looking for a good pellet food.

dcforester1 · 07/21/2015, 09:10 PM

I have a variety of fish from tangs, wrasses, clowns, and damsels. all eat pretty much any frozen, and when I try pellets they will eat those as well. I have some small NLS pellets, but wanted to add some large. The issue I am having is the floating pellets go right down the drain. I have a Reefer 450, and I can tell you the surface skimming is unbelievable. LOL I was wondering if there was something between floating and sinking? I dont want to rely on using a ring, and when I use sinking it seems mostly the CUC gets them.

I am going on Vacation and going to be using a Eheim auto feeder
Any Ideas

TIA Derek

codyreed29 · 07/21/2015, 09:17 PM

I'm recently picked up some new life spectrum pellets fish like eat them and they sink. They float around in the flow of the tank a while but usually get picked off quickly.

There a small size pellet so everyone can eat them. Well my clown goby and shrimp goby never get a chance to eat them.

davocean · 07/21/2015, 10:12 PM

Agree NLS pellets are my choice too

Djturna4thakidz · 07/21/2015, 10:14 PM

Life Spectrum here too!

Neebles · 07/21/2015, 10:22 PM

Yep NLS!!

kenpau · 07/22/2015, 06:52 AM

NLS all the way, I do have the same problem with some of the 0.5mm pellets going down my drain to sump, then the 1.0mm tend to sink pretty quickly. However it's not a major problem and my fish love them.

scooter31707 · 07/22/2015, 06:55 AM

NLS Marine Formula. They are sinking pellets. You can always cut off your return pumps and powerheads to ensure they don't go down into the overflow.

smatter · 07/22/2015, 07:18 AM

Put a funnel with a piece of hose connected to it under your auto feeder. Place the end of the hose just under the waters surface. The pellets will slowly be dispensed without going down the drain.

droth335 · 07/22/2015, 07:43 AM

another option is to put your return pump on a timer to coincide with your auto feeder so the pump shuts off for about 30 minutes when the feeder goes off. Low tech but I've used this before and it works well.

anbosu · 07/22/2015, 08:55 AM

If you have enough surface agitation any pellet will sink.

davocean · 07/22/2015, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anbosu

If you have enough surface agitation any pellet will sink.

Pretty much agree, I have NLS pellets in my autofeeder, and that is placed far enough from overflow pellets sink before reaching it.
It's a great thing if you have anthia that require multiple daily feedings, and I don't have to sweat weekends away.

andrek787 · 07/22/2015, 12:28 PM

I use NewEra Marine Pellets and Grazer rings. They are made using low temperature\pressure process which makes then much more nutritious. I have been feeding NewEra for a couple of years in both FW and marine tanks. My fish could not be happier. My tangs and foxface are so spoiled they refuse to eat Ulva I have been growing for them in the fuge. I suggest you give it a try.

jason2459 · 07/22/2015, 01:48 PM

NLS Marine pellets mixed with NLS AlgaeMax pellets. I mix the two in a feeder that is scheduled 3x per day and programmed to shutdown my return pump and skimmer, then feed some kind of meaty foods 1-2x per day by hand and an algae sheet daily.

Pretty much every fish I've ever had and have has taken to NLS Marine very quickly if not right away including finicky Leopard Wrasses. I also like it has whole meaty foods as the first couple ingredients and not some meal or filler.

Ingredients: Whole Antarctic Krill, Whole Fish, Whole Wheat Flour, Ulva Seaweed, Chlorella Algae, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Kelp, Garlic, Alfalfa, Scallops, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Wakame Seaweed, Spinosum Seaweed, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate and Manganese Sulfate.

NLS AlgaeMax because it actually has an algae listed first and the first few ingredients plus a total of 9 of them. It's amazing how many herbivour/algae foods do not have some kind of algae listed first or even second but have some kind of meat based meal.

Ingredients: Algae; Chlorella, Ulva Seaweed, Red Seaweed, Kelp, Spirulina, Wakame Seaweed, Whole Antarctic Krill, Whole Fish, Eucheuma cottonii, Spinosum Seaweed, Chondrus crispus, Whole Wheat Flour, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Alfalfa, Astaxanthin, Capsanthin, Zeaxanthin, Vita

mathman7728 · 07/23/2015, 12:52 PM

New life finicky fish...i could not believe the difference it made in my Kole tang color (as well as the other fish) and even my disk coral (it catches the sinking pelts) . i feed a pinch 1 or 2x a day in addition to the typical frozen stuff.

zachfishman · 07/23/2015, 06:28 PM

New Era all the way!

jason2459 · 07/23/2015, 07:23 PM

Just checked out the new era pellets. I'm not sure I like the high moisture content and the ash content is high meaning less actual food and higher phosphates levels.

apcoleman · 07/23/2015, 08:27 PM

I run two types of pellets over my mixed reef in autofeeders. NLS 1.0mm pellets and the Neptune crossover diet. Like many I don't care for the new era pellets as they sink too quickly and my fish just ignore it.

Acrononomus · 07/23/2015, 08:36 PM

I use the spectrum pellets as well I use the 2mm ones w garlic and the 3mm ones for my big tangs.... They go crazy for them ! Great colors and very healthy

jason2459 · 07/23/2015, 08:38 PM

Wow, must be really big tangs to be feeding 3mm pellets. Naso's?

dcforester1 · 07/25/2015, 06:19 AM

Thanks for all the reply, and because I am a gadget guy I just ordered the auto feeder for my Apex, LOL I swear I will buy any crazy thing for that. I was using the Ehiem, but the clock was a pain to get to coincided with my Apex, and I dont have the mounting bracket, so a nice new feeder will be here Tues, and I will have the week to play with it until I am gone. I picked up some sinking and floating pellets, and I am going to try those.

In an unrelated question do people who use Larrys Reef Frenzy, do they rinse, and if I do am I wasting my money washing half the goods down the drain?

Thanks again RC

Derek

jason2459 · 07/25/2015, 07:50 AM

I had a ehiem timed with a timer shutting down my return for several years. The time on the ehiem would drift and have to reset it periodically.

I've also recently got an Apex and the AFS. It is noisey and amount fed can vary. But overall those things don't mater so much to me and I'm happy.

Here's a write up along with programming I did in a journal like thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...php?p=23858220

zachfishman · 07/25/2015, 08:03 AM

Can anyone recommend a good small pellet that actually sinks? I like the NLS 1mm pellet but they float for me unless I tap every single one of them down into the water...

usmc1812 · 11/25/2015, 06:51 PM

New Era all the way, NLS is garbage fouls up your water. This stuff breaks down and gets into everything, pumps, skimmer, etc. stopped using it three years ago and would not purchase again.

VWD · 11/25/2015, 07:04 PM

Life Spectrum here too.

heathlindner25 · 11/25/2015, 07:08 PM

Ocean Nutrition sink like little rocks,but they are soft if you squeeze them with your fingernail ....they come in a vacuum sealed bag awesome pellet food.

07/21/2015, 09:10 PM	#1
dcforester1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Boston Posts: 468	looking for a good pellet food. I have a variety of fish from tangs, wrasses, clowns, and damsels. all eat pretty much any frozen, and when I try pellets they will eat those as well. I have some small NLS pellets, but wanted to add some large. The issue I am having is the floating pellets go right down the drain. I have a Reefer 450, and I can tell you the surface skimming is unbelievable. LOL I was wondering if there was something between floating and sinking? I dont want to rely on using a ring, and when I use sinking it seems mostly the CUC gets them. I am going on Vacation and going to be using a Eheim auto feeder Any Ideas TIA Derek

07/21/2015, 09:17 PM	#2
codyreed29 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 892	I'm recently picked up some new life spectrum pellets fish like eat them and they sink. They float around in the flow of the tank a while but usually get picked off quickly. There a small size pellet so everyone can eat them. Well my clown goby and shrimp goby never get a chance to eat them. __________________ 27 Rimless cube DIY lights and sump mag 5 cad lights pls 100 jeabo rw4 jeabo dp4

07/21/2015, 10:12 PM	#3
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Agree NLS pellets are my choice too __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

07/21/2015, 10:22 PM	#5
Neebles Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 171	Yep NLS!! __________________ Working on building a reef Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 48" reef breeders photon (soon to be t5ho hybrid) 35g sump, gyre 150, wp-10, bubble magus curve 7. 2 10g qt tanks, 1 20g L post qt observation tank

07/22/2015, 06:52 AM	#6
kenpau Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: South Perth, Western Australia Posts: 844	NLS all the way, I do have the same problem with some of the 0.5mm pellets going down my drain to sump, then the 1.0mm tend to sink pretty quickly. However it's not a major problem and my fish love them. __________________ Current tank - 220 gallon mixed reef..Many thanks to Waterbox, Ecotech Marine, Neptune Systems, Pax Bellum, Nyos, Eheim and Hailea for creating my system..and making me poor!! Current Tank Info: 220 Gallon mixed reef

07/21/2015, 10:14 PM	#4
Djturna4thakidz Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 399	Life Spectrum here too!

07/22/2015, 06:55 AM	#7
scooter31707 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,971	NLS Marine Formula. They are sinking pellets. You can always cut off your return pumps and powerheads to ensure they don't go down into the overflow.

07/22/2015, 07:18 AM	#8
smatter Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,055	Put a funnel with a piece of hose connected to it under your auto feeder. Place the end of the hose just under the waters surface. The pellets will slowly be dispensed without going down the drain.

07/22/2015, 07:43 AM	#9
droth335 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Iowa Posts: 794	another option is to put your return pump on a timer to coincide with your auto feeder so the pump shuts off for about 30 minutes when the feeder goes off. Low tech but I've used this before and it works well. __________________ Dave Current Tank Info: 210 sps dominant reef: 40g sump, kalk,4 reefbreeder photon 32's ; 300DD mixed reef with 180 gallon sump, 4 Reefbreeder Photon 32's.

07/22/2015, 08:55 AM	#10
anbosu Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Mount Juliet, TN Posts: 4,528	If you have enough surface agitation any pellet will sink.

07/22/2015, 12:28 PM	#12
andrek787 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 378	I use NewEra Marine Pellets and Grazer rings. They are made using low temperature\pressure process which makes then much more nutritious. I have been feeding NewEra for a couple of years in both FW and marine tanks. My fish could not be happier. My tangs and foxface are so spoiled they refuse to eat Ulva I have been growing for them in the fuge. I suggest you give it a try. __________________ SCA starphire 150 gallon, custom Advanced Acrylics 50g sump, 3 x Hydra52 Hybrids, 2 x Gyre xf-150, 2 x Kessil A150 6700k fuge lights, ATI 250is Skimmer, Skimz RR-153 bio-pellet, Kore 5th Doser

07/22/2015, 01:48 PM	#13
jason2459 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,671	NLS Marine pellets mixed with NLS AlgaeMax pellets. I mix the two in a feeder that is scheduled 3x per day and programmed to shutdown my return pump and skimmer, then feed some kind of meaty foods 1-2x per day by hand and an algae sheet daily. Pretty much every fish I've ever had and have has taken to NLS Marine very quickly if not right away including finicky Leopard Wrasses. I also like it has whole meaty foods as the first couple ingredients and not some meal or filler. Ingredients: Whole Antarctic Krill, Whole Fish, Whole Wheat Flour, Ulva Seaweed, Chlorella Algae, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Kelp, Garlic, Alfalfa, Scallops, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Wakame Seaweed, Spinosum Seaweed, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate and Manganese Sulfate. NLS AlgaeMax because it actually has an algae listed first and the first few ingredients plus a total of 9 of them. It's amazing how many herbivour/algae foods do not have some kind of algae listed first or even second but have some kind of meat based meal. Ingredients: Algae; Chlorella, Ulva Seaweed, Red Seaweed, Kelp, Spirulina, Wakame Seaweed, Whole Antarctic Krill, Whole Fish, Eucheuma cottonii, Spinosum Seaweed, Chondrus crispus, Whole Wheat Flour, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Alfalfa, Astaxanthin, Capsanthin, Zeaxanthin, Vita __________________ rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. \| 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank Last edited by jason2459; 07/22/2015 at 01:54 PM.

07/23/2015, 12:52 PM	#14
mathman7728 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Gig Harbor, WA Posts: 230	New life finicky fish...i could not believe the difference it made in my Kole tang color (as well as the other fish) and even my disk coral (it catches the sinking pelts) . i feed a pinch 1 or 2x a day in addition to the typical frozen stuff.

07/23/2015, 06:28 PM	#15
zachfishman Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: St Petersburg, FL Posts: 3,577	New Era all the way! __________________ Patience is a reefer's best tool. Secret Xenia lover. M.S. Marine Biology Staff - Marine Discovery Center, St. Petersburg FL Tampa Bay Reef Club BOD 2018 Current Tank Info: 34g modded Solana

07/23/2015, 07:23 PM	#16
jason2459 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,671	Just checked out the new era pellets. I'm not sure I like the high moisture content and the ash content is high meaning less actual food and higher phosphates levels. __________________ rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. \| 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank

07/23/2015, 08:27 PM	#17
apcoleman Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NoVA Posts: 59	I run two types of pellets over my mixed reef in autofeeders. NLS 1.0mm pellets and the Neptune crossover diet. Like many I don't care for the new era pellets as they sink too quickly and my fish just ignore it.

07/23/2015, 08:36 PM	#18
Acrononomus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 173	I use the spectrum pellets as well I use the 2mm ones w garlic and the 3mm ones for my big tangs.... They go crazy for them ! Great colors and very healthy

07/23/2015, 08:38 PM	#19
jason2459 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,671	Wow, must be really big tangs to be feeding 3mm pellets. Naso's? __________________ rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. \| 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank

07/25/2015, 06:19 AM	#20
dcforester1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Boston Posts: 468	Thanks for all the reply, and because I am a gadget guy I just ordered the auto feeder for my Apex, LOL I swear I will buy any crazy thing for that. I was using the Ehiem, but the clock was a pain to get to coincided with my Apex, and I dont have the mounting bracket, so a nice new feeder will be here Tues, and I will have the week to play with it until I am gone. I picked up some sinking and floating pellets, and I am going to try those. In an unrelated question do people who use Larrys Reef Frenzy, do they rinse, and if I do am I wasting my money washing half the goods down the drain? Thanks again RC Derek

07/25/2015, 07:50 AM	#21
jason2459 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,671	I had a ehiem timed with a timer shutting down my return for several years. The time on the ehiem would drift and have to reset it periodically. I've also recently got an Apex and the AFS. It is noisey and amount fed can vary. But overall those things don't mater so much to me and I'm happy. Here's a write up along with programming I did in a journal like thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...php?p=23858220 __________________ rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. \| 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank

07/25/2015, 08:03 AM	#22
zachfishman Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: St Petersburg, FL Posts: 3,577	Can anyone recommend a good small pellet that actually sinks? I like the NLS 1mm pellet but they float for me unless I tap every single one of them down into the water... __________________ Patience is a reefer's best tool. Secret Xenia lover. M.S. Marine Biology Staff - Marine Discovery Center, St. Petersburg FL Tampa Bay Reef Club BOD 2018 Current Tank Info: 34g modded Solana

11/25/2015, 06:51 PM	#23
usmc1812 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 102	New Era all the way, NLS is garbage fouls up your water. This stuff breaks down and gets into everything, pumps, skimmer, etc. stopped using it three years ago and would not purchase again.

11/25/2015, 07:04 PM	#24
VWD Smelly fish Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Denham Springs, LA Posts: 262	Life Spectrum here too. __________________ Vince 120 RR Bare Bottom & 56 Bean animal connected to one sump. Life Reef external/blueline 40 HDX, Carbon reactor, GFO reactor, proton 48 led, 2 Kessils 160we tuna blue on 120 & 6 HQ t-5 on 56, b

11/25/2015, 07:08 PM	#25
heathlindner25 Moved On Join Date: May 2012 Location: flowery branch georgia Posts: 3,644	Ocean Nutrition sink like little rocks,but they are soft if you squeeze them with your fingernail ....they come in a vacuum sealed bag awesome pellet food.