When to feed What?

21Reefman · 02/23/2006, 12:49 PM

I was curious as to when to feed what size food? I have a few heavily stocked mixed reefs.
To feed, I have; marine snow, phytoplankton (DT's, &Bioplankton), rotifers (phytofeast), Cypopeeze (frozen), zooplankton (frozen), and frozen brine/mysis mixes like marine cuisine and emerald entree.

So, my question(s); Should I feed small particle foods, like phytoplankton in the morning or evening?
Is there any sequence of food particle size that occurs in the ocean?
When all the micro-organisms come out at night, are they stirring nutrients up into the water column,
or removing nutrients, so that suspended food has been consumed by morning?
*When does the fluctuation of heat from day to night cause the currents to bring nutrient rich upwellings up from deep water?*
When do the larger zooplankton tend to be actively presented as food for the reefs?
Is it best to feed small and then later feed larger particles or vice-versa?

All that being presented, I will say how I tend to feed; I used to feed 2X a day, now days I'm down to 1X every few days, or 1X per day. I usually feed the smallest particle size first as to get my turbastea to open, I give it some time to simmer, and for the food to be absorbed (no return/skimmer), Then I put in some cyclopeeze followed by a cube of either the marine cuisine or emerald entree (this is for the fish). If I have time/ambition I feed zooplankton directly to the sun-corals via XL syringe (I got it from a bar, it was filled with liquor and holds like 3 shots) I sometimes have cyclopeeze and phyto in the syringe as well. I hit the favia and blasto's with this also. They love It!

I was starting to build up too many nutrients from all the food but, I stayed on top of things and now parameters are perfect again. It took some serious house cleaning but should be done regularly anyway. I get away with feeding every few days because I took out the fish in one tank. The other tank that still has fish is fed 1x per day, most days. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

I know that my ecosystem would benefit most, from a constant supply of the right amount of phyto but, an auto doser just is not on the horizon yet. So until then what would be your suggestions on; When to Feed What??

02/23/2006, 12:49 PM	#1
21Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Chicago/NW IN Posts: 403	When to feed What? I was curious as to when to feed what size food? I have a few heavily stocked mixed reefs. To feed, I have; marine snow, phytoplankton (DT's, &Bioplankton), rotifers (phytofeast), Cypopeeze (frozen), zooplankton (frozen), and frozen brine/mysis mixes like marine cuisine and emerald entree. So, my question(s); Should I feed small particle foods, like phytoplankton in the morning or evening? Is there any sequence of food particle size that occurs in the ocean? When all the micro-organisms come out at night, are they stirring nutrients up into the water column, or removing nutrients, so that suspended food has been consumed by morning? When does the fluctuation of heat from day to night cause the currents to bring nutrient rich upwellings up from deep water? When do the larger zooplankton tend to be actively presented as food for the reefs? Is it best to feed small and then later feed larger particles or vice-versa? All that being presented, I will say how I tend to feed; I used to feed 2X a day, now days I'm down to 1X every few days, or 1X per day. I usually feed the smallest particle size first as to get my turbastea to open, I give it some time to simmer, and for the food to be absorbed (no return/skimmer), Then I put in some cyclopeeze followed by a cube of either the marine cuisine or emerald entree (this is for the fish). If I have time/ambition I feed zooplankton directly to the sun-corals via XL syringe (I got it from a bar, it was filled with liquor and holds like 3 shots) I sometimes have cyclopeeze and phyto in the syringe as well. I hit the favia and blasto's with this also. They love It! I was starting to build up too many nutrients from all the food but, I stayed on top of things and now parameters are perfect again. It took some serious house cleaning but should be done regularly anyway. I get away with feeding every few days because I took out the fish in one tank. The other tank that still has fish is fed 1x per day, most days. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I know that my ecosystem would benefit most, from a constant supply of the right amount of phyto but, an auto doser just is not on the horizon yet. So until then what would be your suggestions on; When to Feed What??