feeding time

markvo · 10/06/2011, 01:40 PM

I understand a lot of the technical details of a reef aquarium but I am very short of practical knowledge. I have a controller and it can be setup to shut things down during feeding time. What I don't know is what I should shut down. I would think the return pump needs to keep running while feeding but I'm not sure. While the flow in the tank is going, the food gets moved around but wouldn't it just settle on the bottom otherwise? Am I supposed to turn off the skimmer? I guess it depends on whether I'm trying to feed the corals or fish and what kind they are.

Is there anything written about feed cycles that I could look at?

WetShepherd · 10/06/2011, 03:00 PM

Lots of opinion threads but I haven't seen anything official stickied. It would be great but probably difficult given all the different types of fish, food and preferences. I've been figuring it out as I go along - but in a nutshell, I solve any 'food caught in the flow' issues by feeding slowly to ensure the fish/shrimp clean it all up as it goes in. Otherwise I set my MP10 to feed mode (slows the main flow of the tank down but keeps the food suspended).

thegrun · 10/06/2011, 03:22 PM

I turn off my return pump during feeding as to avoid sucking the food down the overflow into the sump before the fish can eat it. I leave the powerheads on to distribute the food throughout the tank.

markvo · 10/06/2011, 06:39 PM

Thanks. It makes sense to stop the return pump and leave the other flow on slow. But I also have my filtration reactors running off a manifold connected to the return pump output.

I was originally going to have a separate pump running the reactors but was talked into ganging them with the return. I may be okay if I stop the CO2 regulator and let the reactors also stop.

10/06/2011, 01:40 PM	#1
markvo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Tigard, OR. Posts: 43	feeding time I understand a lot of the technical details of a reef aquarium but I am very short of practical knowledge. I have a controller and it can be setup to shut things down during feeding time. What I don't know is what I should shut down. I would think the return pump needs to keep running while feeding but I'm not sure. While the flow in the tank is going, the food gets moved around but wouldn't it just settle on the bottom otherwise? Am I supposed to turn off the skimmer? I guess it depends on whether I'm trying to feed the corals or fish and what kind they are. Is there anything written about feed cycles that I could look at?

10/06/2011, 03:00 PM	#2
WetShepherd Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 522 Blog Entries: 5	Lots of opinion threads but I haven't seen anything official stickied. It would be great but probably difficult given all the different types of fish, food and preferences. I've been figuring it out as I go along - but in a nutshell, I solve any 'food caught in the flow' issues by feeding slowly to ensure the fish/shrimp clean it all up as it goes in. Otherwise I set my MP10 to feed mode (slows the main flow of the tank down but keeps the food suspended). __________________ (see blog for pics) 55g Tank (48" x 13" x 21") /c 60lbs LR & 60lbs Sand 2 MP10w 1 Koralia 425 PH, 3 Reef Brite LED Bars, 15g Sump Tunze DOC Skimmer 9002 and 2 150w Eheim Jager Heater @ 78.5 degrees

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10/06/2011, 03:22 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I turn off my return pump during feeding as to avoid sucking the food down the overflow into the sump before the fish can eat it. I leave the powerheads on to distribute the food throughout the tank.

10/06/2011, 06:39 PM	#4
markvo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Tigard, OR. Posts: 43	Thanks. It makes sense to stop the return pump and leave the other flow on slow. But I also have my filtration reactors running off a manifold connected to the return pump output. I was originally going to have a separate pump running the reactors but was talked into ganging them with the return. I may be okay if I stop the CO2 regulator and let the reactors also stop.