Thoughts on stanpipes and feeding ring???

[Mr Cracker2u]

I have a little dilema and want any input ya got.

My stand pipes are open at the water surface and have a high flow rate. This sucks any food on the surface down within 30 seconds. I'm thinking I can put a larger diamiter pipe say a 4" around the 2" stand pipes to give the food some dwell time for slower eaters. If the ring goes below the surface by an inch I'm thinking it might do the trick.
Next thing would be how to attach it to the stand pipes? Nylon bolts in taped holes like ceiling light fixtures are rigged is what has come to mind.

I know turning the return pumps off is normal practice and it works fine for me. I have a live in girl freind that loves to feed the fish (makes her feel like she's helping out) BUT won't have anything to do with the equipment cause she is afraid she will screw it up (I'm not to sure she won't either).

 

[portabuddy]

put the pumps on a wall switch, tell her to flick it off then back on after shes done, then theres no unplugging of pumps, its as easy as flicking a light switch... wait what colour is her hair? (joking)

other then that im not sure iff the ring idea wold work very well???

 

[Oddball]

I modified the standpipes in my 360 each with a T-fitting and an elbow to put the water intake about 6" below the water's surface. The spillover rate is the same. It just doesn't pull from the surface so, my floating foods stay in place until eaten.
I've since added a 1/4" holes at the spillover points to allow for a little bit of surface skimming at the intakes. I also put fiberglass floordrain caps on the pipe openings to keep minnows from getting into the drains.

 

[portabuddy]

how about this, you could simply use a pvc pipe end cap BIGGER then your pipe and put it on like in the pic, spaceing it evenly with something like stainless screws? or small pieces of sponge, the water would rise in the cap and over flow into the pipe, but this way it will drain out till the bottom of the cap...

 

[fishdance]

The simplest most foolproof way is to get a slightly larger diameter pipe which is slightly longer than your standpipe and just drop it over your existing standpipe. You dont need to worry about getting it centered or the levelchanging. If you want to, you can drill a couple of holes at the bottom but even if you dont, it will suck water off the bottom. Make the larger pipe just a little longer than your standipe so if it ever blocks up the tank will not overflow.

 

[schaadrak]

Do a Google search for Stockman standpipes. They're kinda like your idea, portabuddy's and fishdance's ideas combined.