Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Ontime fish feeders

I am asking Santa for a couple of fish feeders for Xmas. Texas Hunter may be a little too rich for Santa. Saw online an outfit out of Lake Charles LA called On-Time Fish Feeders. Does anyone on PB have any experience or reviews of their products you can share?

Their website is www.ontimefeeders.com and saw this ad on EBay that has more detail on their feeders.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-POND-LAKE-RI...2#ht_3707wt_922

Thanks all,
Paul

Hi FE

While I don't have any experience with this brand, I do have some experience using both value and upper end feeders that may be helpful for you.

I own TH and Aqua Pro feeders. Hands down, the TH exceeds the AP in every way from reliability, construction, etc. In my personal opinion, the money saved by going a cheaper route will be exhausted within the first couple years with frustration, breakdowns and regret. I'm not slamming AP feeders or their value priced feeder counterparts - I'm simply singing the praises of my TH feeder - it's worth every penny to never worry about something as important as feeding especially for an absentee pond owner like myself.

I would rather hand feed and delay the purchase of a TH feeder until I saved the money than opt for a cheaper model. I feel it's one pond management tool that doesn't pay to skimp on.

I know other opinions abound on the forum, this is just my $.02. If you do end up with one of the on time feeders, please post your experiences and feedback as it would be helpful for us all.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Thx TJ.mi appreciate your recommendation.

I am trying to balance, aeration, liming, feeding, etc with my overall costs. I "inherited" a pond over 40 years old that has alot of issues. My friendly biologist extraordinaire has been most helpful in getting me charted on the right course. But when I factor in $1600 for two TH feeders, that's about what it would cost for feed for the entire season or half an aeration system, the cost of liming, or the cost of Navigate to deal with the watershield issue, etc. etc. It's just not something I need to ask Santa for at the moment. Maybe next year.

Regardless, you and the folks at PB have been the greatest and I very much appreciate your candid recommendations.

Regards,
Paul

I second TH quality. We have sold a few different brands and I feel TH to be the best.

OK, I'm not knocking a quality feeder. I'll bet the TH are worth every dime. I am a beliver in you get what you pay for. That being said, I've had great luck with the Moultrie Game feeder handing off my dock. For a mere $40.00, you get a collapsable feeder, digital timer that is programable for up to 4 times a day with adjustable feed amounts. This may not be a permanent solution, but it will get you on a feed program.

FE,

I stared selling TH feeders reluctantly at first because of the price, but I did so because I lose money working on broke down feeders. I am constantly getting requests to fix other brands of feeders that my customers own. Instead I offer one that does not require all of the repair. A personal observation of feeder owners (both absentee and hometown) is that a breakdown averages 1.5 months without feeding. This can easily double for a DIY not accustomed to working on feeders and dealing with some of the value feeder customer service and parts dep. I cannot stress enough the importance of consistency in a feeding program. I will say though that scatter type value feeders are more reliable than their directional cousins. The drawback is you have to mount them over deeper water to keep from wasting feed and making a mess, which also makes them more of a pain to refill. TH makes some scatter feeders that cost much less than directional feeders and can be modified with a plate to throw feed in 180 degrees, they are just not marketed as fish feeders.

-HH

-HH

FE;

You're probably wondering how your post illicited such a landslide of repsonses....we're obviously pretty passionate about our feeders and opinions!

I'm wondering if you could take some time and tell us more about your pond. Size, depth, existing fishery, goals? Sounds like you are looking at quite a list of pond projects and it can be overwhelming - we've all been there. My advice is to get forum feedback on each project and you may be able to find some low cost options and make the tasks less daunting. Great thing is - the advice is tried and true from experienced pond managers and best of all it's FREE.

One question I had immediately: Why do you feel you need two feeders? I have a 3+ acre pond and one feeder handles it well. Just thinking we can help shed some light on options for your projects and help you achieve your goals. Hope to hear more about your ponds and projects.

FE

Sorry, I just took the time to review your initial posts regarding your new lake and it summarized your situation very well.

If I were you I would absolutely take Travis up on his offer if you haven't already. His knowledge and willingness to help will save you a lot of time, effort and $ consulting a pro. Travis will direct you to the most efficient solutions for your issues without any need to create business, which understandably a consultant needs to do.

The shots of your pond do show a lot of vegetation. Did you ID it? Do you have any updates since your last post RE your pond?

Short video of my cheapie feeder going off. One small problem with this feeder is after a tropical storm, the feed on the spinner plate gets moist and will clog. But again, for $40.00, it does the job.

Moultrie Feeder

I have that feeder also and it works great, plus it uses AA batteries instead of 6 volt lantern batteries.
I'm on my second one cause a bear decided to dunk the first one, their not submersible proof.

Wow, didn't mean to start a firestorm. Like many others here, I typically am a values/cost rather than a price buyer. If the feeder was my only economical consideration at the moment, I am sure TH would be in the decision matrix. However, I have much higher priorities for the pond than the feeders, hence the consideration of an alternative to TH. Shucks, I could throw my own feed everyday if I need to. Don't see myself blowing into tubing all day for aeration though.

Thanks Adirondack for your feedback. I think you may be the only one here familiar with the Ontime brand. If you had it all to do over again, would you buy it again?

TJ, Travis has been great. He is the 'biologist extraordinaire' (hereinafter referred to as BE) I was referring to in the post above. Don't remember who on PB gave him that moniker but it sure fits. His brain must weigh 50 pounds or better.

My fish feeder post was part of a followup to Travis' "to do" list he gave me for next spring. One, of several, is a feeding program and I was trying to get Santa to bring me one or two rather than a block of coal or switches! And why do I think I need two? Because BE said I could probably get by with one but because of the shape of my pond, he thought I would do better with two.

Since my first post about the pond, my BE came down for a visit and a short fishing trip. The Watershield was so thick, fishing was tough but he learned enough about the pond to get me pointed in the right direction for next year. Hence, the comments about liming, aeration, feeding etc.

My pond is in a RPA which brings on a whole different set of dynamics suitable for another post down the road.

Thanks again to PB. This forum is extremely helpful and educational.

Regards,
Paul

FE I was referring to the feeder that roadwarrior mentioned, it's a Moultrie http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/pr...mp;merchID=4006
It is low cost and digital,works great but it's omnidirectional so you have to suspend it over the water.

Here's some posts with photo's of the feeder.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=176308&page=2

First, don't ever be concerned about a firestorm. We encourage lively discussions.

Your quest is a lot like catsup (or is it ketchup) vs. mustard.

There are no perfect answers.

However ...

For about $50 each, I made my own electronic timer-controlled, 7-times per day, directional feeders from products I found at local "big box" stores. They may not be the answer to your ultimate goal, but, they may provide a very low-end intermediate solution. Mine hold 2 gallons of feed, but with different containers, they could each hold at least 20 gallons of feed,

It doesn't have to be expensive to be productive -- and lots of fun. I'm also into aquaponics. We are hoping that our latest October experiment will provide fish and fresh salad for Christmas dinner.

Ask a few -- actually a lot more-- questions. You will get lots of great ideas to choose from.

Ken

Cat is 100% right - no firestorm at all - lively discussions bring the best out of everyone!

So, how does is the structural integrity of your dam? Are you looking ok there?

If so, I'd say your vegetation would be my next project to tackle. Would Grass Carp help with Watershield? I don't know where that lands on their preferred diet list, but they're an efficient and organic solution.

Dear Ken, i am trying getting as many firestorms started as I can so I just did another post under Water Chemistry....LOL

Would you mind sharing more details and bill of materials and how you built your fishfeeder?

Thanks,
Paul

TJ, the damn dam is in good shape. Our BE says that watershield is at the bottom of the grass carp foraging menu. looks like Navigate is going to be the primary option along with aeratin, liming etc.

The pond was built in 1963 and there appears to have never been any management. One of my neighbors has been here since 1994 and he says the watershield did not appear until 6-7 years ago. I just recently did some sounding s and the watershield is pretty dense, even in 8 feet of water. The water is so darn clear that I think the sunlight penetration is exacerbating the watershield. Don't know that for sure until I do some more tests,ie soil, water, visibility, etc and can consult with BE again.

Thanks again for wveryone's input.

Regards,
Paul

Great news on the dam - that's huge off the project list.

Clear nutrient rich water often leads to runaway vegetation issues. I wonder why it just started showing up the last several years? Could fertilizer organic or chemical be present somewhere new in your watershed [livestock or homeowner lawn with fertilizer]? If so, you could identify it and buffer the water that comes through that part of the watershed by slowing it down with a minor catch pond or building a wetland around it with water grasses and cattails, etc. Lots of options there.

If that's not the case aeration can help, but it's expensive and you need electricity ideally as solar is even more expensive and windmills don't work on the days you need them the most.

Pond dyes applied at the right time of year when the watershield is establishing itself could work. I don't have much experience with dyes but you can time it right and block out the UV spectrum necessary for growth and stop it before it starts. Eventually the dye fades and it's too late in the season for that cultivar of vegetation to establish itself. Its a cheap option.

My thoughts on GC are if there's nothing else for them to forage on except watershield they should target it.

I'm sure Travis reviewed all this with you already.

I second teehjaeh57 about the grass carp preferences......my kids hate liver, but if that is all there is, well they'll eat it!

If you intend this to be a trophy lake, I would not use any dye at all. Dye will slow the very base of the food web, this means you have lower potential for trophy status.

Since we are using the term "firestorm" I may start one here.....
If you decide to use dye only use Aquashade it last longer and is more concentrated. There are threads here on labeled dye vs. non labeled dye.

Thanks all. To hell with the trophys, I just want to fish. You know, the old fashioned way: cane pole, worms and bobber.

Regards,
Paul

Gotta agree Paul; I love cane pole fishing. however, my fish get bobber shy.

Happy Birthday Dave!

All, quick update.

Mrs. Santa was so generous this year. She had Santa bring me, not one, but TWO Texas Hunter feeders. I am in hog heaven now.

Many thanks to Greg Grimes for helping Mrs. Santa with this purchase.

Hope everyone had very blessed and Merry Christmas.

Wishing all the happiest of New Years,

Paul

Kind and thoughtful acts are always impressive, heartwarming and in keeping with the spirit of Christmas, regardless of the time of year.

That is a nice gift. Your fish will thank you all year.

Paul just saw this. Thank you for the order we appreciate it. Hope we have been helpful on aeration as well. If ever you have questions about the TH feeders let us know.