Feeding SPS

Ya Dude · #1 09-23-2008, 03:45 AM

corals dont feed from anything in vodka,its bacteria that dose

Marlin65 · #2 09-23-2008, 04:15 AM

I feed fish Poo and Light with some pods coming from my refugium that is fed by Phyto.
I also keep reef levels and add Amino's and Ultralive.
No Carbon or PO4 remover.

kwirky · #3 09-23-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ya Dude

corals dont feed from anything in vodka,its bacteria that dose

yeah vodka dosing (carbon dosing) doesn't feed corals. It feeds bacteria which drop the nutrients of the tank, which lowers the zooxanthalae populations of the corals (lightening colour) and makes your SPS expand they're polyps like everyone wants because they're hungry (theoretically *winks*). Not something to be trifled with without some prior research I'd recommend. Doubling your tank's TOC (total organic carbon) instantly with an incorrect dose can bleach an entire tank of SPS. People are starting to understand how carbon dosing works and there's some good resources out there in case you're interested.

I dose amino acids and coral vitalizer from KZ because they're really clean products and don't contribute to algae like some of the others out there. They're not food though, they're more like steroids and have the best results in zero nutrient systems (vodka dosing, zeovit, reef-fresh, etc etc). They're most effective in these systems because then your corals are being starved like body builders before a competition.

The only "food" that you can put in yourself and that's worth feeding, IMHO, is live phyto and rotifers. Emphasis on live. That's if you want to go through the trouble of raising colonies.

There's a good article that can be found on advancedaquarist.com that compares no feeding, feeding phytomax, and feeding live phytoplankton. The tank with no feeding had the same growth as the tank with phytomax (surprise? lol). The tank fed live phytoplankton had DOUBLE the growth of the other two tanks. It was SPS they were testing.

Delphinus · #4 09-23-2008, 08:33 PM

Hey Sean, you wouldn't happen to have a link to that one, by any chance? Please and thank you?

Marlin65 · #5 09-24-2008, 04:06 AM