If there is enough pods/phytos/other zooplantons in the system (such as a light "Green water" system would I have to suplimental feed my corals or would they handle themselves? Also would noticable amounts of phytoplankton in the water hinder sps and lps growth? Other then the obvious that less light gets to them due to more critters in the way?
Feeding corals? or not?
- Thread starter Kevin8888
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well you could feed them reef snow, tigger pods, phyto, zooplankton mix it up and don't skimp on the rotifer's
mr.reef24
mr.reef24
I turn off the flow & spot-feed every single polyp that has a mouth, with meaty, vitamin-enriched foods & then feed everything else tiny, microscopic foods (especially my Goniopora). I leave the flow off for an hour or 2, until the tank clears. Then the skimmer stays off another 24 hours (no need to "feed" the skimmer).
Well I guess my main question is, is feeding nessisary as I dont intend to have a skimmer on my reef setup (using various alternatives that I've done some heavy studying on) therefore there will be an abundance of phytos in the system, as well as an abundance of pods due to regular seeding of new pods as well as mysid shrimp. So in that situation would it be nessisary to suplimental feed.
an algae scrubber will out perform any protein skimmer and make for a healthier tank! and with very minimal water changes!!! unfortunately a reef aquarium does not have the needed environments at the correct ratio liek the ocean to provide enough to feed your corals and other animals in the tank. they will definitely survive, but to thrive i think its pretty excepted corals should be fed.
and about your concern of light being blocked by too much in the water. studies have been done that show most corals will get much much more out of food than light and will consume as much as possible, they digest as fast as they can eat. your only concern with putting food in the water should be about what it does when it breaks down. culturing your own phytoplankton would be perfect for you think, since it will stay alive in your tank and can be added in higher concentrations and more often than most other coral foods.
all in all, feeding coral takes minimal effort and is definitely worth it.
and about your concern of light being blocked by too much in the water. studies have been done that show most corals will get much much more out of food than light and will consume as much as possible, they digest as fast as they can eat. your only concern with putting food in the water should be about what it does when it breaks down. culturing your own phytoplankton would be perfect for you think, since it will stay alive in your tank and can be added in higher concentrations and more often than most other coral foods.
all in all, feeding coral takes minimal effort and is definitely worth it.
Hmmm... high maintenance algae scrubber or skimmer? I'll pick the skimmer. Scrubber looks like a real PITA & lots of salt spray everywhere. Toss in a skimmer & smell the skimmate brewing. You'll wonder how your tank ever survived without one!
MyFishEatYourFish;3789449; said:
Your reply is exactly what I was looking for, you understand my desire to keep nutrients in the system just in usable form instead of as "disolved organics" that need to be removed by skimming. I intend to culture 3 dif phytos, rotifers, copepods, amphipods, brine shrimp (cuz they are easy), and mysid (huray for a ton of work haha), so adding food isnt going to be tricky, and since it will be live, I wont have to worry about it decaying (as much) that and I'm making a bigger scrubber then nessisary to handle excess, as well as a fluidized bed filter in addition to live to keep ammonia and nitrites at 0.