Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Bluegill feeder and feed

I've got a 1.75 acre pond with bluegill and bass. I want to find a mechanical feeder to feed the bluegills, who/which will then feed the bass. From what I've read in the forums, Purina AquaMax 400 is a good feed for bluegills, but the pellet size (3/32 inch) seems to small--or at least falls below the quoted range--for the mechanical feeders, such as the Aqua Pro ADF-75D or ADF-200. Can somebody recommend a good bluegill mechanical feeder with a timer, so I can feed 5 or 6 times a day? And should I go with AquaMax 400 or 500? The 500 is twice as big from what I can tell. Thanks in advance for your help.

There are a # of good feeders . The PB mag has a bunch. See this link for a recent issue with feeder adds. http://www.pondboss.com/pdf/PB_Mar_Apr%202008_web.pdf

What size BG are you feeding ? Purina makes Gamefish Chow in addition to AM. GFC has all size pellets so all sizes of BG have pellets they can eat. You can also mix sizes of AM to make your own combination.

I am currently feeding my bluegill the AquaMax 500. The fish all the way down to 5 inches have absolutely no problem eating this pellet size. Sometimes I see bluegill that are smaller than that milling around the feeding fish. If you want to feed these smaller fish, but don't want to invest in an entire bag of AquaMax 400, you can crush some of the 500 product and throw it in after the bigger fish have become preoccupied with the bigger pellets. The smaller fish, 2-5 inches will plow through the crumbs pretty quickly. Once a bluegill hits about 7.5 inches then they seem to move to the AquaMax 600. The Remington 6V DX1 feeder has gotten some mixed results and reports on the forum, but it's extremely cheap and I'm having good success with it. It's actually so cheap that it's practically disposable. I purchased several of them, and I can switch them out pretty quickly. It has some issues--the one that attaches to the five gallon bucket has a lid that is a monumental hassle, but I'm learning to overcome these little problems. The 500 feed is actually perfect for this system, and you can easily feed eight times daily, especially if you don't mind recharging your batteries and just switching them out twice each month. Here's a link showing the feeder in action. http://www.bigbluegill.com/video/video/show?id=2036984%3AVideo%3A2342

Let me know if you have other questions. If you're good with taking lids off of five gallon buckets I'd get the smallest, cheapest unit.

Texas Hunter out of San Antonio has a great fish feeder..it is a little pricy, but they stand by their product and I have been using it for over a year with no problems..

I mounted the Remington under a 5 gal. round igloo cooler. It works great, keeps the feed cooler, doesnt sweat etc. The only problem I had was that the cooler lid has 2 small vertical channels made into it, therefore it leaked. I solved this by placing a plaxtic laundry basket over it.
I have found 5 gal igloos without the cnannels, and now they make a 10 gal that has a screw off lid. I am buying a 2nd remington and attaching it to a 10 gal. Also get a 6 v solar panel, velcro it to the side of feeder, and connect to the battery. Mine has been working a total of about 2 min. a day since Apr. with no change in the distance the feed is thrown.
I am mixing 1/8 and 3/16 Rangen feed with no problems. Funny thing, I occasionally find a light colored GFC pellet in with the dark high protein stuff.(Rangen makes GFC)

Will you pretty please find a way for me to post a picture of this setup?

WE purchased some of the new moultrie feedcasters at the pond boss convention. They are working out really good up to this point! I absolutely do not like the aquapros, and so far really like the new feedcaster directionals!!!
Bruce, you have to give one a try!

Nate we have one of the moultire feeecasters on our pond. We are setup to sell them and so far so good. I spoke with Robert Chandler of Bill Dance Signature lakes. He's had 10 moultrie units going for 6 months with only one small hitch. It sells for the same price as aqupro 75D. No question right now after fixing about 100 75D's which one I would buy.

Bruce, my take is this many DIY folks on this site. For them the aquapro 150 DX might just be the ticket. I just ask folks that buy these reailze they might have a problem down the line. PBers understands this. Other clietns of mine do not. They want a unit that is basically fail proof. So far for me this means TX Hunter or Sweeeney (maybe moultrie after more testing). Thsi no longer means aquapro 75 or fatcat. I can not keep them running as with the older units they made.

Greg what seems to be the problem with the aquapros ? The ones I have 1 year and older work fine. The new one has problems - a new type of timer is in route. A discussion of price is needed here as all these feeders don't sell in the same market. There is a large price difference.

Eric,

I ordered a late season batch of 21 AquaPros last August. I have sold 15 of them this spring and all 15 have had problems. Most of the issues have been with the timers. Some of the problems were with internal workngs of the timers, but some of them were wired improperly. The latter was causing the motors to spin backwards and in reverese sequence. It has cost me a lot of money and time on the phone and trips to people's ponds. Three of the units leaked through the site glass and caused mold to grow. I have expressed my concerns and have been told that new timers will be coming my way to include with the un-opened units before I sell them. However, I am going to personally assemble all of the units and test them before they go out. Even if the timers appear to be working, the new owner will get the additional timer.

I have sold a couple of the Texas Hunter's this year and my clients love them. They are expensive, but it's worth it to those not wanting to continually mess with fixing their feeder. I like to look at them as the Cadillac versus the Cavalier. You get what you pay for. Obviously, many people can't stomach dropping over $700 on a feeder, but those who can are much happier in the end. A lot of my clients do not live next their ponds. THeir ponds are on recreational property so monitoring the units everyday is not an option. They need to know that their feeder is going to clock-in and go to work everyday.

All I can say to people is that there is a reason that some feeders don't cost very much. Just like most things in life, if you really want quality, then you are going to have to pay for it. It is good that there is a wide selection of product on the market. There is something out there for everyone and thier corresponding budgets.

Having said that, we have some AquaPros that have worked like champs from Day One. Quality control has to be implemented 100% of the time, though. Fifteen out of fifteen for this year is not a good record. For guys in the business such as Todd, Nate, Greg, and I, it becomes a major pain to deal with these types of issues. I assure you we are not getting rich selling feeders. I'm almost to the point of telling my customers to go to Cabelas to buy their feeders. It ends up saving me money in the long run.

I purchased a Diamond feeder( they advertise in PB magazine) and have had nothing but good luck with it this season. It holds 400 pds of floating fish food and is extremely sturdy. They have smaller units although I needed one that could be filled once a month. So far the coons cannot figure out how to rob this unit.

Shawn - I know - I am in the middle of just what you explained. My new timer is on the way and it better work. I have used enough time/gas and effort on this one matter to buy 2 high dollar replacements.

Thanks Cody that type of info is good for folks to hear. I will have to consider them also.

Eric,

This must be a sign from above. UPS just delivered 10 brand new timers from AquaPro!! Hopefully your's will be to you soon. If you do not get yours soon, then please let me know with a PM. I will send you one of mine as a thank-you for the hard work you put into this forum.

CSmith, thanks for the info about your Diamond feeder. I am hearing more and more good things about their product. They are priced between an AquaPro and TexasHunter/Sweeney aren't they?

Not a good day to be discussing feeders. Call this morning, brand new feeder out of the box. Worked on test they added fish food, no longer runs the bottom motor. Timer says Jam. This is an aquapro 75D.

Then just a moment ago. Call from water authority. Sold them two aquapro 75D, potential for many more. Luckily I explained up front having trouble. Tried to talk them into TX Hunter but they had aquapro from last year and loved it. I had 5 left in inventory. I took them all out of the box b/c of trouble we are having this year, tested fine. He did the same. They worked for less than a week. Now he has to travel to lake to hand feed then dump this out of the feeder. He has a busted screen timer from feeder he bought last year. It will run all the feeders, so obviously a timer issue. He called they said he would have to send in timers then they would look them over then send replacement if that was the problem. Luckily he did not take that BS answer and they are shipping him two. However he got the run around on the deal, so now not only poor quality but bad customer service.

Want more….I don’t know if new shipped timers will help either client. Had another client he has had 11 timers shipped this year and 2 are working. He just bought timer from I’ll leave it unnamed from another source to try to get his aquapros working. I like some of the guys that work at BA products, got to know them, but find it hard to believe they will have a job much longer with poor quality product coming out right now. I’m not sure how I will sell the units I still have in inventory, b/c nervous I will tick off a good client.

Do you sense some attitude in my typing, you dang right. There was a national ad that quoted me “they are good quality….” Selling their product went from best business decision ever to being the worst. It has cost me customers b/c they are so mad I sold them crap. I basically talked Shawn into carrying them, probably Nate as well. They have lost reputation as well. I’m the dumb butt b/c I continuously believe them when they said they were resolving the issue. It continues to get worse and worse.

Eric be lucky you have an older unit it is worth the money you paid for it built with good components, that is not the case anymore.

Here is a comparison for you on the feeders we sell. Many others we did not list (probably forgot some)
Diamond
All season
Stock a dock
Moultrie has other less expensive options, we do not list yet

This is suggested retail prices.
Galvanized Green Camo
Sweeney (AF1A100) 70 lbs. $700.00 $750.00 $800.00
Sweeney (AF1A300) 200 lbs. $800.00 $875.00 $950.00
Sweeney (AF1A750) 500 lbs. $1000.00 $1,100 $1,200.00

Texas Hunter (DF125) 70 lbs. ~ $649.00 ~
Texas Hunter (DF425) 215 lbs. ~ $789.00 ~

Moultrie Feedcaster 75 lbs. ~ $450.00 ~

Aqupro 75D 75 lbs $400
Aqupro Fatcat 200 lbs $500
Aqupro 6 gal 25 lbs $75
Aqupro 150DX 150 lbs $115

Sweeney comes with battery and solar panel extra
Texas Hunter comes with battery and solar panel extra
Aqupro 75D and fatcat comes with solar panel, battery, foot pad kit and charger
Aqupro 6 gal and 150DX comes with nothing, battery extra
Moultrie Feedcaster comes with battery and charger, remote control and solar panel extra

So yes many choices and plenty of others as well. You get what you pay for to some degree. The cheap feeders are described as disposable by Bruce, great attitude. However some think they are made to last.

I hope you guys realize this is my honest assessment in a public format.

Greg,

I feel your pain, brother. At the time you recommended AquaPro, they were good quality. Don't be so hard on yourself. We're all experiencing similar issues so it's a reflection on the mfg, not you. You can't be responsible for the lack of customer service and quality. All we can do is recognize it and make the change. It's such a shame that the quality has went down the drain. Perhaps their quality will turn back around, but I may never know because I think I am done with them for a good while.

You got me nervous about replacement timers not working!!! Are they just trying to dump bad inventory and hope for the best? Poor business practice if so. Shawn

Ya'll know all the BA products timers are made in China. Those boys at BA support need to get a handle on the problem. Money doesn't always buy the best. I have had 2 low end feeders with BA timers. Never had a hitch.
Personally, I would stop selling feeders and tell them to read up on them and buy whatever suits them. Explain the issues and that you dont want to be responsible for what you cant control. The buyers also have to at least know how to test it in real life circumstances.

I have one of the Remington directional feeders with a BA timer, that unfortunately, broke within a week. I talked to customer service at BA Products, and sent in the timer. I received a new one about a month later, and it has been working for the past three days. Hopefully, this will not be a reoccuring issue.

a month is totally unsat. They should have had a new one out the door before you got yours in the mail. What were the symptoms with your unit? The controllers are similar whether in a $500 or a $75 unit. They obviously know that there are issues. I wonder if low battery voltage is causing the processor to glitch? Or the motor is causing a spike on the DC line.

I've run four of the Remington "cheap" units so far.

Two have worked perfectly. One jammed a couple of times, which was no big deal, and one had the distributor paddle quit rotating. I'll be sending it in finally this week to have them fix it hopefully. Greg, do you know where to send it?

Most of my "timer" problems have been eliminated by insuring good battery voltage.
I have one Stren and 2 AquaPro-
The "old" Strem has no solor panel so I am in the habit of recharging on a regular basis.

My other two have solar panels and I monitor the batteries and recharge when any sign of problems and it seems to work.
It may be a solar panel problem...direction of panels to sun - one pointed east keeps charge longer than south pointed.
Also they to need be kept clean.

My newest feeeder is a Texas Hunter and I love it - set it, put feed in it - forget about it....

burgermeister,

Yeah, I thought a month was a little too long, also. I was beginning to think they were not going to send me one. When I called for a replacement, they would not issue me any return authorization #, and told me to just write ATTN: Jose on the package (which I thought was a little strange, since I now had no way to prove I sent them the timer). But, luckily, I received the timer.

I'm pretty sure it was not a low battery in my case, because I have a solar panel and it still had a full charge when it broke.

The reason I knew it was the timer is because the motors would not run at all. I could hook either motor directly to the battery and get them to work. Also, if I would disconnect one motor from the timer, the other motor would work properly. And, when I metered the output of the timer, I was not getting the proper DC voltage.

bbjr, man, I bet they wish all customers went to your in depth testing. But, then again, if you told them all this, and they still waited a month, not good.

Bruce, maybe an allen set screw is loose, or, is the motor shaft not turning?

One day, with increased biomass, I may have to spring for a Tx. Hunter. The wife will love that. Been after me for a new car. Always spending on the pond.(liquid garden). We have a 96 Camry with barely 100,000. Paid for. Who could ask for anything more???

George I agree about 1-2 yrs ago it was a bad patch of solar panels. The timer scales battery power to 20% running the top motor. So it appeared fine but in fact slightly weak battery (9 volts) lead to many problems.

That is not the current problem. Geroge I'm glad you are happy with them. Like I said to Ewest the old ones are better thatn new ones.

Burger yep I know they come from China. My take is that instead of throwing away a ton of the timers they try to make them work. They appear fine for a short period but do not work longtime. I agree waiting a month is no where near good customer service. I disagree however that we should send them somewhere else to buy them. I would like to think I can educate my clients on the best feeder for the money. This is why I feel so bad I sold them crap when I should have known looking back things would contine to go downhill for BA.

Shawn no idea if timer issue is resolved or not. I hope so still have thme coming in to get fixed every week.

Bruce I have given you this number now 4 times, :)800-847-8269 you need to call to give them a heads up you are shipping them a repair. If it is the 150DX I think yours did like mine and all it needed was a new timer. Burger the timer is diff by the way b/c it only runs one motor not two.

Greg,

What's the number again?

Yes, the motor shaft isn't turning.

800-847-8269

Ask for Steve.