Pumps off for feeding??

[mark]

When I tried Reefroids I would shut off the return but leave the CL going. For normal feedings, I just leave the pumps on.

[ElGuappo]

Sorry didnt realize this was a fowlr forum still you might find this useful

Im new at the marine thing as of 6 monthes ago. when is started my tank i was told to turn pumps off at feeding time for my dovetail snails, now howeveri have taken it one step further for feeding corals and such.

When i feed i use an old flake container to thaw out food, i am slowly triing to get my fish onto pellets and flakes.
When i dip the yellow container into the water to collect water to thaw food. my fish have come to recognize that means feeding time.

when food is thawed i pour over a high current portion in my tank. let it run for about 45 seconds then shut down. after all the food has settled i start the pumps again for about 15 seconds (just to lift some food).I will do this several times. once everthing settled on the bottom yet again i let it sit for about 10 min then run pumps as normal. this just creats better opertuities for my jawfish,Crabs, and coral to grab a bite. I also have finicky fish this gives them another chance at food missed the first time around.

Sorry this got long but i could have written alot more.

this is due to my havig watched every feeding for the last 6 monthe

[rocketlily]

If you are shutting off pumps during feeding, do you have check valves for eliminating the siphoning of the return lines or do you drill siphon holes in the return lines.

Just doing the plumbing now and I want to make sure I get it right, as some of the corals do need the pumps off for feeding.

[niloc16]

personally i dont shut the pumps off. my theory is that in the wild the fish dont hve still current during feeding time and i think it is more natural for the fish to chase down the food. just my theory though

[rocketlily]

I agree with you on the fish, but when you have a coral that must be feed, such as suncorals, you can really waste alot of food if the flow is too high.

[naesco]

For fish only I think it doesn't make any difference but for reef I shut off the pumps and skimmer for an hour after I feed micro foods.

[rocketlily]

Originally Posted by naesco

For fish only I think it doesn't make any difference but for reef I shut off the pumps and skimmer for an hour after I feed micro foods.

So how do you prevent your tank from siphoning back through the pump when you shut the pump off?

[Johnny Reefer]

Originally Posted by niloc16

personally i dont shut the pumps off. my theory is that in the wild the fish dont hve still current during feeding time and i think it is more natural for the fish to chase down the food. just my theory though

I like that theory. That's my excuse for leaving the powerheads on. Even though I have the auto shut off feature (Tunzes) I don't like to be controlled myself, that way. I'll feed 'em when I'm ready to feed 'em, not when the controller is ready. Too lazy to unplug them manually, each time. However, I should augment this by saying that I do have high NO3 and I probably overfeed. Working on both.

Originally Posted by rocketlily

I agree with you on the fish, but when you have a coral that must be feed, such as suncorals, you can really waste alot of food if the flow is too high.

I never target feed my sun corals. Have 5 of them and they are all doing fine. I feed Cyclopeeze (freeze dried and frozen), Coral Frenzy, and Live Rotifers. (Not all each night). Because I leave my powerheads/pump on, the stuff gets blown all over the place. Sun corals open up everytime this food goes in. Actually, they begin opening up when I first feed the fish mysis, plankton, squid, Marine Cuisine, Emerald Entree (whatever the flavour of the day). They sense it and I suppose there are enough little bits for them to chow on. Then they get the other micro foods.

[mark]

Originally Posted by rocketlily

If you are shutting off pumps during feeding, do you have check valves for eliminating the siphoning of the return lines or do you drill siphon holes in the return lines.

Just doing the plumbing now and I want to make sure I get it right, as some of the corals do need the pumps off for feeding.

Shutting the pumps off for feeding, power outages, whatever, should design your system to handle what might return to the sump.

Originally Posted by mark

Shutting the pumps off for feeding, power outages, whatever, should design your system to handle what might return to the sump.

Good advice. In my case, my sump is big enough to handle all the water that my tank will return through the pump when it is shut off. But I also have a check valve in the line that only allows the water to drop to the overflow boxes. That way, the water in the display tank only drops about 1" with pumps shut off. BUT, if the check valve fails, the sump can still take all the water...

I shut off my return pump for feedings, but leave the closed loop running. This tends to circulate the food to all the critters. Reefkeeper 2 is adjusted for a 10 minute delay. By then, every morsel is history...