How Much Do You Feed Your Tank

[Epic Aquaculture]

Just wondering how much most reefers are feeding their tanks. Please list daily food input (in cubes per day or similar) tank size, tank age, methods of filtration, number of fish, and type of reef. I'll go first:

• 17 cubes per day
• Reefer XXL 750 200 gallons total volume (170 gallon tank)
• 1 year old
• oversized protein skimmer, lots of bio media (Siporax and Matrix) and a Turbo's Aquatics L4 Algae Turf Scrubber
• 20 fish
• SPS

 

[ccombs]

I don't know how big a cube is. I feed about a half inch by half inch square (sometimes smaller) of LRS Reef Frenzy

30 Gallon Long
(2) Juvenile Clowns
(1) Golden Head Goby
(2) Shrimp
(3) Hermits
Softies

1 Month Old (Ramping Up Feeding Slowly via Lasse Method)
Tunze 9001 Skimmer
Dr. Tim's or Microbacter7 Added Daily for Now
Filter Floss

Will add Chaeto and Carbon later per Lasse Method

 

[dugthefish]

17 cubes? That seems like a lot

1/2 cube + a dozen pellets 2x/day + nori for grazers
135g total volume
5 mos old
6 fish
Mixed reef

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

17 cubes? That seems like a lot

1/2 cube + a dozen pellets 2x/day + nori for grazers
135g total volume
5 mos old
6 fish
Mixed reef

It is a lot! LOL. I was just feeding my tank and that's what made me think of it. I feed a ton to keep my fish fat and happy, and to provide nutrients to my corals. That is also why I have such heavy export with the oversized skimmer, bio media, and ATS. It's working well for me.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Bumpity bump

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Wow, not many people feed their tanks LOL!

 

[mta_morrow]

Check out the first post of this thread I started yesterday.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/h...e-really-any-rules.582739/page-2#post-5929230

 

[WVNed]

a hunk of LRS equal to 3-5 cubes and nori.

It's a year old plus a little.
75
I run a skimmer.
9 fish, 2 shrimp, nems, other stuff.

 

[SammieT]

Wow, everyone feeds more than me... One cube every 2-3 days on my end

 

[McFly]

3 cubes hikari mysis
3 cubes hikari spirulina brine
1/3 sheet of the big nori from the asian market, sun dried
1 chunk of LRS or Rods frozen

I'm still having to add KNO3 to dose my nitrates up to 5ppm each week.

150g display, 8" RO skimmer, 2x mesh filter socks changed every 2-3 days when they overflow, marine pure 4x8 block, 16 fish

 

[ca1ore]

17 cube-equivalents per day does seem awfully high for 20 fish - though I suppose it depends on what makes up the 20! I'm nowhere near that and I have close to 120 fish (though half are damsels).

• Nominally 10-12 cube-equivalents per day - 8x8 sheet of nori (4 cubes), new era pellets (1 cube); frozen blend (6 cubes). Once every two weeks my zebra eel gets two large cocktail shrimp.
• 700 gallon system; 400 of which is the main display
• This particular tank is only 18 months old, but much of the livestock is 10 years old.
• Huge skimmer (rated for 3,000 plus gallons), ATS, multiple refugia …. thinking about doing home-made nopox
• 120 fish - half damsels, but also 12 tangs, 6 angels and multiple pseudoanthias
• Mostly SPS, but some LPS, and a large magnifica anemone

 

[Radman73]

• ~4 cubes per day
• ~320 total water volume, 220DT
• Tank is ~18 months old
• Aquamaxx ConeS CO-3 skimmer(runs 8 hours a day), 75gal refugium with some cheato and not much else, UV
• 19 fish but the largest are a yellow eye kole tang and a melanarus wrasse, so small fish
• Dino battle killed many/most of the few corals I had. Hammer and some can's survived, one SPS is still limping along
• I struggle to keep nitrate and phosphate detectable

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

17 cube-equivalents per day does seem awfully high for 20 fish - though I suppose it depends on what makes up the 20! I'm nowhere near that and I have close to 120 fish (though half are damsels).

• Nominally 10-12 cube-equivalents per day - 8x8 sheet of nori (4 cubes), new era pellets (1 cube); frozen blend (6 cubes). Once every two weeks my zebra eel gets two large cocktail shrimp.
• 700 gallon system; 400 of which is the main display
• This particular tank is only 18 months old, but much of the livestock is 10 years old.
• Huge skimmer (rated for 3,000 plus gallons), ATS, multiple refugia …. thinking about doing home-made nopox
• 120 fish - half damsels, but also 12 tangs, 6 angels and multiple pseudoanthias
• Mostly SPS, but some LPS, and a large magnifica anemone

My current fish list is:
1 Picasso Clown
Pair of Watanabei Angels
Regal Angel
White Tailed bristle Tooth Tang
Fox Face
8 Bartletts Anthias
Lineatus Wrasse
Blue Fairy Wrasse
Labout's Fairy Wrasse
Pintail Fairy Wrasse
Mystery Wrasse
Golden Dwarf Moray Eel

I use feed mode to slow my return pump for 10 minutes when I feed, and all of the visible food is gone within that 10 minutes. I feed 4 times per day as I work from home and my fish are always starving for more I do harvest my ATS once a week as it fills up that fast, but my Nitrates were 7.74 and Phosphates were .04 on my last ICP test which was done on 4/5/19, so it seems to be keeping me where I want to be. I have some algae growth on the live rock, but my CUC and the tang and foxface keep it in check nicely.

 

[ca1ore]

10 minutes !!!!!! Gads, I'd have to feed 30 cubes at a time to have it last 10 minutes. I feed 3-4 times a day, each time it's gone in 30 seconds. Even the nori only lasts 2-3 minutes. FWIW, fish always ACT like they are starving - proper body weight is a better indication of appropriate feeding. I suppose if your nitrate/phosphate levels are under control then it's ok …… though with that much food I'm surprised the levels are good.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

10 minutes !!!!!! Gads, I'd have to feed 30 cubes at a time to have it last 10 minutes. I feed 3-4 times a day, each time it's gone in 30 seconds. Even the nori only lasts 2-3 minutes. FWIW, fish always ACT like they are starving - proper body weight is a better indication of appropriate feeding. I suppose if your nitrate/phosphate levels are under control then it's ok …… though with that much food I'm surprised the levels are good.

You are correct regarding the behavior of the fish. My dogs are the same way! The feed timer is 10 minutes, but the food is gone in about 1 minute. High input and high export keep my SPS nice and colorful. If I didn't have a high end SPS collection, I wouldn't feed nearly as much which would definitely help the pocketbook (and the freezer space) LOL

 

[ca1ore]

Ok, that makes more sense. Think I've visited your build thread a few times.

 

[TheMarineBiologist]

I just got into the hobby. Aquarium has been setup for about 3 months. It is a regular old 20 gallon with a HOB with chemipure elite and polyfilter. Inhabitants: mated pair of onyx clowns with an assortment of LPS.

I am kinda a newb and its a nano so I feed every other day just to keep my water quality good. I feel bad on the off days because my clowns think Im feeding them. I am debating though feeding less and switching to everyday. I mix 1 cube of hikari brine and mysis and feed maybe 2 pipettes worth.

 

[Tastee]

I have a 65g RSR 250 mixed reef tank. 18 months old. Fairly light coral load at the moment, gradually increasing. Currently 6 smallish fish (YT, Clown pair, Orchid Dottyback, 6 line Wrasse and Lawnmower Blenny), a CBS, Hermit, Sand Sifter Star and around 8 assorted snails including a fairly large Nassarius. Plus a hitchhiker crab living under the LR. All fish ~1 year old from when they went in.

Mine are fed once a day. I feed frozen food 2-3 times a week, one cube (around 10x10x10ml) of either Mysis or a Reef mix. The days I don’t feed frozen they get Dainichi pellets. Around 15 baby pellets and 3-4 small pellets.

I am now starting to increase feeding and start feeding Reef Roids weekly as my system now seems to be consuming all the NO3 and PO4 it generates, so happy days!

 

[vetteguy53081]

The answer will depend in tank size, type of occupants and number of occupants.
I feed 2-3 oz of frozen per day plus dry via Apex AFS in a 360 with 28 fish and 93 cube with 14 fish total feeding

 

[EmptyWallet]

I do 3 cubes in the morning and a good sized 'pinch' of flake food at night
plus a good pinch of 'Nori flakes' in the morning, and a good pinch of 'red algae' in the night

I would say I was overfeeding. 200 Gal DT

Moorish Idol, Yellow Tang, Blue Tang, 5x chromis, 2x clowns. All fish act starving but are fat and plump.

I think if your nutrient levels are within your target and your fish aren't suffering from obesity, your feeding the right amount