Feeding your stony corals...

Discussion in 'Unique Corals' started by Unique Corals, Feb 6, 2014.

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  1. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

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    heh, I don't actually feed the acropora the Mysis, just the "juices."

    Also, I was told you have some of Dan Rigle's red a. abrotanoides. Do you have any photos of older frags on stock?
     
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  3. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    Great info. Assuming parameters are in check, what would you recommend for reducing skimmer time? (12 hrs/day,ect.)
     
  4. Unique Corals

    Unique Corals 3reef Sponsor

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    Good job!

    I don't have any of the DR Abros at the moment...getting new stuff from Dan next week, but I don't think he has any ready at the moment...

    -Scott
     
  5. Unique Corals

    Unique Corals 3reef Sponsor

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    I'd try running the skimmer only at night...then maybe just back off to four days a week, maybe three?

    -Scott
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2014
  6. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    OK,

    While I'm really a nice guy, I'm going to be the Devils advocate on this one!

    The best research papers I've read (don't have links ATM), have clearly stated that the average coral gets what? Over 95% of it's energy/glucose/food from the algae residing in it- and that's from the LIGHT?

    To cut to the chase- my current DT currrently has coral growth, and mainly sps growth that is off the hook!
    That is with NEVER, EVER having ever 'fed' my corals anything other than light, and what's already in the water column, and no, I don't think I overfeed my fish.

    So, how much more growth am I going to see by 'feeding' my corals? And how many percent of the average sps/lps's energy requirements are met by light?

    Just saying, flame suit engaged.
     
  7. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    While I have had 2 beers today, I just deleted my comments on this post.
     
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  9. Unique Corals

    Unique Corals 3reef Sponsor

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    Not an issue...You're right- a lot of the studies talk about zooxanthella supplying the bulk of corals nutritional needs...However, has a study ever been conducted on just how much zooxanthellae are required to produce nutrition for coral growth, particularly under captive lighting conditions? I honestly don't know, and I think your points are valid. I know that when we kept our water pristine and food inputs to a minimum, our corals flat out grew much more slowly, had way less color, and appeared otherwise less vigorous. I have had similar experiences in home aquariums over the years, too.

    I can only speak from the experiences I have, which is that feeding has made a huge difference for us...So I think there is a still a lot to be learned here!

    Would be interesting to see if you fed corals directly if you noticed any difference!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Scott
     
  10. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    Awesome article as always.

    My interest in nutrients within closed systems has really been growing this last year, and I couldn't agree with you more. Feeding is vital to the optimum growth and health of hard corals to a much greater degree than with soft corals, but I think you missed something important.

    Nutrient levels are relative to the given system and its ability to use, or filter, said nutrients. The way that I've begun thinking of it lately is that filtration should be built, to the best of an aquarist's ability, to remove the maximum amount of nutrients from the system. This includes a healthy skimmer running 24/7. It's the aquarist's job to feed enough to overload the filtration but only slightly. This excess gets trace, dissolved nutrient amounts in the water, and the stronger the filtration is, the more actually particulate matter corals can get a shot at grabbing.

    Add to this that the bio-filtration is going to adjust to the amounts a specific tank is getting, and it becomes pretty clear why some tanks can thrive without tons of feeding and others may need that extra boost of nutrients.

    As most hobbyists will find out, feeding enough to ONLY slightly overload an exact set of filtration within an extremely complicated closed pseudo-ecosystem is the hardest part of this entire hobby which finally leads me to completely disagree with most on your article. For the average hobbyist with the average ability to balance their tanks nutrients on the edge of a razor, attempting to feed the optimum amount is a sure route to an algae explosion!
     
  11. PghSteeler

    PghSteeler Tassled File Fish

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    Interesting points made on both sides here. I do believe in feeding all corals and target feed my lps often with RODS pacific plankton. I also mix in reef chili and kent zoe and blast the liquid mixture at the sps. I see great growth with most of my corals.

    As for skimming I ran my tank without a skimmer for over a year before adding a HOB skimmer. I have cut back on water changes but cant say I see a difference as of yet from skimming the past few months
     
  12. Unique Corals

    Unique Corals 3reef Sponsor

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    Actually none at the moment...Waiting for more soon!

    I'll try to get a pic shortly

    -Scott