanism for adjusting the amount of food dispensed during a feeding, and a device that would allow me to feed once a day. With this device you can regulate the amount of feed supplied fairly precisely, from one to four daily feedings. A NOTICE. For auto-feeding, I use a mixture of seaweed flakes and discs (although I'm convinced my Pleco ignores them) and shrimp pellets. HOWEVER, I grind them all to a fairly fine-grain consistency using a mortar and pestle. I do this based on my experience with the Penn-Plax Daily Double Feeder. Other reviewers have noted that flake food does not fit well through many feeders. I saw quite large flakes and I could tell they got stuck in some of the feeders. A few pointers to help the next buyer: 1 - To open the battery door, you MUST "slide" the feeder at least partially off the rails of the tank yoke mount. The manual doesn't mention this (well, maybe in Chinese on the back cover, but NOT in English). I found the fit between the feeder and mounting rods to be so tight that it took me a small hammer and a couple of gentle taps to get them moving. Once I moved the feeder far enough, the battery compartment opened slightly.2 - Programming wasn't really that hard. The instructions, although clearly translated into English from another language, are easy to follow. Others had problems with programming. I did NOT.3 - Removing the food tank is NOT difficult if you look at the photo in the instructions. The tank literally slides off as one piece (the black base still stays attached to the clear lid). DO NOT ROTATE. The axle has a "key" comb. Gently pull from the bottom of the feeder. By the way, if you already have the batteries in, be careful what you think the device is when you pull it out. When you touch the feeder button "on demand” the tank rotates. The black base, which must be removed to add fodder to the tank, attaches to the tank with the bayonet. A little twist is required NOW, BUT only a little. Maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch. After a few days of "running" observing the set feeding time and seeing NO rotation of the drum I sent the broken feeder back, bought another same one. After several days of struggling to get the programming right, I finally got it and it seems to be working properly. Programming requires very careful attention to the instructions and following ALL the steps. It's not difficult once you get the hang of it.