Feeding my SPS ?'s w/ BB

[ScallopKing]

I have a pretty good number of SPS colonies and running barebottom now for several months. I used to feed phyto+oyster eggs but stopped doing so in fear of phosphates in the mix after switiching to BB. Now I'm wondering what everyone else does and if you feed them.

My question is for those running BB do you feed your SPS corals?

When do you feed?
What do you feed?
How much do you feed?
How do you feed?
Have you noticed any positive improvements?

Any help in these areas is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Wiskey]

I feed the fish alot, the fish poo feeds the sps (when the fish itself doesn't eat it's own poo)

I feed the fish alot more now that I am BB, and I have seen positive improvement from it.

HTH,
Whiskey

 

[ScallopKing]

That helps, but a couple questions and comments.

What kind of food do you feed? What is your routine? I just do mysis. And the SPS just get indirect poop? That's it.

That's very interesting a shift in thinking as I used to and continue (left over sand days) to feed my fish less and less but more often. Btw, my blue tang loves poop! My wife can stand to see him eat it. Pretty funny.

Thanks a lot!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7194031#post7194031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wiskey
I feed the fish alot, the fish poo feeds the sps (when the fish itself doesn't eat it's own poo)

I feed the fish alot more now that I am BB, and I have seen positive improvement from it.

HTH,
Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

No problem, I Feed Misys, Emerald Entree, Cyclopease (my small fish love this stuff), flake, nori(for the YT), and anything else I come across in the LFS. I alternate what I feed from day to day to give the fish a varied diet, and inderectally the corals a varied diet.

My thought is that if you can get it out, (great skimmer, Skimmer setup, and flow) and you aren't storing it anywhere, then you can feed the fish as much as you want, your corals and fish will love you for it.

I also shutoff my return pump for about 1/2 hour after I feed so all the food dosen't get skimmed right out.

HTH,
Whiskey

 

[concept3]

an excerpt from our NJ Reef club forum:

[quote author=concept3 link=topic=1132.msg8745#msg8745 date=1145170008]
[quote author=MCWarhammer link=topic=1132.msg8744#msg8744 date=1145165339]
what sort of stuff do you include in your concoction? I currently feed flake and frozen brine.
[/quote]


My fish food recipe:
a dozen or so Frozen shrimp (grated)
4 Frozen garlic cloves (grated and squeezed to extract oil)
1 frozen chowder clam (gutted to remove stomach/sand, then grated)
1 Frozen Oyster (grated)
2-3 packs of mysis shrimp defrosted
1 pack of bloodworms defrosted
1 pack each of formula A and B (or angelfish food, it supposedly contains sponges), defrosted
Cyclopeeze if you can get it.
seaweed or unseasoned sushi-nori, 2-3 sheets (thrown in food processor to break up into fish friendly sizes)
1 pack of Krill, defrosted


I start by defrosting the frozen fish food in a sieve over the sink to get rid of the excess moisture.

the shrimp, garlic, oyster and clams are easier to grate if they are frozen. I like to grate it rather than put them in a food processor since it gives them an awesome consistency, rather than a mushy paste. Depending on what fish/corals you are keeping, you can adjust the amount of shrimp or clam etc etc. After you are done grating, throw that on top of the seive with the other stuff and let it drip in the fridge for about a few hours. (make sure the wifey or kids don't open the fridge in the meantime, LOL)

After the fish food is somewhat "dry," you can add the cyclopeeze and the nori. Mix the thing carefully and place in containers of choice. I recently found out that I can make CUBES by using EGGCRATE material, cut to fit in your freezer. I lay WAXPAPER on the countertop, lay a small sheet (6"X8") of eggcrate on it, and start pressing the fish paste into the squares of the eggcrate. When it's full, cover it with waxpaper again, and throw in the freezer. After a few hours, you can either POP out the food and place them in a Ziploc bag, or pop them as you need.


This hobby is SO expensive, that finding other alternatives to a healthy and cheap fish food only makes sense.......
[/quote]



I too, shut off my return pump and place the Tunzes on feed mode for at least 20 minutes so my corals can get whatever's left of the food, after that, it gets skimmed right out.

 

[ScallopKing]

Interesting, that's along the lines of what I've done. Mix in mysis and cyclops together then feed. I like your thinking though! I've feared phosphates (from what I've read) in these phytos/oysters eggs and stopped administering it. Haven't seen anything negative that I can say without it.

Well, so far your the only one responding and I'd love to hear from others if running a BB SPS systems you feed phtyo or oyster eggs? Thanks Whiskey!!!!

 

[ScallopKing]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7194963#post7194963 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by concept3
an excerpt from our NJ Reef club forum:

[quote author=concept3 link=topic=1132.msg8745#msg8745 date=1145170008]
[quote author=MCWarhammer link=topic=1132.msg8744#msg8744 date=1145165339]
what sort of stuff do you include in your concoction? I currently feed flake and frozen brine.

My fish food recipe:
a dozen or so Frozen shrimp (grated)
4 Frozen garlic cloves (grated and squeezed to extract oil)
1 frozen chowder clam (gutted to remove stomach/sand, then grated)
1 Frozen Oyster (grated)
2-3 packs of mysis shrimp defrosted
1 pack of bloodworms defrosted
1 pack each of formula A and B (or angelfish food, it supposedly contains sponges), defrosted
Cyclopeeze if you can get it.
seaweed or unseasoned sushi-nori, 2-3 sheets (thrown in food processor to break up into fish friendly sizes)
1 pack of Krill, defrosted


I start by defrosting the frozen fish food in a sieve over the sink to get rid of the excess moisture.

the shrimp, garlic, oyster and clams are easier to grate if they are frozen. I like to grate it rather than put them in a food processor since it gives them an awesome consistency, rather than a mushy paste. Depending on what fish/corals you are keeping, you can adjust the amount of shrimp or clam etc etc. After you are done grating, throw that on top of the seive with the other stuff and let it drip in the fridge for about a few hours. (make sure the wifey or kids don't open the fridge in the meantime, LOL)

After the fish food is somewhat "dry," you can add the cyclopeeze and the nori. Mix the thing carefully and place in containers of choice. I recently found out that I can make CUBES by using EGGCRATE material, cut to fit in your freezer. I lay WAXPAPER on the countertop, lay a small sheet (6"X8") of eggcrate on it, and start pressing the fish paste into the squares of the eggcrate. When it's full, cover it with waxpaper again, and throw in the freezer. After a few hours, you can either POP out the food and place them in a Ziploc bag, or pop them as you need.


This hobby is SO expensive, that finding other alternatives to a healthy and cheap fish food only makes sense.......
[/quote]



I too, shut off my return pump and place the Tunzes on feed mode for at least 20 minutes so my corals can get whatever's left of the food, after that, it gets skimmed right out. [/QUOTE]

Thanks concept3. So also no direct feeding here either huh. I noticed that the mix doesn't include an phyto - is there a particular reason for this? I love the eggcrate cube idea, that's good...makes it much easier to administer and in exact quantities. How long have you been following this method?

 

[shelburn61]

sps don't eat phyto

 

[ScallopKing]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7195074#post7195074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shelburn61
sps don't eat phyto

Ah, that's partially what I'm trying to figure out!

 

[MiddletonMark]

I skip phytoplankton in my Acro-centered tank, don't add it to the `mush' recipe I use.

Here's a good article on phyto, what feeds on it: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/eb/index.php

If you're feeding for the few corals that eat it, gorgonia or other animals ... by all means, please feed them


As for `feeding SPS' ... it's such a debated subject. In my experience, I can feed them/the tank very minimally - to fairly good results. But IMO when I feed more often [less amounts per feeding, more overall food added] is when my tank has grown/colored the nicest.

It's a delicate balance, as you need to be exporting all the unused food, waste, etc all right out - so feeding IME is partly based on how well your export is working.

But I prefer to feed more, feed beyond my fish. As for `what is best' ... I'm still figuring that out I do like homemade fish food [shrimp/squid/shellfish/etc] which is hard not to have at least some pieces too small for fish [coral sized] nevermind I've often added small-food [cyclops-eeze, various micron-sized foods -particulate foods of various brands] to the mix.

It's really easy to `OD' on particulate foods and such stuff - more concentrated foods IME can be easy to overfeed - though with the BB, you'll see fairly quickly if you add too much. Generally, IME, less is more with such foods ... but I've found I liked my results better when feeding more, though the tank required me to be on top of all maintenance, skimmer cleaning, etc.

In my thinking, the real reef is `plankton rich and nutrient poor' ... so that's what I try for with my highly skimmed tank - feed regularly, fairly well, of various sizes/forms ... and export to keep dissolved nutrient levels within acceptable range.

Do realize, bacteria/detrital material can provide food to your coral as well ... so blasting off your rocks can be a small snack in a sense. Coral nutrition is a complex subject, but in my thinking - provided I don't provide a nutrient issue that impedes the coral, I'd rather give it as much energy-budget as I can to get the best growth/color I can.

However, it's taken me a long time to get to where I've got water quality under enough control to where I can see a difference ... though that's just my opinion.

 

[panic]

good link, Mark - basically phytoplankton is good to feed your pods and other zooplankton, clams, and softies. Stonies are known to filter, but are not proven to digest and benefit from phyto nutrition. Less phyto is needed in a BB system compared to DSB.

 

[ScallopKing]

MiddletonMark - Thanks for your response and the link! Your (and others) comments are really helping me figuring out my feeding routine and what I should be doing based on others positive experiences.

I think I'm going to have to make some homemade mix up seems to be the norm. But how do you tell in your BB if you fed to much on concentrated foods - just more algae or a much more negative effect?

Do you also turn off your pumps during feeding time?

Thanks for your explanation, it's a huge help.

 

[ScallopKing]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7198196#post7198196 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by panic
good link, Mark - basically phytoplankton is good to feed your pods and other zooplankton, clams, and softies. Stonies are known to filter, but are not proven to digest and benefit from phyto nutrition. Less phyto is needed in a BB system compared to DSB.

Excellent. That's what I've been doing. Direct feeding only the clams with phyto anything else gets it indirectly. Thanks for your input panic!

 

[MiddletonMark]

I only turn off my pumps if I'm trying to spot-feed my Acan/trumpet/plate/starfish ... I feed with flow on.

Most commonly I feed right around when my MH's go off [actinic on for about an hour after]. Normally I do nothing different when feeding ... the fish have keyed on the turkey baster long ago, so never miss a meal if I show them it a few minutes before feeding.

My skimmer most often cuts down in foaminess when I feed most foods ... so I leave it run. Used to cut the skimmer, sometimes the return pump ... and now and then I do that - will feed quite heavily, target-feed the starfish/etc ... on a weekend when I'll then leave the skimmer off for half a day before doing a large water change.
Not sure what the purpose is [other than ease of target-feeding], but tank doesn't seem to fare poorly when I do that ... so it's one of the idiosyncratic methods I use.

 

[ScallopKing]

MiddletonMark - That's exactly what happens to my skimmer too! My fish, soon as I go to one side of the tank, get excited about feeding. The shrimps on the other hand go right for the baster. Overall, seems like I'm doing about the same thing as you, just no don't think I'm feeding as much as everyone though. Thanks for your input again.