Question about Rod's Food (Frozen Reef Food)

[that Fish Guy]

I have a question about Rod's Food (Frozen Reef Food).

http://www.rodsfood.com/

I won some of this at a Frag Swap yesterday.

It says it is food for your whole reef (Fish, Corals, etc.).

I am used to Sally's San Francisco Bay Frozen Cubes.

It is easy because I add one cube a day to my aquarium (They come 30 cubes to a pack).

But Sally's is just for my fish.

The Rod's Food is for coral too but it is not in cubes.

It is in a flat pack (Sally's does this too and you get more for your money but they are not cubed so you have to break it apart and guess on the size).

Anyways I wish Rod's Food was cubed as it would be alot more convenient.

How much of the Rod's food should I add to my aquarium each day?

I have 9 fish.

I don't want to overfeed and raise my Nitrates and Ammonia.

 

[jake koppen]

I mix up my feeding from day to day, spectra pellet, rods, random cubes of whatever frozen I pick up (I always am just browsing the LFS and feel like I should buy something sometimes so I always get a cheap frozen pack). Any way, just eyeball it, you don't want a blizzard in the tank. I usually thaw a little chunk in a cup of tank water and just add it throughout the day (before work, after, and as I pass the tank as I go about the house) I also don't feed every day, some days they pig out through out the day like this and some days when I'm busy, they go without.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[johnike]

Start small, a pinch of Rods is pretty condensed. My tank loves it.

 

[GSMguy]

I chuckled when you compared Rod's to Sally's.

Rods food is much better, feed only as much as your fish can eat in a short time. If you want to feed more, feed more often.

 

[rrasco]

I use about 1/2"x1/2". Thaw it in tank water first, then dump it in. I wish they had ketchup package sizes, or smaller, so I could take one out of the freezer, throw it in the fridge, and feed on the go.

 

[jlnielsen13]

A lot of people are getting away from Rod's because it contains so much "extra" nutrients that are released into the water and aren't consumed by fish or coral. I used to use it but got tired of the "mess" it made in my 140 gallon and began to ask around and found that a lot of people feel the same way. Expensive food that makes a mess!

JIM

 

[D-Nak]

A lot of people are getting away from Rod's because it contains so much "extra" nutrients that are released into the water and aren't consumed by fish or coral. I used to use it but got tired of the "mess" it made in my 140 gallon and began to ask around and found that a lot of people feel the same way. Expensive food that makes a mess!

JIM

Can you elaborate a bit? I use Rod's Food, so I want to look out for whatever I'm supposed to be seeing -- what are the "extra" nutrients and what kind of a "mess"? I don't notice any more algae than I would with other foods I've used.

 

[eg8r210]

Can you elaborate a bit? I use Rod's Food, so I want to look out for whatever I'm supposed to be seeing -- what are the "extra" nutrients and what kind of a "mess"? I don't notice any more algae than I would with other foods I've used.

I would like to know what this "mess" is also. With my anthias I use an autofeeder and feed throughout the day but every once in a while I will break off some of Rods food and feed that.

 

[sasharotty]

I use rods food also. I see no extra mess as I feed only what the fish can consume quickly. I also shut my skimmer and return off so the coral eat too. Fantastic food! My whole reef loves it and I don't see any phosphate increase any more than any other frozen food. Btw I feed original and herbivore.

 

[d2mini]

Rods Food here too. Along with Ocean Nutrition Flakes, Dainichi Pellets, and the occasional frozen mysis or cyclops cube. I like variety. I also have a ton of different critters to help eat what the fish miss. The Rods Food really does broadcast pretty good across the tank. Some chunks are a little large though. That's my only complaint.

One suggestion if you don't like the flat sheet is to thaw the whole thing and then separate and re-freeze into some empty cube trays left over from your other frozen foods.

 

[smtank]

Huge fan of Rod's as well. My corals and fish love the stuff. No issue with extra nutrients as all.

Just wish the price was lower.

 

[zakstrong]

i think the mess they are speaking of is algae blooms. if you feed conservatively and do your maintenance you shouldnt have an issue. The food has lots of tiny tiny elements to it. phytoplankton etc. which is good for corals clams etc. i feed very small amounts every other day or so, in addition to algae sheets and mysis/brine. as far as benefits, its geared more toward corals. consider spot feeding it to corals once a week and let the fish eat the extras. then feed the fish seperately

 

[bezlar]

Rods is great. I use the mesh feed bag that I got from Rodgers food and put 1x1 inch piece in and stick to glass and my whole tank goes nutz. I've feed Rodgers and black jack reef crack and IMHO rods is the best.

 

[jlnielsen13]

I am huge on nutrition and feel that healthy fish and fish less likely to get disease starts there! I used Rod's for the last few years but recently switched off of it. I had 3 major issues with the food:

1. The food has more than you need or what can be consumed! Here is my tank:

As you can see I have a mixed reef with 17 fish as well as many inverts including 6 clams. The food does disperse really well and quickly "clouds" or spreads around the tank. Trying both leaving the pumps on and turning them off, lots of the food seems to find its way into the rockwork and not eaten by the fish. Sure, some small corals and inverts may or may not get that food but I just didn't like knowing it was "lost" in the rockwork decaying.

I never had a nutrient problem or spiked levels it was more of loss of nutrients. As an animal nutritionist who has done studies including grinding up Rhino dung in a blender to analyze and compare what we put in his mouth to what comes out the other end (did the same with dogs as well-dog owners would be surprised which foods had good results), I really was unhappy knowing that much of what I put in my tank was not being utilized.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when my LFS owner who I go to for all my corals and knowledge asked me if I needed some food (all he carries is RODS) and I told him reluctantly that I was thinking of making the switch he told me he has the same issues and doesn't use it in his store for those same reasons. It just flies off the shelf so that is why he carries it.

#2. The reason it flies off the shelf is because I think its reputation is stronger than the product itself. I think of Rods like Apple. Although their products don't test as well as others (see androids) they can crank a new iphone out every other week and people will line up for days to make a purchase. People get mad at others who express their feeling about the iphone like they were talking about their sister. Silly comparison I know but ...

#3. Price... WOW is this food over priced. 20$ for a sheet where again I feel much of it goes to waste. I would love to see the cost to manufacture a sheet versus what they clear in profit, their margins. Good for them but man is this stuff pricey. Every once in a while my lfs will have a 50% off sale which shows how overpriced this stuff is. Also I heard that they have even changed the formula a bit and their is even less product for the same price.

Although feeding 10-12 different frozen foods at the momment is more time consuming and Rods is easier as a blend, I know that more of the food I put in my tank is being utilized and I feel I am getting more bang for my buck.

Thanks,
JIM

 

[d2mini]

I don't understand how Rod's "goes to waste" more than any other frozen food? Or flakes/pellets for that matter.

No matter what I put in my tank, it gets dispersed and eventually falls.

 

[d2mini]

#2 I don't agree with this analogy at all. Sorry.

#3 More pricey but also saves me a lot of hassle and time vs going out and buying all the separate ingredients, blending (disgusting) and freezing. Also fresher and doesn't have added gunk like the cubes that need to be drained/rinsed. All reasons why I buy it, hence why I don't agree with #2.

 

[jlnielsen13]

#2 I don't agree with this analogy at all. Sorry.

#3 More pricey but also saves me a lot of hassle and time vs going out and buying all the separate ingredients, blending (disgusting) and freezing. Also fresher and doesn't have added gunk like the cubes that need to be drained/rinsed. All reasons why I buy it, hence why I don't agree with #2.

No problem don't be sorry... it was silly!

Agreed, very convenient and if that is the number 1 important thing rods is your food! I also hate the "geletin" foods as that is unwanted garbage as well. I prefer to grind up whole ingredients and add selco or vita chem or buy cubes with one ingredient-ie mysis etc.

Thanks,
JIM

 

[accordsirh22]

i have no opinion as far as rods goes. but ditch the san francisco bay brand. ocean nutrition is generally the same price for the same size and 1000 times superior.

 

[D-Nak]

Thanks for the thorough explanation. Definitely makes a lot of sense. Can you delve into this a bit more?

Although feeding 10-12 different frozen foods at the momment is more time consuming and Rods is easier as a blend, <b>I know that more of the food I put in my tank is being utilized</b> and I feel I am getting more bang for my buck.

I chose Rod's because it contains what I'd normally feed my tank:

Shrimp, Scallop, Oyster, Clam, Squid, Octopus, Perch, Green Nori (porphyra sp), Red unroasted nori (porphyra sp) Mysis, Krill, Pacific plankton (Euphausia sp.) Brine shrimp, Frozen red cyclops, Fish eggs, Oyster eggs, Golden pearls (all sizes), Broccoli, carrot, Garlic, Selco, Astaxanthin (Haematococcus pluvialis), Beta-meal (Dunalliella Salina), Freshly harvested rotifers, freshly hatched baby brine shrimp

It sounds like you're doing the same thing, just that everything is still separated. I'm confused as to where the loss of nutrition is, or that more food is being utilized. I'm guessing the carrots? I never heard of feeding carrots, but I'm guessing something in it -- vitamin C possibly? -- is beneficial?

It's an interesting point that definitely deserves more attention. For humans, once could generalize that smaller poops mean that the body absorbed more of what we ate, but the reality is that most people don't eat based on only nutrient content since we also need things like fiber, which cleanses our bodies and aids in bowel movements. The good news is that our poops go down the toilet. In a reef tank, fish, inverts and coral poop stay in the tank, so it makes sense to keep it to a minimum. The question is, how do we know which foods create the least amount of poop?

 

[D-Nak]

Beautiful tank by the way!