Reef Roids - how often?

[ffoott]

Hello guys, 

 

I have a 12g coral only system (+ 1 small shrimp).

 

The corals are pretty small atm, zoas mainly. 

 

For the last month and a half I have been feeding them reef roids, with great results. 

 

I have been feeding them daily, with the recommended dose (eyeball measurements). 

 

Filtration-wise, I run filter pads, purigen, skimmer and a refugium. Trochus snails help too. 

 

Everything looks amazing. Corals look healthy, colorful and spreading. Algae is nowhere to be seen. 

 

Thing is...most people seem to feed much less often than I do. 

 

Wouldn't want to be running into any problems in the future by being overfeeding now. 

 

So, what would be a sign I might be over doing it? Besides zoas having wet dreams... 

[Lugmos12]

Billy Pipes has a nice tutorial on youtube about how to spot feed with Reef Roids effectively. Check it out.

[ffoott]

22 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said:

Billy Pipes has a nice tutorial on youtube about how to spot feed with Reef Roids effectively. Check it out.

I remember seeing that video...he mentions that he feeds them twice a week. 

 

That basically adds to my fear of being overfeeding the tank by giving it reef roids on a daily basis...

 

How often do you guys feed, and what do you look for to find that balance? 

[1891Bro]

I got a free sample with an online order. I’ve been broadcasting nearly everyday for the last few weeks. No idea about what the dosing should be for watervolume but if I gave an equal amount of cocaine to a newborn baby it’d still take a nap so not too much right? I also change nearly 60% water a week so maybe that helps too. No ill effects, yet. 

[Tamberav]

You don't have any fish so you can get away with feeding corals more often, I would probably just do it 2-3 times a week though. 

[chathurai]

once a week two days before water change 

[ffoott]

2 hours ago, chathurai said:

once a week two days before water change 

What's the reasoning behind this? 

[ffoott]

6 hours ago, Tamberav said:

You don't have any fish so you can get away with feeding corals more often, I would probably just do it 2-3 times a week though. 

Why 2-3 times a week? On what is that based? What would happen if I were to do it more often? 

[chathurai]

i do care lot about water quality ,i have fed two to three times per week but to be honest i don't see much difference with coral feeding ,

[HarryPotter]

I give a big pinch (three fingers!) twice a day. 

[bbetta]

I just bought reef roids too and want to know what everyone thinks. 

Tagging along 

[A Little Blue]

I’m not big on zoas but from what I’ve heard, they get their food mainly from photosynthetic zooxanthellaes but they do benefit from supplemental feeding. 

How much and how often, depends on your filtration ability to process waste and excess of nutritions dumped into your tank. It’s reasonable for some to be cautious with frequent feeding. Target feeding seems most efficient but could be time consuming. YMMV 

[Clown79]

With having fish i feed 1 time a week.

 

Without fish, I'd do 2-3 times a Week

 

What happens with over feeding: if the corals don't use up the food- high nutrients and algae

[Tamberav]

6 hours ago, ffoott said:

Why 2-3 times a week? On what is that based? What would happen if I were to do it more often? 

Its just a good starting point for a person without fish, if you do it often you could spike your phosphates. Food still breaks down into Nitrate and Phosphate.

 

If you want a reasoning on 'how much'... every tank is different and you need to buy a low range phosphorous checker and (a nitrate test kit would be helpful too) to know if you are overfeeding. 

 

[markalot]

14 hours ago, ffoott said:

Hello guys, 

 

I have a 12g coral only system (+ 1 small shrimp).

 

The corals are pretty small atm, zoas mainly. 

 

For the last month and a half I have been feeding them reef roids, with great results. 

 

I have been feeding them daily, with the recommended dose (eyeball measurements). 

 

Filtration-wise, I run filter pads, purigen, skimmer and a refugium. Trochus snails help too. 

 

Everything looks amazing. Corals look healthy, colorful and spreading. Algae is nowhere to be seen. 

 

Thing is...most people seem to feed much less often than I do. 

 

Wouldn't want to be running into any problems in the future by being overfeeding now. 

 

So, what would be a sign I might be over doing it? Besides zoas having wet dreams... 

 

If it's working keep on the schedule and don't change, period.  Only you know your tank and what it can take.  IMO if something bad were to happen it would have happened already.

[ffoott]

5 hours ago, A Little Blue said:

I’m not big on zoas but from what I’ve heard, they get their food mainly from photosynthetic zooxanthellaes but they do benefit from supplemental feeding. 

How much and how often, depends on your filtration ability to process waste and excess of nutritions dumped into your tank. It’s reasonable for some to be cautious with frequent feeding. Target feeding seems most efficient but could be time consuming. YMMV 

I certainly won't argue with the fact that photosynthesis plays an important part in their energy production, but looking at their morphology, IMO its clear they are "built" to feed on something. 

 

As for the correct amount, that's kinda the point that I'm trying to get validated (or not): that there can't be no set rule when it comes to feeding coral. As far as I can tell, most living being in our reefs would benefit from a nutrient rich environment, as opposed to a nutrient scarce one - provided the unused portion be dealt with appropriately. 

[ffoott]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

Its just a good starting point for a person without fish, if you do it often you could spike your phosphates. Food still breaks down into Nitrate and Phosphate.

 

If you want a reasoning on 'how much'... every tank is different and you need to buy a low range phosphorous checker and (a nitrate test kit would be helpful too) to know if you are overfeeding. 

 

I, sir, do not believe in test kits xD

 

[A Little Blue]

31 minutes ago, ffoott said:

I certainly won't argue with the fact that photosynthesis plays an important part in their energy production, but looking at their morphology, IMO its clear they are "built" to feed on something. 

 

As for the correct amount, that's kinda the point that I'm trying to get validated (or not): that there can't be no set rule when it comes to feeding coral. As far as I can tell, most living being in our reefs would benefit from a nutrient rich environment, as opposed to a nutrient scarce one - provided the unused portion be dealt with appropriately. 

I think you should try reading my post again. I didn’t advocate for “0” feeding and recommended feeding regiment that wouldn’t stress your filtration ability to process waste and over saturation of nutritions. How much food/nutrients is appropriate is debatable but honestly, it is irrelevant since you and we don’t know your aquarium’s ability to process nutrients/waste. 

[ffoott]

1 hour ago, A Little Blue said:

I think you should try reading my post again. I didn’t advocate for “0” feeding and recommended feeding regiment that wouldn’t stress your filtration ability to process waste and over saturation of nutritions. How much food/nutrients is appropriate is debatable but honestly, it is irrelevant since you and we don’t know your aquarium’s ability to process nutrients/waste. 

Neither did I say you did, friend. Just defending my view that direct feeding probably has a bigger impact than what some refers assume. 

 

Although one probably can't pinpoint with 100% certainty an exact value, one can certainly deduce it by paying close attention to the effects on the tank. 

[Clown79]

There are many hobbiests that don't directly  feed their tanks at all and have success as well as though that do feed their tanks.

 

There's no 100% correct answer to the question.

 

 

[Tamberav]

2 hours ago, ffoott said:

I, sir, do not believe in test kits xD

 

Well....  I don't know enough about your tank or is chemistry to give you a perfect answer, just a guideline soo I am not sure what you are looking for.

 

If you are trying to say people don't feed as much as you.... well people do... they feed the fish daily or 2x a day or more which also feeds the corals... both via the food they are directly adding and fish poop.

 

 

 

[ffoott]

I am trying to get a feel for the feeding habits and reasons behind them. That's basically it. 

 

Thinking about what people have said helped conclude that is a coral only tank, the system can and possibly should be fed more often than a system that has fish in it. 

 

At least in the research I had done thus far, that significant difference hasn't made obvious...possible because coral only systems are rare. Most tips or guidelines of X times per week or Y dosage was having a full reef system in mind. 

 

 

[ffoott]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

There are many hobbiests that don't directly  feed their tanks at all and have success as well as though that do feed their tanks.

 

There's no 100% correct answer to the question.

 

 

Yes...but I can say with a comfortable amount of certainty that sucesfull tanks where the corals are not directly fed DO have fish in them, which do get fed. 

 

A coral only system attempting to thrive only on light, would not go far. Feeding, in that case, would be a must. 

[Red_Blenny]

I have an almost coral-only system; I just have a mated pair cleaner shrimps but I recently banished them into my refugium box. Still, I've been fishless for about 2+ years and I only had the pair of the shrimps for about 4 months already. 

 

Before or with the shrimps, I feed my corals twice a week (I use LRS Nano Frenzy though).

[A Little Blue]

Hopefully this was included in your research.

Fish or no fish makes no difference if you can measure it.