Is it possible to keep NPS and feed only 2-3 times a day?

[twintrades]

OK heres the low down i have a soft coral tank that dosnt have high lighting. My wife and i love Carnations corals and gogians ect. I dont have the time or $$ for a feeding system. So i was wondering if i could keep some Nps happy and healthy by just feeding 2-3 times a day.

I could feed more i guess by incorperating a dry food dispenser....

2nd could this be done without a skimmer .... And would a refugium work for Nps or would it rob them of food/ nutriants ??

Anyone is more than happy to chime in.

Tank is a 29 with 1 damsel and soon to be dwarf lion. Lights will be on for normal reef conditions.

 

[slapshot]

Depends on what you are trying to keep. For sure not Dendronephthya. You could keep some of the Photosythetic Gorgs. I don't think it would work for the really cool NPS ones. The real problem with hand feeding these corals is keeping it up long term. It just get too hard. I would not even think of keeping an NPS tank without a skimmer. IME Phosphates are the killers. You would have to have a pretty good way of controlling them.

 

[twintrades]

Wouldent a fuge take care of the phosphates ??

Feeding would be bad at all. Just like feeding our fish in the big reef tank...

 

[AquaticEngineer]

You can make an automated feeding system for under $75.

Mini fridge- off of craigslist any day of the week

peristaltic dosing pump- wait for a good deal on ebay.

plumbing pieces - any hardware store.

Then plumb it inline with your existing return line from you sump. Building one of these and getting a skimmer will be time and money well spent.

 

[Kweli]

2-3 times a DAY??
Do you mean week?

Is that normal for NPS?? Geez, ive been feeding my dendro & suncorals every other day and they have been growing?

 

[Nam Nguyen]

i feed my 5 colony of dendro like 1 a week sometime not even feed. they still happy and had alot of baby

 

[twintrades]

Im Looking more at feedind the outhre Nps like carnatoins and sea fans and flowering tree corals.

 

[slapshot]

2-3 times a DAY??
Do you mean week?

Is that normal for NPS?? Geez, ive been feeding my dendro & suncorals every other day and they have been growing?

Again, it depends on what you are keeping. Dendrophyllia are not Dendronphthya, Scleronephthya or Azoox Gorgonias. I feed every hour 24/7 and I would say my success is questionable.

Wouldent a fuge take care of the phosphates ??

Feeding would be bad at all. Just like feeding our fish in the big reef tank...

Not really, depending on how much you are feeding. I don't think you will find anyone that is keeping the corals you listed and having success alone with a fuge. Phosphates are the kiss of death for the dark side of the hobby.

 

[stormrider27]

Again, it depends on what you are keeping. Dendrophyllia are not Dendronphthya, Scleronephthya or Azoox Gorgonias. I feed every hour 24/7 and I would say my success is questionable.

Your above statement surprised me as you are one of the more knowledgeable members on the dark side of the hobby. Why do you think your success is questionable?

 

[rayn]

All I have is one bunch of sun coral and I feed once daily. One good squirt for the fish and for the coral to ' smell it '. Then once they show their tentacles I target each one. Doesn't take long, and they are growing.

 

[slapshot]

Your above statement surprised me as you are one of the more knowledgeable members on the dark side of the hobby. Why do you think your success is questionable?

I say that because I have not had "long term" success yet. My experiences with Scleronephthyas has been a failure and I will not try keeping them any longer until someone or some company comes out with a food product or has had some success. I had hoped that now that they are maricultured they would be easier. Interestingly my experiences with Dendronephthyas is better and I have been able to keep them much longer. I know it's suppose to be the other way around, but not in my tank.

Long term is still the issue. The thing is they do great until one day then they start shrinking away to nothing. It's like someone threw a light switch. I am wondering if their life span is short in the wild. How can something be perfectly happy and healthy then one day start deteriorating and be gone in a week. I can see if it was a gradual decline but it is not. Anyway that is for another thread. It really has to do with "long term", which I define as two or more years. I can keep Gorgonians, the sun corals and such but those nepthyas (Dendrons and Sclerons) still defy me.

I have not thrown in the towel though!!!

 

[uhuru]

How long did you have the dendronephthya before they started deteriorating?

 

[slapshot]

Hi Mike. Well, I helped the first one with a bath in kalk but my second one I have now had for 8 months and just Sunday it started not opening as far as it used to. We shall see what happens but I upped my feeding and started spot feeding it twice a day instead of once a day. That is in addition to the regular every hour feeding, which you already know about.

I'm watching it closely and will add the results to the thread about them. It just seems they go all at once. The only variable would be the addition of the pellets a couple of months ago and the lowering of my nitrate level, but it seem to respond positively to that. I also have been able to up the amount of my feeding by 1/3 because of the pellets. That should be a positive.

The weird thing to me is the baby that is growing in the sand is happy, fully extended and growing. It doesn't even get that much flow and I never spot feed it.

 

[uhuru]

Yes please describe your experience in the dendro study group thread this is the info we really need. To see if there is a pattern. This way at least the loss won't be for nothing.

 

[uhuru]

The only variable would be the addition of the pellets a couple of months ago and the lowering of my nitrate level, but it seem to respond positively to that.

Have you tried testing your iodine levels? I did read somewhere that iodine can become depleted with bp systems. I don't know if its true, but worth looking into, since the soft corals would be the most affected.

 

[slapshot]

Have you tried testing your iodine levels? I did read somewhere that iodine can become depleted with bp systems. I don't know if its true, but worth looking into, since the soft corals would be the most affected.

Hmmmm, no. I'm on it though....thanks.

 

[Thepopo]

I do NPS feeding on a 3 day off one day on skimmer routine. No nitrates. Phosphates at .5. Then again my tank isn't heavily populated. Oh I do run air direclty into the tank though. Forgot to add that