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CMcTay 
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 Topic: Dumb question - how much to feed?
Posted: March 12 2015 at 12:41pm |
I realize I should already know this, but my best guesses don't seem to be working out, as represented by my high nitrates lately. I am clearly overfeeding, but before I started cutting back I wanted to see what other people tend to do so I don't accidentally starve my fish in the process.
I have a 55g that has two full grown clowns, a yellowtail damsel, a midas blenny, carpenter's wrasse, longnose hawkfish, cone snail, a slew of turbos and hermits, and a thriving population of bristle worms. The guy that I bought this tank from just would feed a healthy sprinkling of flakes twice a day, but I prefer not to use flakes or pellets. What I do have is roe, frozen mysis, and reef frenzy, and I feed a little mix of all of these once a day, as well as a sheet of seaweed once a week or so.
I kind of just eyeball the amount of frozen I put in, a cube of mysis + about half that amount in reef frenzy, plus a couple drops of roe. It seems like that's not even enough for all of them, but then I've been wrestling with nitrates ever since I pulled them off the flakes and started on the frozen (which is backwards and NOT what I was going for, heh).
How much and how often would you guys feed this particular population of fish?
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badfinger
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Posted: March 12 2015 at 12:59pm |
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If it were me i would just switch to reef frenzy only.
What are your waste export methods? Skimmer? Water changes, carbon? Gfo
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CMcTay
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Posted: March 12 2015 at 1:01pm |
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Currently have a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer and a marineland HOB penguin... that last one seems a little silly but it came with the setup. I do 10% water changes weekly. No carbon/gfo reactor YET, but I will be running one soon.
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1stupidpunk
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Posted: March 12 2015 at 1:03pm |
I feed my reef tank once per day. My usual routine is take 1/2 cube of Mysis and 1/2 cube of bloodworm OR brine and place them in a very small Tupperware (like the size for condiments) with just enough water from the tank to cover the frozen food. I usually add a drop of garlic oil and a drop of Selcon (HUFA) but that's optional. After letting it thaw for 10-15 mins I use a turkey baster to squirt about 1/4 of the Tupperware volume into the tank. I then watch to make sure all the fish eat, if within 3 mins all the food is gone and the fish are still at the top of the tank looking for more food I squirt another 1/4 of the Tupperware. The rest of the thawed food goes into the fridge for the next days feeding, and anything left after that feeding gets squirted into the corals/anemone as I wouldn't feed anything older than that to my pets.
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CMcTay
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Posted: March 12 2015 at 1:05pm |
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Waiting to see if it all gets eaten first is pretty brilliant :) I should try that!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 9:52am |
High pollution levels? Biofiltration is the real workhorse in a reef aquarium. Populations of bacteria, bugs and worms (including Bristleworms) grow larger to eat the leftovers. If what is wanted is for the aquarium to clean up, have lower pollution levels and look better, stop feeding for 3-5 days and then feed half as much thereafter. Also, if the bristleworm population is large like the pic below, there is an easy way to remove the overpopulation. Just ask.
Don't worry, fish can do well for a week or more without feeding.
Aloha, Mark  MarksReef Coral Farm in Murray 750 E Lakepoint Dr. #4V text/call ahead at 808-345-1049
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Hogie
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 10:24am |
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I've read that you should feed as much as your fish will eat in 30 sec. For me, that seems light. I feed them turkey baster squirts one at a time until a piece of food hits the bottom and then I stop.
Also, what's eating the seaweed? From your fish, it looks like there isn't a herbivore in the group and a sheet of seaweed might be a bit much for the omnivores and that might be contributing to the nitrates.
Edited by Hogie - March 13 2015 at 10:27am
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Jeremyw
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 10:33am |
NO that is not a dumb question.
I feed 3-5 times a day.
I also have 24 clown fish 4 tangs, 2 wrasses, 2 gobies, 2 triggers, and more.
So my tank eats a lot, I also skim like crazy because of all of this. I empty my skimmer at least 2x per week, I do bi weekly water changes as well, to keep up with all the feeding.
J
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CMcTay
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 12:31pm |
Thanks for the info guys :) it's all been super helpful
 Hogie wrote:
Also, what's eating the seaweed? From your fish, it looks like there isn't a herbivore in the group and a sheet of seaweed might be a bit much for the omnivores and that might be contributing to the nitrates. |
I'll be completely honest, I bought the seaweed and clip on a whim because I was so charmed by the idea of them all swimming up to one spot at the front of the tank and taking nibbles while I watch, haha. My midas blenny goes NUTS for it. The wrasse also likes it, and the hawkfish will take bites here and there too. If this is just making things worse and not contributing to their health at all, though, I'll definitely chuck it. It was more for my sake than theirs anyway.
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Pete Moss
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 12:37pm |
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To me it sounds like you're a LITTLE heavy on feeding based on the livestock, but not as heavy as you probably think. Just tone down the amounts a little :)
Might need to boost your filtration a tad. I'll have to swing by and look at the setup some time. See what we can do to upgrade it >:)
Edited by Pete Moss - March 13 2015 at 12:37pm
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125g 90g 2x33g 34g
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 1:16pm |
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It's not a dumb question. In fact it is a very difficult and challenging question to answer.
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DMower
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 1:26pm |
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Every tank will be different. I feed at least 4-6 cubes of various frozen a day along with two sheets of algae. One algae sheet in the morning and the other in the evening with a good amount of spectrum pellets. This is in a 150 gallon tank. I also spot feed my eel krill or squid every 3 days or so.
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150 gal reef with 50 gal sump. Reef Octopus DCS-200 Skimmer. AI Sol Blues.
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badfinger
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 3:36pm |
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You feed 4-6 cubes a day?
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80cent
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Posted: March 13 2015 at 3:38pm |
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Woah! Jeremy, you have 24 clowns in a tank??? Can we get some pics posted? That's really uncommon among reefers, but sounds super cool.
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