Reef Discussion

[marineclass]

Ok, so i want to know peoples feeding habits!
the main reason i ask is that when i am on holidays, i want to minimise the amount of time i am coming into the class. (ill probably be here everyday out of choice but just in case i cant....)

I have been looking at different automatic feeders with pellets or possibly live food.

Ultimatly i would love to have live food swimming around and the fish can eat whenever they please however im not sure if this is viable in a tank.m

Also, is there an automatic way of feeding corals? Currently i am just direct feeding them a frozen brine shrim mix. Let me know your ideas and what you think i should be doing!

thanks

 

[Jonny Glover]

Dosing pumps are a good way to automatically feed your corals phyto plankton. and the fish mysis etc. And pellet feeders are good too.

 

[MTG]

i feed my tank 5 times a day mix of different foods. pellets and brine flake mainly. sometimes frozen food. you could use an auto feeder with pellets? just remember an auto topup for fresh water if you have a sump. dont want the pump running dry

 

[marineclass]

5 times a day? do you use an auto feeder for that?

 

[MTG]

nah by hand, when ever i walk past it i give it some. usualy 2x morning before work,1x at lunch time, 2x throught the night

 

[Dynamic]

Lol, lots of work. I feed my tank once every 2 days.

 

[VaultBoy]

I have thought about building a small reefuge (<-- see what i did there... it wasnt a spelling mistake) that sits above, and overflows into the display tank. This way live food have somewhere to breed out of harms way and some will travel out the overflow and become food for the tanks inmates.

Has anyone done this or someting like this? does it work?

 

[Jonny Glover]

yes i have a refugium and heaps of others do. It is very effective.

 

[marineclass]

yea im thinking of breeding in my refugium- just unsure what! Also, does the return pump kill the live food?

 

[VaultBoy]

thats why i wanted to put the refugium so that it overflows into the DT and therefore no pump invovled.

 

[marineclass]

yea its a good idea - What would people use as live food. So far it looks like i might try brine shrimp. Any body breed their own? Id love to hear about your success/ set ups

 

[VaultBoy]

A mate of mine has a 4x20x20 FOWLR with a fluval fx5 canister filter and he un-intentionally developed a breeding colony of brine shrimp in it. I'm no expert but i believe mysid shrimp are better for nutritional value though.

 

[Talmier]

I feed 3 times a day

In the moring either Alge Marine Dinner

Lunch time Flake

Night is a Frozen Brine Shrimp Cube

 

[rosechaser]

Are you allowed to recommend specific brands or product....if so what would you advise to start a pair of wild clowns on?...Hopefully to be soon joined by a bi-colour blenny.

 

[rosechaser]

Sorry should add that I have ordered a dual container eheim feeder for feeding during the day...so something suitable for that would be great

 

[Jonny Glover]

ocean nutrition and spectrum are good brands of dry food.

 

[firebird]

thats why i wanted to put the refugium so that it overflows into the DT and therefore no pump invovled.

There's a lot of stuff about this on the net-look for "above tank refugiums" but they all require a pump to pump up water from the main display tank into the fuge and then the fuge will drain back by gravity. But you're right- argument is that no pump from fuge-no organisms chewed up