stupid question

[mott768]

Ok My turn to ask a stupid question, On my new 46 gal I have a HOB overflow I do not have one on my 29 gal . When I feed the fish the food floats right over to the overflow and down into the sump, not giving the fish a chance to eat. I don't have this problem on my 29 gal cause I do not have a overflow on it. My question is how do I feed my fish without the food going down into the sump? Another question is what does everyone keep in their sump/fuge like snails and stuff, to keep it clean and eat any food that gets drown down into the sump?

 

[JRod]

Do you turn off your pumps and powerheads?

You can pour it in or squirt it in with a turkey baster type object this way it breaks the surface and goes down.

Squid has a tendency to float, so it goes right down the tube.

My fuge has whatever has popped up in it. I have some bristleworms, stars and copepods in there and whatever goes in is theirs, the other 3/4 ends up getting caught up in my sock in my sump that I clean out.

 

[mott768]

I leave everything running like I do in my 29 gal. I feed flake, pellet, shrimp, alternating the foods ( flake one day, shrimp the next and so on)

 

[JohnS_323]

I have the same stuff as Joe in the sump of my 65.

The frozen food I use tends to sink (moreso than float on the surface, at least). The return water keeps it blowing around like a snow-globe so it doesn't get immediately sucked into the overflow. Whatever does go into the sump is food for the critters in there or gets caught in the filter floss.

 

[steve68]

if it's dry food just soak it before u dump it in is it's squid ur S..t out of luck
i soak my food for as long as i can & it's all frozen but the squid & krill i just have a hard time with it, i use a turkey baster also.
in my fuge i keep the bad guys like my 5 year old damsel any hermit that i see on my corals & well like joe said any thing that has just grown in there.

i dont run any kind of filter sock so food just goes round & round.

 

[mott768]

Maybe I need to add a maxi jet next to the overflow for more surface flow, do you think that would help for the flake and pellet food? I'll have to try the turkey baster when I feed them tomorrow.

 

[steve68]

if all u do is flake just soak it before u put it in it will sink right away.

 

[mott768]

I mix the food up day to day. Will soaking pellets work too?

 

[royy]

Just turn off the return before you feed. Turn it back on after the food is gone. That is what I do.

Roy

 

[concept3]

I do the same. I shut off ALL the pumps, and the fish know it's feeding time so they hang out at the top. I feed a half inch cube of frozen "brain mix" to my fish, mostly via a feeding tube. The mix contains grated shrimp, garlic, grated clam, cyclopeeze, mysis shrimp, bloodworms, crushed nori, krill, formula A and B. The main pump stays turned off for about 30 minutes (so the corals get their share), but the powerheads are left on. I found out that this way, the food is maximized in the tank.

 

[mott768]

I'll try soaking the food first if that doesn't work I'll have to turn the sump off. thanks for the help guy's.

 

[gil716]

I've read somewhere that turning certain system pumps on and off on a daily basis can lead to premature failure. I wonder if anyone has been doing this for two or more years with no adverse affects.

 

[concept3]

me me me

 

[camz28]

i soak the food first in a small cup and then i poor it where the fish are in my 29 gal with a hang on overflow you can allways turn off the pump and wait till you done feeding

Ralph

 

[steve68]

i never turn off my pump
my fish come out like piranas when i feed them food goes every where & a lot of times i take a big plastic syringe & go right to where the input of my pump is & squirt it right in, it's like an instant blender.
JME.

 

[mott768]

Cool, I soak the food and used the turkey baster and it worked , Thanks guy's

Do you think I should get a few snails and a hermit crab or 2 for the sump? I did notice a couple of bugs swimming around last night when the light came on for the fuge.