Coral food

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If you are going to use DT's, make sure you start off with the smallest dosage for your size tank and move up. Dumping in live phytoplankton in large amounts can be bad, especially if you don't have a lot of animals that feed off phyto (which you don't).

I use to use DT's for feeding my clam. Seem to work pretty well when I used it. I left the damn thing out of the fridge one day accidently and never bought another bottle to replace it. I was only putting in one capful a week.
 
If I put too much live phyto in, what problems can be caused?

And are you sure it won't cause any problems if it gets stuck in my filter? (ie. getting stuck in there and going off/dying or something...)
 
Cheers Shelton...

Biggen: what problems can be caused if its overdosed?
 
Do you think my tank will cope with the extra food (the plankton) and 2 extra fish, when I add them?
 
If you use the PhytoAqua stuff available in this country its almost techincally impossible to overdose since it it the building blocks of reefs....

It does however have a reccommended doseage on the bottle if you don't have real deep pockets!!

Also the producer actually strains it & removes the nitrates/Phosphates before adding it back to freshly made seawater, thats why it only has an 8 week shelf life

Cheers Shelton.
 
MarkW19 said:
If I put too much live phyto in, what problems can be caused?

And are you sure it won't cause any problems if it gets stuck in my filter? (ie. getting stuck in there and going off/dying or something...)

Its far to small for that mate! To give you an idea Tank breed Clown fry are fed it 8O the only thing you can do is actually remove it with a skimmer!! hence my skimmer stops from 6.30pm until 10.30pm when I dose both Phyto & Rotifers..

Cheers Shelton.
 
Do I need a skimmer to get rid of it then (ie. the uneaten plankton)? :p

And, I've found a place in the UK that does the DT stuff...
 
Nope, thats a downfall of a skimmer, good as well as bad stuff gets sucked out :(

I can't vouch for ther DT stuff as never used it/know anything about it?

I was going to point you towards the Phyto site, but its down :((

http://www.phytoaqua.com


Cheers Shelton.
 
Cool - I'll check the site when it's back up :)

Is the phyto ok just floating around then if it doesn't get eaten?
 
Look at it as more of a cycle, phyto is small, slightly bigger things & filter feeders eat it, then the slightly bigger things get eaten by slightly bigger things etc etc

I know thats over simplifing things, but its roughly how it works, atleast you are adding a natural food source to your tank, you can always underdose to start with if you are worried about the effects?

Steve @ Coral Gardens would be able to answer more advanced questions about it..

Cheers Shelton.
 
I really wouldn't worry about all this feeding stuff for now... they will get all the energy they need from your lights.
 
I'm getting a capnella, a zoanthus, 2 sarcophyton, and some 'shrooms (discosoma).

Are you sure I won't need to provide any extra food (phytoplankton etc.) for them?
 
Is it really necessary though with the corals I've suggested? :)
 
here is some light reading on feeding
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/eb/index.htm
also do a search on google.com for feeding corals and you will find tons of info.

IMO adding phyto to the tank is beneficial, is it 100% needed?? I add either DT's or liquid life coral plankton and bio plankton as well as cyclop-eez and zooplankton on a periodic basis. My corals are doing very well and the fish eat the zoo and cyclop also. Its only a few added $$$ and after spending $30-80 on a coral I am going to make sure I keep them happy.
The kenya trees, I had one to start now I have about 60.... It propagates all on its own...... I trade them with the LFS for other corals, dry goods.
 
If you don't feed your corals they will more than likely be ok, but they won't grow as much....

When they grow you can frag them & sell them to LFS or fellow reefers, then you make a bit of money & you stop so many corals being taken from the wild, it is hoped one day that NO corals will have to be taken from the wild again & we can all help each other by swopping/selling bits of what we have :)

Cheers Shelton.
 
Actually phytoplankton isn't used by hardly any corals. Phyto is typically used for your filter feeds (i.e. clams, gorgonians, etc...) Pods will also make a meal of phyto as well.
 
So I'll be ok without feeding my zoanthus, 'shrooms, capnella and sarcophytons then?
 
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