To Dose or not to Dose?

[Funktastic Wint]

You are contradicting yourself. You JUST said "SPS can survive completely off of Photosynthesis" and then agreed with somebody who said that "Feeding, water changes, dosing not necessary unless you've got hard stuff".

 

You need to shut up.

 

you need to go kill yourself and stop breathing my air.

 

you have such little experience and claim to know soooo much.

i used to run an entire fish store. i know more about coral and fish than you will ever know.

 

fishless systems with no feeding def need to have daily doses with coral food and other supplements.

end of story.

[herranton]

you need to go kill yourself and stop breathing my air.

 

you have such little experience and claim to know soooo much.

i used to run an entire fish store. i know more about coral and fish than you will ever know.

 

fishless systems with no feeding def need to have daily doses with coral food and other supplements.

end of story.

Wow, lot of animosity.

 

You ran an entire fish store. Good for you. We all know how good their advice is.

 

Supplimenting coral food will benifit the corals if you don't crash the tank first, which is easy to do with a pico. You shouldn't add stuff to the tank unless you need it. zoas and paly may benifit, but to say they need it is a strech

[paneubert]

OK guys....Funktastic said we are done. So no more commenting. He ran an ENTIRE store on his own...all before the age of 16. So he is the one true source and all your experiences are invalid since he ran a store. His store running experience means he knows all since he had to go to a school that trained him for 5 years (it was a lot like Medical School, but more INTENSE) before he was allowed to run the store. So there you go.....

 

 

All in good fun Just trying to show that everyone has different experiences and different levels of commitment to their stance. Sounds like Funktastic is set in his opinion....so no more need to comment.

[beau13]

Just because you ran a fish store doesn't mean you know everything, and there are many reefers on here that have beautiful tanks that are living proof that you don't need to dose. Everything is a case by case example, and you need to just chill and stop thinking you know everything. Maybe somethings, but not everything. You can't argue with the evidence. Well, you can, but you would be stupid to do so because I have a tank sitting in my living room that says you are wrong.

[Funktastic Wint]

Just because you ran a fish store doesn't mean you know everything, and there are many reefers on here that have beautiful tanks that are living proof that you don't need to dose. Everything is a case by case example, and you need to just chill and stop thinking you know everything. Maybe somethings, but not everything. You can't argue with the evidence. Well, you can, but you would be stupid to do so because I have a tank sitting in my living room that says you are wrong.

 

and how big is said tank?

[beau13]

28 gallons all told. Skimmerless, doseless, with 2 PAR38 LEDS, and 18 pounds of live rock.

[Funktastic Wint]

28 gallons all told. Skimmerless, doseless, with 2 PAR38 LEDS, and 18 pounds of live rock.

 

28 gallons will be fine. i dont know what ur trying to prove here. i dont dose my 30 gallon tank either. its completely irrelevant to this question on pico dosing and coral food.

[bensanders]

you need to go kill yourself and stop breathing my air.

 

You're a child.

 

you have such little experience and claim to know soooo much.

i used to run an entire fish store. i know more about coral and fish than you will ever know.

 

First off, I never claimed to know anything, I was just pointing out your stupid contradictions so the OP could judge for themselves what to believe. Secondly, you sound even more like a child.

 

 

You ran an entire fish store. Good for you. We all know how good their advice is.

 

Exactly.

[herranton]

28 gallons will be fine. i dont know what ur trying to prove here. i dont dose my 30 gallon tank either. its completely irrelevant to this question on pico dosing and coral food.

Yes, The OP is asking if he\she should dose AB and coral food. This signifies that he/she is probably new to reefs. It is irresponsible to recommend dosing a noobs pico when everything is fine and dandy in the pico currently. If/When they have problems, then we can talk about dosing/feeding

[Mr. Microscope]

Supplementing coral food will benefit the corals if you don't crash the tank first, which is easy to do with a pico. You shouldn't add stuff to the tank unless you need it.

This is very true and is probably to biggest battle of owning a pico, A.K.A., "Stability". Nutrients build up and water quality declines fast. Hence, it is always a fight between having a healthy system and a desert. You need to find a balance between the two. Fish are a big part of the reef ecosystem. Our, "pico" ecosystems are devoid of two things, fish, and lots of water. If you want to keep corals happy, you either need to have remarkable biological filtration and be able to get away with small water changes, or you need to feed the tank followed by heavy water changes. I'm seeing most successful pico owners using the latter.

[Funktastic Wint]

You're a child.

 

 

 

First off, I never claimed to know anything, I was just pointing out your stupid contradictions so the OP could judge for themselves what to believe. Secondly, you sound even more like a child.

 

 

 

 

Exactly.

 

how old are you? 100?

[brandon429]

The reason nonfed tanks don't die immediately is because photosynthesis and internal benthic life populations recycle each other for a while untill time runs out. without protein input in some way, in addition to photosynthesis, all reef life will die.

 

 

without the exact protein needs being met, corals will die and the specialty diet requirements grow the higher up the food chain in a tank. lack of feeding is the #1 decline reason for all current pico reefs because people assume you have to feed them lightly or not at all to avoid pollution. the solution to that is simple, you just feed the tank really super heavy and then change out all the water a few hours later. Everything in the tank eats abundantly, and the bioload is not impacted because full water changes take as long as ineffective 30% ones. all this science is directed at pico reefs, not 14 gallon reefs they are different beasts due to 400% water volume increases.

 

its one way of meeting the total energy demands of the pico reef without over polluting, the combined feeding with a full water change. there are other ways, pj86 has a great approach. his tanks are the highest fed pico systems Ive ever seen anywhere.

 

 

additionally, look up what the products of photosynthesis are and this will tell you why more is needed for a reef system to live. living organisms are so many more thousand times the products of photosynthesis alone~

 

protein recycling can't be lacking or the reef will die, sugars and oxygen can't make all the compounds needed for life and living mass.

[Drewlonius]

Haha was out of town and had no idea i started a royal rumble, i am a newb when it comes to Pico's the smallest tank ive had was a Red sea max the biggest was a 120. I currently have no fish but would like to get a clown gobi in the future but would like my Zoa farm first. I might get that oyster feast or whatever it was mentioned earlier and just start putting a lil tiny bit in once a week if things look like there heading south ill stop. Thanx for all the input im glad i can count on this site Picos rock and im so excited.

Drew

[7digits]

you need to go kill yourself and stop breathing my air.

 

you have such little experience and claim to know soooo much.

i used to run an entire fish store. i know more about coral and fish than you will ever know.

 

fishless systems with no feeding def need to have daily doses with coral food and other supplements.

end of story.

[anemone fan]

From a cnidariologist (myself), the coral isn't photosynthesizing, the zooxanthellae are. The zooxanthellae leak sugars to the coral, which the coral can live off of for a while. Corals need to find alternative ways to obtain proteins usually through feeding or absorbing nutrients (not to be confused with nitrates/phosphates) from the water. I've never had a pico, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like it may be necessary to "dose" (feed) the tank every once in a while. My suggestion would be to place a few pieces of cyclopeeze in a day, not much at all. That should add plenty of proteins. If you actually feed LPS or a fish in your tank, the waste from that will be enough. Hope that helps OP.

[7digits]

You should feed them, occasionally. I would suggest getting some Coral Frenzy, following the instructions, and get some nassarus snails to clean up whatever makes it to the sand. It takes very little of the stuff. You will probably be feeding 1/10th teaspoon a week. Sound advice here. Do you need to FEED coral? No, but they will be happier if they get some food every once in a while. Just make sure you have the critters to clean up the rest. Do you need to DOSE chemicals in the tank? No, just do waterchanges weekly, unless you go to stony corals.

[evanski]

There is NOTHING on the planet that can live by photosynthesis alone. Trace minerals, essential lipid/amino acids, flavenoids, etc. are mandatory for life.

 

As Brandon said, the corals on a new tank can live for awhile on nutrients present in the small ecosystem, but pretty soon you run out of requisite nutrients and you go from grow-slow grow-static-dead.

 

Obviously, you CAN get some of the trace minerals from water changes, and fish contribute much of this on their own as waste. In a fish free system, you WILL need to feed SOMETHING.

 

In terms of dosing chemicals, it will depend on your bio-load, Ca requirements, etc. You may get by with water changes. SPS-heavy and clams might require additional Ca and Alk (AB) dosing. Do not dose what you are not testing for...recipe for disaster.

 

And guys, loosen up and grow up. It's a hobby, yes? Listen to those with experience (Brandon, Micro, etc.), and try to minimize the cannibalization.

[el fabuloso]

And guys, loosen up and grow up. It's a hobby, yes? Listen to those with experience (Brandon, Micro, etc.), and try to minimize the cannibalization.

Well said and I see plenty of great advice on this thread. Remember to keep an open mind and try to use constructive criticism whenever possible.