question on feeding zoas fuel,coral accel, reef roids, ect

[semi_butterfly]

so looking to get some info on what everyone dose while feeding coral accel, fuel, reef roids ect to zoas. do you shut the sump off and leave the powerheads on or do you let the sump/fuge run? if you do what is in there? also when do you feed these guys?

personally i feed them in the morning/day with the sump/fuge off and power heads off for 10-15min then turn the powerheads on while continuing to leave the sump off until i feel the tank is starting to get cold and i let the sump run. was thinking maybe chaeto or carbon is pulling some nutrients? also leave the skimmer off all day.

looking forward to hearing some replies on this!

 

[A. Grandis]

I normally stop all the pumps while lights are off and target feed them Coral Frenzy, ReefChili, ...
No need to turn off the skimmer when target feeding.

Grandis.

 

[semi_butterfly]

I normally stop all the pumps while lights are off and target feed them Coral Frenzy, ReefChili, ...
No need to turn off the skimmer when target feeding.

Grandis.

wouldent the skimmer pull out stuff they need? and also im hearing a lot on night time feeding, wouldent they benefit more being open? of course target feeding coral accel and fuel is not the most effective route just making sure a.) im doing it right and b.) seeing what ways other people do it.

thanks for the response.

 

[A. Grandis]

wouldent the skimmer pull out stuff they need?

Yeah, but no worries.
If you think like that you won't have an skimmer.
Then you won't export the junk either.

and also im hearing a lot on night time feeding, wouldent they benefit more being open?

Yes, they will ingest the food particles ONLY when they are open. If your zoas don't open at night you shouldn't feed at night, of course.

of course target feeding coral accel and fuel is not the most effective route just making sure

You just CAN'T feed Coral Accel and Fuel. They are additives to be dosed in the water. You could try to add it to the food before you offer to the zoas though. I just add those types of additives to the water 3 times a week. I don't turn the pumps nor the skimmer off for those.
Your zoas will hopefully absorb those liquid additives.

a.) im doing it right and b.) seeing what ways other people do it.


thanks for the response.

Everyone does what they want/ think is better for their tanks.
Not really rules, I guess.

You're welcome.
Grandis.

 

[semi_butterfly]

Yeah, but no worries.
If you think like that you won't have an skimmer.
Then you won't export the junk either.


Yes, they will ingest the food particles ONLY when they are open. If your zoas don't open at night you shouldn't feed at night, of course.


You just CAN'T feed Coral Accel and Fuel. They are additives to be dosed in the water. You could try to add it to the food before you offer to the zoas though. I just add those types of additives to the water 3 times a week. I don't turn the pumps nor the skimmer off for those.
Your zoas will hopefully absorb those liquid additives.


Everyone does what they want/ think is better for their tanks.
Not really rules, I guess.

You're welcome.
Grandis.

wow this is totally different from what i have heard, so many people swear by using only fuel to have great results. i might start using reefchili and frenzy as accel and fuel dont really seem to be helping that much by their self. you feed your zoas every night? my issue with night time feeding is about 25% of them stay open all night in total darkness. (no lunar's)

 

[SammyL]

Tagging along on this one.

 

[sassAwrasse]

Fuel should be dosed to the water, not fed. I turn everything off when feeding. The slowly turn everything back on (last being sump / overflow)

 

[A. Grandis]

wow this is totally different from what i have heard, so many people swear by using only fuel to have great results. i might start using reefchili and frenzy as accel and fuel dont really seem to be helping that much by their self. you feed your zoas every night? my issue with night time feeding is about 25% of them stay open all night in total darkness. (no lunar's)

There will be many, many, many people that will swear by using nothing but lights and "fish poop"... :hmm4:
I've tried to offer the actual fish poop and all my zoa species rejected it, meaning that they didn't grab it, like they do with the dry coral foods or even some of the frozen foods offered.
I understand that the "fish Poop" contribution is actually through absorption, after it is diluted in the water (left over nutrients). So, by feeding their fishes the diluted excrements will actually be absorbed by the zoanthids in the tank. Well, that does happen in mine too, of course. The food particles are what makes the difference. The zoanthids can use the extra energy to grow/reproduce.

Everyone has their own way to deal with their tanks.
I just found out that mine will do a bit better with periodic small target feeding.

Are you affirming the above in bold?
"...as accel and fuel dont really seem to be helping that much by their self."
I'm not.
I don't add Coral Accel, but I do use Fuel.

I do not feed my zoas every night. No way. LOL!!
I feed them once a week max. No need more than that.

Most of my zoas are open at night. That's why I feed them. The main reason is because the fishes won't try to get their food from them.
Some smaller species of Zoanthus are fed only during lights ON, but they aren't the majority in my tank.

You'll need to see what works best for yours.

It doesn't really matter when they are fed, if they actually grab the food particles.

Main thing here is if you, or anyone here, really see difference when target/broadcast feeding.
I would like to hear more from all, please!!
If you fell that feeding zoas is unnecessary, please tell me what/how did you try.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Here:

Artificial food study for corals.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2167572

What additives do you use on your ZOAS' tank?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2386542

Article on zoanthids feeding behavior.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2180156

Grandis.

 

[semi_butterfly]

Here:

Artificial food study for corals.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2167572

What additives do you use on your ZOAS' tank?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2386542

Article on zoanthids feeding behavior.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2180156

Grandis.

wow very nice write up's for sure. you never can get enough info on zoas. like you said everyone has their own method and i love learning what different ones people are using.

 

[A. Grandis]

Yep, we've been learning a lot.
There is much more to come. That's for sure!!!

Hopefully others will get here and share their opinions on feeding too!!

Grandis.

 

[zoafarm]

I feed ReefChili once or twice a week. I turn off all circulation pumps for about 10 to 15 minutes while feeding. I generally feed when my white lights go off (so blues only). Zoas/Palys look much healthier since starting the use of ReefChili.

I also use Fuel (really haven't noticed much change while using...but not hurting).

 

[accordsirh22]

i too feed a combination of reefchili and some random coral frenzy that i got for free, soaked in fuel once or twice a week

 

[Mael]

I do similar, reef chilli or the TwoLIttleFishes phytoplankton, sometimes by itself sometimes I mix them with half a cube of rotifer and then target feed with that(~twice a week)

Most of my zoas close at light out so I usually feed just before. The colors seem to be brighter after then open back up from eating but it could be just me being hopefully and seeing what I want.

 

[AlexRSM130]

I feed my zoas too.
Frozen cubes(cyclops,microplacton,mysis,artemia)with a turkey blaster once every week just 2 hours before my water change.It is easy later to remove any uneaten waste.
I have tried other foods in powder form but I wasn't happy 100% plus PO4 raise...

 

[shane784]

if you havent heard of Doc's Eco Egg Brew you need to google it. mix some with tank water. shut ur return and power heads off and cloud the tank. never seen such a dramatic reaponse from zoas. wideeee open mouths

 

[that Fish Guy]

Good Article.

The only problem that I have with Reef Roids is that the next day after using it My Phosphates rose by 0.2 so I stopped using Reef Roids because of that.

Does anybody else notice that?

 

[A. Grandis]

Good Article.

The only problem that I have with Reef Roids is that the next day after using it My Phosphates rose by 0.2 so I stopped using Reef Roids because of that.

Does anybody else notice that?

Normally I target feed one day before I do my water changes. That way the phosphates and other nutrients won't have time to feed the algae.
If you use the right amount of food you won't have that much of spike also.
Many times target feeding won't give you any nutrient problems, specially with a good skimmer running.

Grandis.

 

[that Fish Guy]

Normally I target feed one day before I do my water changes. That way the phosphates and other nutrients won't have time to feed the algae.
If you use the right amount of food you won't have that much of spike also.
Many times target feeding won't give you any nutrient problems, specially with a good skimmer running.

Grandis.

I didn't target feed though.

I just Dosed the Tank the recommended amount on the Bottle.

Today I will target feed my Zoanthids only and use less of the Reef Roids and then test tomorrow.

Hopefully that will work and then I will Do that once a week if it does.

Only problem is is that the tank with the Zoanthids has no Skimmer.

 

[A. Grandis]

I didn't target feed though.

I just Dosed the Tank the recommended amount on the Bottle.

Today I will target feed my Zoanthids only and use less of the Reef Roids and then test tomorrow.

Hopefully that will work and then I will Do that once a week if it does.

Only problem is is that the tank with the Zoanthids has no Skimmer.

Yeah, I recommend to get a nice skimmer for the zoa tank then.
Keep up with the partial water changes. I change 10% a week.
When you target feed you use only a bit of food. Only what the zoas will consume. Their guts aren't that big anyway...
You should be fine now with the ReefRoids.

Grandis.