Freezer tray ideas for home-made food ?
 

I'm looking to freeze my home-made food in cubes - small like the tinfoil-pushout cubes of frozen food we buy
I don't have enough fish right now to use larger units

I can't find an icecube tray with small enough units

I've heard of some peeps using eggcrate and I'll try that if need be

What other ideas are out there ?

Thanks for any input :smile:

I use ziplock bag roll flat and freeze then break off piece as needed

I've done this before with a flat of mysis
Not a bad way, but I'm looking to have more uniform sizes so I can control daily rations

Medical place like shoppers has pill packs?.. They are small and have push through design

The mini fridge/bar fridge i just bought has super small ice cube trays

Bed bath and beyond has small ice cube trays

Options;
1) Ikea silicone ice cube trays
2) Silicone chocolate or candy moulds (ebay works)
3) PM Hobbycraft, Micheal's etc. also carry small moulds for things like trees and trains for model building. Sometimes you can find flexible containers to make rows upon rows of items.

I've used all of the above successfully for at least 5 years and counting. I currently use a whole pile of silicone chocolate trays I bought from ebay. They were like $5-6 each and make a variety of small shapes. I have ones that hold about a teaspoon all the way up to ones that hold a couple of tablespoons. Like this.

For a couple of years my fish ate their frozen food in the shapes of stars and hearts.

Good luck!

This works awesome Greg. But I peeled off the ziploc and just cut in cubes and put in a container. Had a buddy that used eggcrate and got so frustrated he ended up throwing it all out in a rage.

That's awesome!

I tried eggcrate once too, and the same ending. The trouble is that eggcrate isn't smooth through the hole so the food snags up in it.

I just roll mine flat in ziplocks and break off a couple days' worth at a time. I put that square into the fridge in a cup, and I use a steel baby spoon (without rubber on it) to scoop bite-sized pieces. While scooping little pieces the food sticks to the spoon and when I have enough I swirl the spoon in the tank near a powerhead.

Have you tried Lego blocks? I tried it once during my fresh water days it seemed to work well I was worried about food sticking but stuck toothpick in the food just as it was going solid and then to get out took the Lego block put it in hot water grabbed the tooth pick and out came the food on a stick some stuck but most popped right out

I got a flat Lego piece attached 2 and 4 slot pieces to the underside and filled the holes with food stuck sticks in and froze.

Only did it once as a trial and never did do it again.

+1 - Same here... I made the last batch that wasn't chopped fine enough, I ground it in my meat grinder frozen and it's nice and easy to use as it's almost like a coarse sand and easy to break off.

So far I have only used the zip lock back rolled flat method .
next time I am going to try the ice cube trays you can get for small RV fridges.
these make a cube that is less than half regular size and should be just about perfect for my needs.
We shall see
here is what I am talking about
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-44100-Mi.../dp/B0006IX7UQ

I use these:

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1263968164

As Michika has already suggested, they are Ikea silicone ice cube trays. I like them because they are flexible so they can easily sit pretty much anything in the freezer. The fish food/mush is typically thick enough that it doesn't dribble all over the place. It's easy to extract the portions and each cube is the shape of a fishy!! :biggrin:

Hey Greg I have some spare small mini fridge ice trays that I use for making food. Your welcome to a couple. Cheers Laurie

Nice!

When I used to make food all the time I would have an entire freezer compartment filled with trays upon trays of food.

For a long time I did use the flat pressed ziplock bag, but I found the quality of the bags is diminishing and I had more and more leaks, blowouts, and seam failures until I had to just say enough is enough. Also ziplock doesn't contain the smell very well. :(

If I use ice cube trays how do I stop freezer burn?

Thanks for the kind offer Laurie
I think I'll order the ones Mindy linked

Thanks Mindy :mrgreen:

My plan is to vacuum pack everything after they're frozen and just use a handful at a time, kept in a ziploc

Awesome! Thank you!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009FWYIMU

How about one of these?

Or this?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004RISKSK

I know rich will love this one

I freeze my stuff in trays then pop them out and QUICKLY store them in pyrex container in the freezer. I say quickly because if you take too long and they start to get the sweats they'll stick together once you have them back in the freezer.

To avoid freezer burn get a good quality sealing container, and remove as much excess air from the container as you can. And use your stuff up in a timely manner. Fish food gets a bit freezer burnt around the 7-8 month mark I've found from regular opening/closing of the container.

I have been using eggcrate for years and I believe it is the best method available. I use a food processor to cut up a variety of frozen foods, mix it together in a large boil and then let it thaw for about 20 minutes. Once it is nice and soft i use a large flat spatula to press it into the eggcrate, of course i forgot to mention this is done on a piece of parchment paper large enough to fold over onto the top of the eggcrate. Once the crate is full, fold over parchment paper, trim the edges, then insert into large freezer bag. Simple as that.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps6c020904.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psf470361e.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps8ffbc731.jpg

I have found this to be the most consistent method to feed my tank. I have done it before as frozen flat in a ziplock but the chunks i was breaking off where never the same amount of food so many times i found i was over feeding.

I forgot to mention that this tray usually lasts 2 months. I have buddys here on canreef that buy these from me every time i make a new batch.

Frags for sale:lol:

Thanks for the reply and pics Rob
It's actually because of you that I was going to try the eggcrate method :smile:
I'm sure it's not so difficult with wax paper and such

I've order the mini silicone trays that Mindy linked and will report back how they work out
I've read online that some peeps using them for ice complain of the 'plastic taste' in them, so it's got me wondering what they will transfer to the fish food ...

Hope you can use the info to your benefit.

Cheers

Robert