Well that settles it. 3-4 months ago I fed Reef Roids to my then 1 month old tank. Wound up with an entire SB just covered in what I thought at the time was Diatoms. Didn't at the time think the Reef Roids had anything to do with it. But just to be on the safe side I stopped dosing any and all types of products containing phytoplankton and zooplankton. It took months to finally clear up!! Well heck, yesterday I dosed 1/8tsp of Reef Roids and guess what? Got up this morning to my entire SB once again covered in this copper colored stuff!! Due to LED lighting the dark areas are actually copper colored.
Seems like an 1/8 tsp is too much to feed your particular tank. The excess is spiking the nutrients and causing algae. When you do feed put just a tiny pinch.
In a small tank with limited filtration, I would skip it. Your LPS will take mysis if you want to feed the corals (although not necessary). The uneaten mysis are something the fish will finish off rather than directly contribute to the nutrient load in the tank.
I was mainly feeding this stupid Birds Nest..trying to keep it from dying. As for limited filtration you don't think a skimmer, filter sock and a fuge full of chaeto & LR is enough? Not that I'll be using this stuff again-lol.
Still reefing & learning
I was mainly feeding this stupid Birds Nest..trying to keep it from dying. As for limited filtration you don't think a skimmer, filter sock and a fuge full of chaeto & LR is enough? Not that I'll be using this stuff again-lol.
Still reefing & learning
Nope. Still not convinced that any small skimmer will do the job of a high end skimmer (e.g., Bubble King). If it did, you wouldn't have the bloom after feeding. (Not to say there aren't benefits to running a small skimmer, I just don't think they do as good of a job as a big skimmer.)
The problem with a filter sock is particulate waste gathers there and breaks down into dissolved nutrients. If thoroughly cleaned more than once a day...maybe it helps with water quality. I would remove it before feeding, then put it back an hour after feeding, and clean it within an hour or two after that.
Chaeto and LR help process waste after it has converted to nutrients, but in a smaller tank can easily be overwhelmed.
When animals die they usually don't eat much. I'd say feeding sps is debatable anyways...at least in an aquarium. The best way to keep sps happy (and help them recover) is rock solid water quality, adequate lighting, and flow.
I'm always learning as well. I'm sure some could debate my post above.
I agree with Jim,we are running a bubble King and a Vertex and we only target feed reef droids once a week.1/8 teaspoon is probably what the wife uses for our tank which is close to 5x the size of yours. We don't use it for the SPS tho. It is more intended for LPS. She uses it mainly for Acans. When we feed the return pumps are off for at least an hour. I also agree that socks are potential nitrate factories. I swear by them but preach it is very important to change them often. We change ours every other day. If you are waiting for it to clog before changeing your defeating the purpose of the sock. Filter socks mainly are large particular filter system. They do a great job but must be changed often and be replaced often. We probably have close to 20 socks ! If your waiting for it to clog your allowing the return flow to pound excesses food into tiny particles in the sock that get broke down into No3's . High concentrated foods like droids,extacy and frenzy are great for your coral but also need to be used in conjunction with a strong filtration plan!
I'll run right out an buy that $700.00 skimmer and 17 more socks to go along with the 3 I have on hand. I'll ignore the directions on any an all coral food products from now on too.
After 5yrs one would think I'd know better than to post the obvious, especially with so many willing to point it out-thanks guys! I'm out!!
Reef Roids oh my!
There's nothing like being a Reefer!
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Originally Posted by jimsflies
