feeding question

[darkslayer414]

so ive had my tank for a little over a year now...it's a reef tank with only about 5 fish in it...it's a 90 gal dt with a 55 ref
the fish i have are
1 flame angel
2 green chromis
1 anthias
1 diamond goby
2 black and white clowns...i have only been feeding them 2 times a week...but i have been reading on here a lot of people feed there fish daily...my fish seem healthy and i havnt had any die due to starvation...so am i ok with just 2 feedings a week? or is there an advantage to feeding daily...?
ps...i also only feed my corals 2 times a week and again no problems with starvation

 

[ryancw01]

Well, if you have a 55 gallon refugium I would imagine that is a big part of their food source. Do you have a lot of live rock in the tank for places for coepods and such to hide? The Flame and the gobies will be fine, but not sure about the anthia and the chromis as they get their food from the water column and typically require feedings of twice per day. I have an anthia and I don't follow that though. I am running about the same stock list and feed every other day. My fuge is only about 20 gallons though and my tank is 65...

 

[jackri]

If it is working for you I would say it's fine -- but I know anthias have special feeding requirements which make them more than a "beginner" fish. Don't fix something that's not broken but I would look more into the anthias recommended diet and from there decide.
Also what are you feeding when you do feed?
I feed daily in my 90g reef because I like to watch them eat, feel corals get more nutrients that way, and I have a massive clean up crew.

 

[oceana]

it is not bad. i feed three times a week. mon wed and fridays. I have a much bigger load then you do however

 

[lion_crazz]

I would say that your tank should be okay with twice a week feedings, unless you notice your fish getting thin and caved in.
What do your nitrates sit at? Could you afford to increase feedings if you wanted to?

 

[oneradtek]

i think if you have a strong filtration system. such as a good skimmer and lots a of LR and refugium, then you should feed everyday because po4's are needed somewhat to maintain coral health and color. my corals have been not as bright and i tested my po4 levels. they were .015, almost too low! there is such a thing IME of a too clean tank. ive increased feeding amounts

 

[darkslayer414]

to answer everyone...
i have about 200 pounds of LR between the 2 tanks...my refugium is my copod breeding ground, i put at least 30 pounds of my smallest LR in there just so they can breed....i have cheeto in the other half of my refugium and it grows great...and i have an ASM g3 skimmer rated for 250gal...my nitrites for some reason are never 0 though and i don't know why...but they never get high at all always in check so my corals are very healthy...
my main problem that i didnt' think of until just now is my cuc...it's VERY small....3 turbo snails and MAYBE 20 nass snails..and uh thats it hahah....any suggestions on how many more and of what i should get? i have an extra $100 that i can blow on a cuc if required

 

[darkslayer414]

any advice on a new/more clean-up crew?

 

[oceana]

how does your tank look??? if you dont have algaes all over the place and your sand stays clean then no you dont. i think some people go crazy on the clean up crew stuff.
out of 1300+ gallons i would say i have around 200 turbos and maybe 50 various hermits. tanks stay spotless.

 

[darkslayer414]

well my crushed coral bed and rocks will usually get a small layer of what looks like silt or a very very light brown algae...i have to either use a powerhead or my hand and wave off all of it so it goes up into my overflow and down to my skimmer.
any suggestions on fixing this? maybe more snails? if so what kind?

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by darkslayer414
http:///forum/post/2997470
well my crushed coral bed and rocks will usually get a small layer of what looks like silt or a very very light brown algae...i have to either use a powerhead or my hand and wave off all of it so it goes up into my overflow and down to my skimmer.
any suggestions on fixing this? maybe more snails? if so what kind?
Toss in several sand sifters. Also the light brown almost rust color on the sand and or rocks will be diatoms which are normally caused by a combination of to much nutrients in the tank and or dead spots due to inadequate flow.
my favorite sand sifting snails are Nassarius Snails. when i feed the tanks the sand looks like its boiling as they all rush to the surface lol.
if you want to keep the tanks interesting think about adding a sand sifting goby. they so a GREAT job BUT be warned they are kown to kind of make a mess by dropping sand on everything.

 

[oceana]

OH CRAP. just saw you said crushed coral. do yourself a huge favor. do everything i said above AND remove that crushed coral and replace with carib sand asap.
you dont have to tear apart your reef to do this. and you dont have to buy live sand so it is not an expensive change. the +'s far out weigh the -'s
go buy a big bag a dry carib sand at your LFS or online.
(they only cost around 40 bucks)
to make the switch with minimal disruption in your tank devide your tank into three parts. remove one section and fill in with sand. wait a few days then repeat until all 3 section are done. i also recomend putting a good size bag of activated charcoal in your sump or over flow to help with any excess nutrients that will be disturbed during the move.
another way to do this is to remove all of the crushed coral in one shot. (atleast as much as you can) depending on tank size and age it can be hard to get it all out from under the rock formations. toss in your sand and call it a day. the trick to doing it this way is instead of tossing out the coral place it in filter media bags and put them in your sump for a few weeks until the sand can "populate" well enough to be able to take over the bio filtration. after around 10 days begin to remove the crushed coral a bit at a time from the sump until its all gone.