¿¡How to feed corals!?

[mjc041800]

Hi, I am going to get some soft corals and maybe a few SPS corals for my 30 gallon aquarium. I am going to have 2 hang on the back filters (1 having a bio wheel and the other having bio media inside) with mechanical media and maybe some chemical media too, a protein skimmer, and 2 power heads. I will also have a coralife light, T8 17watt. I was wondering what would I have to feed my corals, when would I have to, how much, and how. Would I have to maintain a stable supply in the tank? Would keeping the equipment on ruin or take up the food? Anything and everything else would be great. Thanks! Sorry it's long.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

T8 lighting isn't strong enough, you need to get the HO T5 instead. What to feed your corals depends on what kind of corals they are. Some eat exactly what your fish do some eat phytoplankton, and some eat nothing at all with light being their food, it all depends on what you want and get. I would also seriously consider getting a sump instead of the HOB stuff and use lots of live rock in both your tank and the sump for biological filtration.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I also highly recommend on reading this book of how to's

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

Once you read this you will have a much better understanding of saltwater aquariums.

 

[Tzwizzle]

As mentioned research is a good idea since reef tanks are a huge investment. You wouldn't buy a car without doing some homework first would you?

That said, you aren't going to get one answer for your question because many corals feed differently and eat different size particles of food. Most corals kept in our aquariums are photosynthetic which means they rely on a good lighting system and feeding may not be required but may help growth and the overall health of the coral.

If you do supplement your tank with coral foods such as zooplankton/phytoplankton its not a bad idea to turn your skimmer off for a couple hours to allow the corals to broadcast feed on the particles. I target feed my corals a few times a week when they have their polyps out and are hungry. You don't want to overfeed your corals or fish because you will run into water quality issues. Hope this helps.

 

[Mock]

T8, Hang on the back filters and SPS should never be in the same thread together.... More research is needed on your end.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

T8, Hang on the back filters and SPS should never be in the same thread together.... More research is needed on your end.

Isn't that the truth! The OP certainly has a lot of :reading: to do, then ask lots of questions. We are more than happy to help.