Overflow makes it hard to feed

[ericsze]

I"ve got a SW tank with a HOB overflow; its hindering my ability to feed my fish. Lots of the foods I give my fish (flakes, frozen preparations, etc.) float so they get sucked down into the overflow pretty quickly. How does everyone else get around this problem?

Currently, I have to soak the food in a cup of water until it gets water-logged so that it sinks or remains neutrally bouyant in the water. I won't be able to do this if I'm away for a few days. Automatic feeders would dispense the food right on the surface of the water, where it would get sucked into the overflow and down into the sump.

Any suggestions on how to overcome this problem?

 

[bjdrake]

I had the same problem with my overflows. I have seen some of the products online called “Feeding Rings” that attach to the inside of the tank to keep the food from floating away. I intended to order one but never got around to it. I too was using the cup of water method to soak the food down but my smaller clownfish weren’t getting enough to eat.
One day I had an idea to take a piece of airline tubing threaded through an old suction cup from a bubble wall and one of those union couplings to make a ring and attach it to the inside of the tank. The airline floats and keeps the food inside for a little while and the smaller fish love to go up and feed. The larger tangs and such don’t bother too often with it so I still use the cup for them as they seem to love to chase their food. Sooner or later I will probably buy one of those just to see how they work. The airline has to remain flat on the surface, if it dips down anywhere food flows right out. The snails hang on it sometimes and bend it down to where I have to straighten it out before feeding.

 

[ellisz]

Could you turn the return pump of while you feed?

 

[fishfreek]

Ya you could power down the pump while you feed. If all your worried about is a period of a few days while your gone your fish will do fine with out the daily feedings. Fish can easily go upward to a week with out daily feedings and not suffer any ill effects.

 

[Biggen]

I agree with ellisz and FF. I turn of my PH's and sump when I feed. Makes it much easier to make sure the food actually gets eaten by fish, crabs, etc... rather than being sucked into the sump where it will simply decay.

 

[bjdrake]

I used to turn off circulation, until I forgot a couple of times to turn back on.

With all of the scavengers in my system, nothing goes uneaten.

 

[limitup]

Just release the food right in front of a PH and it will get circulated all over the place. That's what I do and it works great with flakes, brine shrimp, or anything else.

 

[Atari]

If your food is floating then you probably don't have enough surface agitation.

 

[Lindsikins00]

could you use a feeding ring while you are gone? http://www.coastalpond.com/web1/pennplaxfeedingring.html
I don't know if they are good or bad...I just know they exsist. Someone else can chime in if this is a bad idea, cause I don't know