Equipment We
Actually Use.
These aren't random product recommendations. This is equipment, food, and DIY hardware we use in our own fish room to breed fish, raise fry, automate maintenance, and keep our systems running.
Equipment
The filtration, air, water, and heating equipment we rely on throughout the Mohr Aquatics fish room.
XpertMatic Aquarium Filter
Great flow, powerful, and easy to service. I use these on many of my tanks, and they also run the water lines in my fry system.
VIEW ON AMAZON →4-Way Air Valves
Easy to use and reliable. Great for splitting air from a single pump or providing easier access from a central loop system.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Aquatic Life RO/DI Filter
An easy, affordable RO/DI system that supplies purified water for my fish room.
VIEW ON AMAZON →AQUANEAT Air-Driven Box Filter
Affordable air-driven filtration. I especially like these for holding crushed coral when I need additional buffering capacity.
VIEW ON AMAZON →AQUANEAT Large Sponge Filters — 4 Pack
Affordable and effective biological filtration. A great option when you're scaling up a fish room and need filtration across multiple tanks.
VIEW ON AMAZON →HITOP Aquarium Heater
A reliable and affordable heater for tanks where I need consistent temperatures.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Food
Foods that have become staples for raising fry, maintaining our adults, and conditioning breeding fish.
Sera Micron Powder
The best prepared food I've tried for raising very small fry. It's also been a great alternative to relying exclusively on infusoria.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Flakes
One of the staple foods I use for my adult fish and a regular part of the feeding rotation in the fish room.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Fluval Bug Bites Bottom Feeder
A staple food for my breeding colonies of Corydoras and other bottom-feeding fish.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Aquarium Co-Op Brine Shrimp Eggs
A superfood for raising fry and conditioning fish for breeding. I hatch and feed baby brine shrimp every day.
VIEW AT AQUARIUM CO-OP →Aquarium Co-Op Magic Small Fish Feed
The food I move fry onto after Sera Micron. It's also a versatile food for small fish and shrimp throughout the fish room.
VIEW AT AQUARIUM CO-OP →DIY Supplies
The tubing, pumps, valves, and hardware behind the automated systems you've seen in our fish-room projects.
MALIDA RO Water Line & Fittings
The water line and fittings I use when building and expanding my automated water-change system.
VIEW ON AMAZON →AQUASTRONG Sump Pump
Pumps I use both to supply my water-change system and to move drain water out of the fish room.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Pawfly Threaded Air Valves
These are the valves I used when building my central air system and for water distribution in my fry system.
VIEW ON AMAZON →AQUANEAT Airline Tubing
Very flexible airline that grips fittings well. It's become a simple, dependable choice for plumbing air throughout the fish room.
VIEW ON AMAZON →Used in the Mohr Aquatics Fish Room.
As the fish room grows, I'll continue adding equipment, food, and DIY supplies that prove themselves in day-to-day use.
Automatic Fish Feeder Comparison: 9 Models, 5 Brands
Mohr Aquatics fish room testing · Approximately four weeks of use · Advertised prices recorded October 31, 2026
We compared nine automatic aquarium feeders across five brands for feeding schedules, power options, portion control, and value. Use the chart below to compare features and visit the product listings.
| Brand / model | Price | Power | Feeding schedule | Max rotations / feeding | Feeding door opening(s) | Product link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freesea FS-069 My pick | $16.99 | Replaceable batteries | Fixed: 8 / 12 / 24 hours | 1 | Tapered + gravity flap | View product ↗ |
| Freesea FS-069BT | $22.99 | AA batteries | Programmable: 3 times/day | 3 | Tapered + gravity flap | View product ↗ |
| Petbank CY-019 | $18.99 | Rechargeable | Fixed: 12 / 24 / 48 hours | 1 | Standard + tapered | View product ↗ |
| Petbank CY-009 LCD | $22.99 | Rechargeable | Programmable: 4 times/day | 3 | Standard + tapered | View product ↗ |
| Aovar CY-059A | $17.98 | AA batteries | Fixed: 8 / 12 / 24 hours | 1 | Standard + gravity flap | View product ↗ |
| Aovar CY-059DG | $34.99 | USB-C plug-in only | Programmable: 3 times/day | 3 | Standard + gravity flap | View product ↗ |
| AquaMiracle Regular | $17.99 | AA batteries | Fixed: 8 / 12 / 24 hours | 1 | Standard only | View product ↗ |
| AquaMiracle Programmable | $19.99 | AA batteries | Programmable: 4 times/day | 3 | Standard only | View product ↗ |
| Aquarium Co-op Easy Feeder | $29.99 | Rechargeable | Programmable: 4 times/day | 3 | Standard + precision tapered | View product ↗ |
Prices are advertised prices supplied for this comparison and may change. Programmable models show maximum daily feeding times; fixed models show hours between feedings. Some product links are shared by multiple model variants: verify the selected version before purchasing.
What the Feeding Door Options Mean
- Standard: Adjustable, plain opening for dispensing food.
- Tapered / precision: A narrowed opening that provided better control of small portions and more reliable flake dispensing in our tests.
- Gravity flap: Opens as the drum turns downward and closes when upright; designed to reduce moisture entry, though moisture protection was not independently verified.
What We Learned from Testing
- All nine food barrels had matching dimensions and were interchangeable.
- All included rim clamps and adhesive discs for mounting.
- No malfunctions were observed during approximately four weeks of testing.
- Food dispensing decreased as barrels became less full; keeping them reasonably full helped consistency.
- Samples opened from all five brands contained visually similar barrel-drive motors. This does not prove identical suppliers or long-term durability.
- The 3D-printed auger worked well with several pellet foods, including Fluval Bug Bites Bottom Feeder, but poorly with powdered Magic Small Fish Feed.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. Mohr Aquatics may earn a commission from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Results reflect personal testing; long-term reliability and manufacturer battery-life claims have not been independently verified.