Reef Roids - how often?

[Red_Blenny]

7 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Hopefully this was included in your research.

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

+1. Even though I feed twice a week, I bought an alk test kit and it turns out my alk was pretty low. Some of my corals were receding due to low alk and no amount of feeding can save tissue recession. 

 

One example is my Australophyllia wilsoni; when I first had him, he was happy and puffy. By the 3rd month of having him, even with feeding, he shrunk up and skeletons were showing. I figured, maybe he wants more food so I add more food and nope, did not eat. Once I bought an alk kit, I found out my alk was dangerously low (like 6.5dKh). I fixed my alk problem and now my wilsoni happy.

 

In fact, some of my other corals, like the micro lords, has exploded in growth (and coloration) thanks to fixing my alk problem. Sure feeding did give it some growth but once I raised my alk to 8.5-9dKh, they're growing and puffing up like crazy. Did feeding help? Possibly, but water chemistry is pretty damn important too. Heck, if I continued just feeding my wilsoni without fixing my alk, I'm pretty sure that coral wouldn't survive by month 4 (and beyond).

 

 

 

 

 

[ffoott]

1 hour ago, A Little Blue said:

Hopefully this was included in your research.

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

It did not, thank you for the information. 

 

I will have to read it more thoughtfully when I am less tired, but from what I understood, it does not exclude the idea that in a coral only system, where nutrients are scarse, feeding said nutrients is important for their good health and metabolism. Feel free to correct me ofc. 

 

The article talks about photosynthesis and how alkalinity impacts it. 

 

When we talk about feeding the coral, it's basically a different venue by which the coral can get its energy from. They don't conflict, they complement. 

[A Little Blue]

9 minutes ago, ffoott said:

It did not, thank you for the information. 

 

I will have to read it more thoughtfully when I am less tired, but from what I understood, it does not exclude the idea that in a coral only system, where nutrients are scarse, feeding said nutrients is important for their good health and metabolism. Feel free to correct me ofc. 

You’re correct. But you’re missing my point. Regardless what approach you choose and frequency of supplementing/feeding routine, your tank’ filtration must be up to it (I assume you know consequences of overfeeding, insufficient filtration system and poor maintenance). If your tank is up to the task and it can handle extra amount of nutrients/supplements then great. There are ways to measure it but most prefer conservative approach by occasional supplements+food that suits their tank/filtration/species of corals and fish. (Without risk of crashing the tank or taking water parameters to dangerous levels)

You can increase photosynthesis period (within reason), intensity of light and Alk to promote faster growth (corral dependent).  I’m not advising you to try it just something I read. And yes, corals are animals and need food. How much food is debatable and varies from one tank to the next. So what works for me might not work for you and vice verse. 

So yes, feed your corals as much as your system can handle but getting prefixed formula is close to impossible for someone not familiar with your setup/routine to suggest. 

Cheers