Am I overfeeding?

[FloridaReefer33]

I see everyone warning of overfeeding but it seems that the only negative impact anyone states is excess nutrients leading to nuisance algae. Are there any other negatives to heavy feeding? I feed only once daily but very heavy.I use a variety of different coral foods intermittently but lrs reef frenzy and oyster feast every day. I shut off all flow and blanket feed the entire tank and also spot feed all corals with a turkey baster, additionally I feed large chunks of shrimp, squid etc every 2-3 days to my bta, serpent star, pistol shrimp and a few larger lps (also my cowfish loves to nibble pieces out of my hand). I let everything settle for a few minutes then turn the wavemakers on for a sec to stir it back up and repeat several times for usually about 30 minutes, by then most of the visible food has been eaten. I then turn the overflow back on and run my wavemakers through several settings and speeds to remove any excess, it's pulled out the overflow and filtered out in the sump/refugium. I have zero nuisance algae, all measurable params are always perfect (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates undetectable), my fish seem happy and always hungry despite the heavy feeding and my coral health and growth seems great soo.. Is there something I'm missing? Everything I read says I'm dramatically overfeeding (especially the corals) but I'm wondering is there any other reason other than excess nutrients and nuisance algae? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[SeattleReefer]

IMHO you are not overfeeding, but most fish would be much happier with more feedings.

 

[Potatohead]

If your nitrates/phosphates are low enough and you don't have piles of algae you are not overfeeding

 

[madweazl]

I feed three times a day but not as heavy.

 

[Shivsreef]

Your feeding the right amount of food, but not in the right way ... I think you should cut down the amount of food you feed at a time and increase how many times you feed per day to about 3, so personally I'd say to ramp up your feedings to 3 times a day over the course of the week. But make sure you cut down the amount of food in each feeding

 

[CStrickland]

I assume that fish are like other animals in that their natural feeding patterns vary. So a big predator like a tiger will eat few large meals when it makes a kill, and a cow nibbles grass all day long. I would think one large feeding would suit fish that are tiger-like but not cow-ish ones. In my tank I have a chalk bass that is happy to eat a portion of food s big as his head in the morning and then not really compete during later feedings. I also have anthias whose natural patterns would be constant snatching of tiny food all day, they would not be happy with your routine.

I like to broadcast feed my coral once a week and target feed lps 2-3 times a week. For most coral that's supplemental to good light, like a treat. I do it just after lights out when their feeders are extended because I assume that's a natural way. If you don't have algae I don't think it's too much. But also I think that those issues can sneak up on you. There's a honeymoon period for new tanks where they seem able to handle extra nutrients, and it's common for people to overfed early without issue until a year or 18 months has passed and their rocks have soaked up enough phosphate to start leaching it back out again.

I don't have a bta but I always thought it was risky feeding them large chunks of food

 

[Fourstars]

I've been out of the hobby for a decade and the biggest change I've noticed is feeding, we use to starve our tanks, but now I'm convinced that most the issues we had was because of this nutrient poor idea. As long as everything is doing well and your not seeing algae your walking that thin line. The other big change is turf scrubbers. Now if I over feed it all ends up in my little black box!

 

[Reef Frog]

It's hard to say where the line exists on "over feeding" in any given tank. Your routine may be perfect for your tank but too much on another. The nature of your CUC, micro inverts, corals bio load and bio filter (LR) are big factors.

The export methods available & how you use them make a huge difference. For example some NPS keepers must feed large amounts of planktonic sized foods and much of it goes uncaptured & uneaten, so unless rigorous export methods are used nutrient build up can be an issue. And sometimes over feeding isn't a problem for quite a while - and suddenly the detritus load builds over time and then it is a problem. Some call it old tank syndrome.

If you are really feeding heavy, you need export to match it. High nutrient loads can cause run away algae growth of course, and very high nitrates can be harmful to fish, & it and super high phosphates can promote high bacterial growth and interfere with coral calcification.

 

[Reef Frog]

On the reef in nature, food supply & feeding opportunity is often highly variable, depending on which animals you're talking about. Sometimes the planktonic eating fishes are in gin clear water with little to eat for days until corsls & other inverts spawn, or food comes in on a new ride or changing current. It's often feast or famine.

But herbivores and animals that hunt microlife in the sand and rocks might have a more steady diet. Eels and other a bust predators may only get a meal every few days or weeks. It's all highly variable and often hard to exactly duplicate in a captive environment.

 

[madweazl]

I assume that fish are like other animals in that their natural feeding patterns vary. So a big predator like a tiger will eat few large meals when it makes a kill, and a cow nibbles grass all day long. I would think one large feeding would suit fish that are tiger-like but not cow-ish ones. In my tank I have a chalk bass that is happy to eat a portion of food s big as his head in the morning and then not really compete during later feedings. I also have anthias whose natural patterns would be constant snatching of tiny food all day, they would not be happy with your routine.

I like to broadcast feed my coral once a week and target feed lps 2-3 times a week. For most coral that's supplemental to good light, like a treat. I do it just after lights out when their feeders are extended because I assume that's a natural way. If you don't have algae I don't think it's too much. But also I think that those issues can sneak up on you. There's a honeymoon period for new tanks where they seem able to handle extra nutrients, and it's common for people to overfed early without issue until a year or 18 months has passed and their rocks have soaked up enough phosphate to start leaching it back out again.

I don't have a bta but I always thought it was risky feeding them large chunks of food

I think the bolded portion is directly proportionate to the maintenance habits vice the rock absorbing the nutrients and releasing them. I'm not sold on this rock leaching phosphate; I had a tank up over a decade and never had a phosphate issue.

 

[CStrickland]

I think the bolded portion is directly proportionate to the maintenance habits vice the rock absorbing the nutrients and releasing them. I'm not sold on this rock leaching phosphate; I had a tank up over a decade and never had a phosphate issue.

That's what I'm saying. I think overfeeding and maintenance habits are two sides of the same coin. As in, if there's more going in than there is going out, the balance is off whether it's because there's too much input or insufficient export.

And I think the ability of calcium carbonate to bind phosphate can give a false sense of security in a new tank, until the rocks and sand get full. So, it's possible to be out of balance because either too much nutrient input or not enough removal, and have that not show up for several months. Then when the rocks are full the imbalance becomes apparent in an algae bloom. That's annoying because of how long it can take to get the phos out of the rock. You have to double up on export until they leach it all back out again. So it's worth being aware of, that even if you can crank a ton of phos into the tank without seeing algae now, it's not necessarily a green light to do that since it might bite you down the road.

Unless by "not sold on it" you mean you don't believe that rocks can actually bond and leach phosphate. They can. For example, people on dialysis need to limit their phosphate intake and one way they do is take a calcium carbonate binder with meals. They are eating a form of our rocks in order to poop out the phos rather than have it enter their blood stream.