Do you measure out your feeding for consistency?

[trevorhiller]

This was inspired by a post from @Arego in another thread, "What did reefing teach you?"

"Proportionate & consistent feeding of your fish. Until I actually took this serious my tank was a one legged man in an a++ kicking contest with nutrients. Once your system catches up to whatever the input load is you can explore new options to reduce them if necessary or simply reduce the food a bit and check again.. Most problems I've seen in person is due to eradicate feeding proportions each time combined with buying new gear while still feeding too much and then you turn to az NO3 and dosing for problems that wouldn't even exist if you simply fed a bit less and kept those amounts dialed in."

This seems like a very simple concept to improve nutrient control since WE control what goes in the tank, however, I get the feeling that not too many measure the food other than eyeballing "a pinch".

I might try to actually do this though since my nitrate and phosphate are what I am struggling to keep in balance currently. Normally I try to approximate the same amount daily, but a super small scoop or even a high precision scale (one that measures in grains) would make tracking nutrient input more consistent.

It would also be nice to somehow quantify feeding amounts to compare feeding styles between aquarists when troubleshooting tank issues and advising new aquarists.

 

[blaxsun]

Yes. All the frozen, pellets and seaweed are roughly the same portions every day.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Nope. Pinch or two of flake every day and sometimes a cube of mysis.

 

[pusanpa]

I don't measure but it is a great idea to get the consistent N & P which is a key to keeping a healthy reef.

 

[Jedi1199]

Need to add "Other" to the poll. I do not precisely measure the food exactly. I mix up a batch of 14-18 frozen cubes weekly. The mixture changes based on what I have on hand, and what I think the fish might like... I like to vary their diet to a degree... last week they got 2 extra cubes of brine, this week I will cut the brine a bit and use mysis instead ect ect... Sometimes I add a couple spoonfulls of dry flake as well. Often I also add a spoonfull of Benepets. When I feed the tanks, I always add the same amount of food, but the concentration of exactly what goes in is not exact.

 

[rtparty]

No. Your system should be able to handle a little extra food if you decide to feed heavy for a few days

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I dont beleive in controlling phosphate by controlling the feeding.

I dont feed the fish, I feed the tank, it is a living thriving ecosystem, every thing in the tank needs food, including the bacteria, copepods, worms, and other plankton, inverts, etc...