Setting the Feed ScheduleUpdated 2 months ago

The aF4 feeds your aquarium automatically once every 24 hours. This guide explains how the feed timing works and how to adjust it to suit your schedule.

How the aF4 decides when to feed

The aF4 uses the time you first powered it on as its daily feed time. It will feed at that same time every day, automatically, without any additional programming.

Example:If you powered on the aF4 at 9:00 AM, it will feed every day at 9:00 AM.

This means the easiest way to set your feed time is simply to power the unit on at the time of day you want it to feed.

Adjusting the feed time with the offset

If you want to change the feed time without powering the unit off and back on, the feed time offset buttons let you shift it earlier or later in 2-hour increments.

The row of 5 LEDs above the offset buttons shows your current setting. The center LED (position 3) is the default — no offset, feeds at power-on time.

LEDs lit	Offset	Effect
1 (leftmost)	−4 hours	Feeds 4 hours earlier
2	−2 hours	Feeds 2 hours earlier
3 (center)	0 — default	Feeds at power-on time
4	+2 hours	Feeds 2 hours later
5 (rightmost)	+4 hours	Feeds 4 hours later

Example:Your aF4 was powered on at 9:00 AM but you want it to feed at 7:00 AM instead. Press the offset button until the -2 LED is lit — this applies a −2 hour offset and shifts the feed time to 7:00 AM.

Changing the feed time permanently

If you want to set a completely new feed time that the offset buttons can't reach, the simplest method is:

Power the unit off
Power it back on at the exact time you want it to feed going forward
Set the offset back to center (center LED lit) if it was previously adjusted

The unit will use the new power-on time as its daily feed time from that point forward.

Using a smart controller instead

If you have connected the aF4 to a smart controller such as the Neptune Apex, Coralvue Hydros, or GHL Profilux via the link port, the controller takes over feed scheduling completely.

The aF4's built-in 24-hour schedule and offset settings are overridden — all feed timing is managed by the controller.

See our Integrations guides for setup instructions for your specific controller.

Feed Now — manual feeding on demand

At any time, pressing the Feed Now button triggers an immediate single feed cycle, dispensing your currently selected feed quantity. This does not affect or reset your scheduled daily feed time.

How to Set Feed Quantity — how much food to dispense per cycle
Understanding Your aF4's Lights & Sounds — what the offset LEDs mean
Integrations — using a smart controller to manage feed scheduling

Questions about scheduling? Submit a support ticket and our team will help.

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