How to rinse frozen food

HDAlien · 09/12/2007, 08:58 AM

I've been reading about frozen food packing phosphates. I've been just dissolving the food in tank water and then feeding, is there a better method? Is this still a problem if you make your own food? I've been considering Melev's recipe.

Bebo77 · 09/12/2007, 09:00 AM

there are some things that you cant control.. from my understanding flake food has the most phosphates... but hey.. fish have to eat...

RichConley · 09/12/2007, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bebo77
there are some things that you cant control.. from my understanding flake food has the most phosphates... but hey.. fish have to eat...

Bebo, I keep hearing that flake has tons of phosphate, but no one can ever point me to anything credible that says so. I'm of the opinon that its no more than "reef myth" at this point.

I dont wash food. If you wash it, you're washing away all the stuff that corals can eat. I also feed about 5 times what your average reefer does.

Run a big skimmer, and don't worry about washing food.

SDguy · 09/12/2007, 09:04 AM

I thaw all food in water (tank or DI, doesn't really matter. Pour off/drain. Repeat. For really messy stuff like PE mysis, I'll repeat this several times. I prefer this method over simply rinsing in a net because this way I also pour off small pieces that probably wouldn't be eaten anyway, but that a fine net would still not allow to pass.

As for flake, I just add it to a large cup of water. Stir. Let sit for a few minutes. Use airline like a straw to suck up just the flakes, very little of the water, and add to tank. Leaves behind a lot of pink colored water

I do this same thing even if I soaked the flake in selcon or vitachem first.

hth

Edit...I'm not a fan of *hoping* some coral in my tank will *eat* PE mysis juice.

Gdevine · 09/12/2007, 09:11 AM

I don't rinse my frozen food as this will wash away a lot of the added vitamins that the mfg adds to the food.

Instead I use a decanting method. It's simple really, I just place the frozen food in a non soap cleaned glass and let it defrost.

I then take the underside of a spoon and drain (or decanter) the juice that runs off the defrosted food. I will even use the spoon to press the defrosted food against the side of the glass to get even more juice out of the food.

I then dose the food with some garlic and additional vitamins and let sit overnight in the frig.

Feed the next day by adding a little tank water to the glass to suspend the food and pour into the tank...and fish go nuts!

No phosphate problems and happy and healthy fish

HDAlien · 09/12/2007, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Run a big skimmer, and don't worry about washing food.

Sweet! I just justified the Reeflo Orca skimmer I ordered

09/12/2007, 08:58 AM	#1
HDAlien Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 476	How to rinse frozen food I've been reading about frozen food packing phosphates. I've been just dissolving the food in tank water and then feeding, is there a better method? Is this still a problem if you make your own food? I've been considering Melev's recipe. __________________ ¡ʞuɐʇ ʎɯ ǝʌo1 ı Current Tank Info: 220 gal. reef

09/12/2007, 09:00 AM	#2
Bebo77 Premium Nonpaying Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lost Posts: 14,377	there are some things that you cant control.. from my understanding flake food has the most phosphates... but hey.. fish have to eat... __________________ Gabriel Current Tank Info: 300 Gal Envision Tank(98Lx30Wx26T) 120 Gal SoCalCreations Sump, Deltec TC2560, 2 LumenarcsMini 1 Reg on a light mover W Radiums 250& 400, Gallaxy ballasts, Red Dragon 10m3 return W/ 2 WavySeas, 2 6155 Tunze streams

09/12/2007, 09:04 AM	#4
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	I thaw all food in water (tank or DI, doesn't really matter. Pour off/drain. Repeat. For really messy stuff like PE mysis, I'll repeat this several times. I prefer this method over simply rinsing in a net because this way I also pour off small pieces that probably wouldn't be eaten anyway, but that a fine net would still not allow to pass. As for flake, I just add it to a large cup of water. Stir. Let sit for a few minutes. Use airline like a straw to suck up just the flakes, very little of the water, and add to tank. Leaves behind a lot of pink colored water I do this same thing even if I soaked the flake in selcon or vitachem first. hth Edit...I'm not a fan of hoping some coral in my tank will eat PE mysis juice. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT. Last edited by SDguy; 09/12/2007 at 09:19 AM.

09/12/2007, 09:11 AM	#5
Gdevine Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 1,232	I don't rinse my frozen food as this will wash away a lot of the added vitamins that the mfg adds to the food. Instead I use a decanting method. It's simple really, I just place the frozen food in a non soap cleaned glass and let it defrost. I then take the underside of a spoon and drain (or decanter) the juice that runs off the defrosted food. I will even use the spoon to press the defrosted food against the side of the glass to get even more juice out of the food. I then dose the food with some garlic and additional vitamins and let sit overnight in the frig. Feed the next day by adding a little tank water to the glass to suspend the food and pour into the tank...and fish go nuts! No phosphate problems and happy and healthy fish __________________ What's good having a monkey if you can't play with it? Current Tank Info: 65g Mixed Reef - 35g Fuge - EcoSystem Method Last edited by Gdevine; 09/12/2007 at 09:25 AM.