SPS feeding   7/12/07
Hello again Crew
So I was at a friends house over the weekend, and he kindly gave me several frags, as well as a dinner plate size Montipora Capricornis.
<How do you know it's Montipora capricornis? Not that it matters much, but how do you know it's not Montipora aequituberculata or Montipora foliosa? Granted, chance is in your favor and it is likely to be Montipora capricornis. But please be cautious of assuming you know the specific species of any given coral. Identification down to species is quite difficult and requires close examination of the exposed skeleton.>
All in all he gave me 5 corals. They are Montipora Capricornis, Montipora Digitata, Echinophyllia, a green starburst colony, and a type of Sinularia. I normally do my research before introducing new livestock into my tank, but not this time. May because they were free?
<Bad excuse, but I'll forgive you.>
My tank is a 210 gal, 55 gal Sump/Ref with Chaeto (not growing for some reason), 200# LR, AquaC EV240, Aquamedic 4x39 watt T5, 3x250 watt MH.
In addition to the above, Livestock consists of
9" Volitans Lion
1" Yellowtail Damsel
5" Harlequin Tusk
4" Emperor Angel
4" Sohal Tang
<The emperor angel might nip at some of your corals once it's an adult.>
1 very large Devils Hand Leather (I think)
3 smaller colt corals
1 large zoanthid colony
1 small open brain
I want to add 2 more corals to finish off my tank. Hopefully an Acropora of some kind, and a frogspawn.
The tank is 6 months old, and has been doing great!
<That's good, but Acropora shouldn't not be added to tanks less than a year old.>
I do weekly water changes of 40gal with RODI water. Nitrates are around 2-5ppm, Nitrites/Ammonia are 0, PH is 8.3, Alk is 4.5 (This is a tad high),
<Assuming units in meq/L, that Alk is fine.>
and Cal is 340 (a bit low). The high Alk seems to be the result of Kalk dosing which I just started 2 weeks ago. My Alk has risen (used to be 3), PH has risen 0.1, but Cal has remained unchanged. I'll be adding Reef Calcium from Seachem to bring the Cal number up. Hopefully this will balance the alk/cal figures a bit.
<Generally I'm a fan of SeaChem, but I don't know about their "Reef Calcium." It says it's "bioavailable polygluconate complexed calcium." Which to me means that it's some kind of organic calcium. You want inorganic calcium. So please find some calcium chloride. This should lower your alk and raise your Ca levels. But add this carefully. You don't want your alk to plummet either. ;) >
I also just started dosing Magnesium about 1 week ago. Readings were at 900 before, now at 1125. I've just bought some Selcon to replace my Kent Zoe as a food additive.
My question is regarding the feeding of the SPS corals. If I am able to complete my setup, this would consist of 3 SPS corals. M. Capricornis, M. Digitata and the Acropora ( I don't think the Echinophyllia is an SPS).
<The term "sps" is probably meaningless anyway.>
I understand that these SPS corals will consume zooplankton as supplemental feeding. I have no room for a gravity fed refugium, and fear that feeding the Eric Borneman recipe may pollute my tank over time.
<Why? I'd stick with this recipe. It's a good one. Just take care in its preparation. Soak what he says to soak and make sure you chop, mince and blend well. You can pollute your tank with too much of any kind of food. Oyster eggs are also great for "sps" corals.>
I've had nuisance algae issues before that I'd want to avoid like the plague. Even if it didn't pollute my tank, aren't the particle sizes much too large for SPS corals?
<Not if you add oyster eggs and blend well. Yes, you'll have some chunks that are way too big for sps. But you'll also get a lot of very fine food particles too.>
I've read on your site that feeding bottled zooplankton like Sweetwater, or Liquid Life Marine/Bio Plankton is not enough, and that Cyclopez (sp?) is too large.
<Cyclop-Eeze is great and I recommend using it for your other corals and your fish. But it will likely be too big for your sps corals.>
Is it worth using my pump driven refugium to try growing zooplankton?
Or will the pump just demolish everything?
<This is probably more a matter of opinion. I think a pump driven refugium is an excellent thing to have, but it's not necessary for the most common types of sps sold for aquariums.>
Will a combination of Selcon, Sweetwater Zooplankton and Liquid Life do the trick?
<Hmm... I'd stick with the Selcon. Liquid life BioPlankton is pretty useless for feeding corals. Sps corals don't eat algae. Liquid life coral plankton has rotifers and algae. Corals do eat rotifers. I'm not sure if they eat dead rotifers as much as live rotifers, but it probably wouldn't hurt to add them to the mix. The same goes for Sweetwater Zooplankton. The listed ingredients look like things that corals would certainly eat if they were alive. How much corals will feed on these things after they've been collected and packaged, I'm not sure anyone knows for certain. Lee Goldman recently conducted a study that supports the notion that at least some corals have a strong preference for live food. If you really want to do right by your corals, culture Artemia nauplii and feed them live to your tank. I'm a huge fan of the hatching disk sold by Brine Shrimp Direct. It just makes it so easy.>
What are the chances that my tank has enough "stuff" in it to self support the food needs of these SPS?
<Hard to say. But even if they could get enough to just survive, they'd probably do better if you fed them.>
If there is a chance, do I wait until the corals to display unhealthy symptoms as a sign to start supplemental feeding?
<Look, you don't need to specifically feed them a separate set of foods. Just keep them in mind when you mix up the food you make for the whole tank. Add some oyster eggs and blend the food well.>
If I need to feed, what should I feed these 3 corals? and how often?
I've read your site extensively on this topic, and have not come up with a clear answer to this question.
<This is a hotly debated topic in our hobby and everyone will likely give you a different answer. However, given what's known about how much food is available to corals in the wild, I can't imagine that they don't need to be fed in our tanks. My suggestion to you is to use Borneman's recipe (with the oyster eggs he also suggests). All this should feed your fish and everything else too. And if you can, culture some Artemia nauplii too.>
Thanks a ton! My tank is so satisfying to my family and friends. I owe many thanks to the great service you provide.
<De nada. Thanks for writing.
Best,
Sara M.>
Wayne

SPS Feeding…How, What, When? – 06/08/07
Hello WWM Crew,
<<Howdy Scott>>
Thanks again for your awesome website.
<<Welcome…and glad you think so>>
Through reliable and conscientious sources such as yours I have managed to put together a reef system that I could have only dreamed of a year and a half ago, when I undertook to build a system designed for keeping SPS, fish and some assorted invertebrates.
<<Cool!>>
The system is described below for your reference. Display: 135 Gallon Tenecor Acrylic Aquarium (72" W x 18" D x 24" H) with 1" fine aragonite sand bed (vacuumed weekly) and approximately 120 lbs of Live Rock. Recirculation rate is about 1300 GPH.
Refugium: Ecosystem 3616 Mud Sump with active Chaetomorpha and roughly 15-20 lbs Live Rock. Two large overflows with Durso standpipes add roughly 30 gallons of "fishless" volume to the system.
<<Excellent>>
Lighting: Three 150 W HQI pendants (12K) and Four 160 W VHO (1 Aquasun, 2 Actinic White and one Actinic). Lights are on timer sequence for twelve hours with MH's running about 6 hours/day.
<<Why such a short duration for the halides? Daylight in the tropics will average more than 12-hours…with very little variation from season to season. I recommend you extend this schedule to at least 10-hours per day>>
Maximum wattage does not exceed 610 W due to concerns about overheating the acrylic top of the aquarium.
<<Not a concern as long as the lights are at least 6-inches off the acrylic/you provide some air flow. My SPS dominated 96” acrylic tank has 1300W of metal halide lighting alone>>
Filtration: Euro-Reef CS 135 which runs continuously and produces about one cup (very dark and smelly) skimmate every 2-3 days.
<<I too have a Euro-Reef skimmer (CS12-3)…my current fave skimmer manufacturer>>
Also employ four (1 cup each ) bags of activated carbon in the in the sump which are rotated/replaced one bag per week.
<<Very good>>
Chiller: 1/4 HP Aqua Logic "drop in coil" type.
Water Parameters:
Temperature: 81 (+/- 1) F
Salinity: 35.5 (+/- 0.5) ppt
Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate: not detectable per Salifert test kits
pH - 8.4
Calcium - 425 ppm, Alkalinity - 10 dKH
I change about 14-18 gallons of water weekly, normally about 2 gallons per day and a larger change during weekend cleaning.
Inhabitants:
Fish: Flame Angel, Bicolor Blenny, Purple Firefish, Sunrise Pseudochromis, Neon Goby.
Inverts: Two Cleaner Shrimp, Blue Legged Hermit Crab, Blue Mushrooms (Discosoma) and a Tuxedo Urchin.
LR Hitch Hikers: Zoanthids, Star Polyps, Unknown Soft Blue Polyps, Unknown Encrusting Stony Coral, assorted sponges and small clams.
Macro Algae: Assorted small Halimeda and Caulerpa (removed manually).
I also have just introduced two small aqua-cultured SPS into quarantine; a Plate Montipora and a Stylophora, which I hope to introduce into the display at the end of the month.
<<Okay>>
Now finally for my question - I understand that proper feeding is crucial for the long term health of these SPS and I was hoping you could better help me to understand what level of supplemental feeding is recommended for the system as currently set up. I understand that the plankton generated from the refugium is a good food source, but that some supplemental feeding is probably still needed.
<<Is…in my opinion>>
Based on the above assumptions (and some very good input from Scott F)
<<A great guy>>
I purchased some Liquid Life Coral Plankton.
<<Ah yes, good stuff…and other options available as well. Both frozen and freeze-dried Cyclop-eeze are good foods (do realize not all species feed upon/require the same particulate/prey sizes)…I also like Polyplabs’ Reef-Roids, Sweetwater Zooplankton, and DT’s Oyster eggs, as well as just “dissolving” a few common “shrimp pellets” in a bit of water or better yet, some Selcon or Vita-Chem…in fact “all” these foods; as well as the system in general, benefit from a soaking in these last two>>
I am dubious about the "one size fits all" instructions on the label of these products and wonder if you could help me to determine what frequency of supplemental feeding is advisable.
<<Ah yes…as alluded, one-size does “not” fit all>>
Is there any way to gauge or know when a SPS is "hungry", or do you just monitor the appearance, color, growth of the specimen for clues?
<<Mmm…is much as you just stated…but keeping an eye out/feeding when polyps are “extended” is helpful. Though many species will extend polyps when they “sense” the presence of food. I recommend you feed a varied diet three to four times a week (assuming your filtration/system can handle the load), and vary the feeding time as well being sure to feed the corals “at least” once a weeks when the lights are off (just before bed or first thing in the morning). This regimen has worked well for me…>>
Also, I was wondering if you would share your thoughts about maximizing the amount of "natural" plankton generated from the refugium, either by addition of phytoplankton or some other means.
<<Indeed…again, the ubiquitous “shrimp pellets.” Can be purchased cheaply at Wal-Mart or the like and if fed sparingly but often to the refugium, does “wonders” for boosting small/micro crustacean/plankton populations…in my opinion>>
Do you have an opinion about supplementing phytoplankton with the goal of providing additional food for zooplankton, or is there sufficient food available through fish feedings, fish elimination, stirring of the sand bed and cleaning the aquarium walls of algae?
<<Mmm, the addition of “live” Phytoplankton can be beneficial to many of the planktonic and micro-organisms, but I choose to forego this due to its cost and the likelihood of abuse/overuse…allowing a few tufts of micro-algae to remain in the system is preferable to me and will harbor many food/prey animals>>
Can the amount/quality of zooplankton be improved by selectively adding invertebrates that are known to reproduce, or at least spawn or lay eggs in captivity?
<<Sure>>
If so, can you provide any recommendations?
<<Honestly…the Bristleworms/Mysis Shrimp/Amphipods/Copepods that will live and proliferate (if fed) in your refugium; and to a lesser extent in your display, are your best/most viable option in my opinion>>
As always, I appreciate any input from you folks.
Scott
<<Is truly my pleasure to share. Eric Russell>>

Feeding SPS with refugium  9/26/06
Good evening to all,
I'll start with the vitals, a 150 gal display with 225 lbs. of LR, two 250 watt halides, large Euro-reef skimmer with ozone, and roughly 4,000 gph circulation (most with a closed loop).  I am currently running a 35 gallon DSB refugium with Chaetomorpha and a 45 gallon sump.  I'm in the process of combining the fuge and sump into one 90 gal tank while still keeping the DSB separate from the high flow of the sump.  I'm mostly growing SPS with a yellow tang, Naso tang, flame angel, dragon goby, fridmani, and six line.  I have all the books published by your staff, but am still a little confused as to how to feed my corals by way of refugium.  Is it simply a matter of adding more pod, or more of a certain type pod to the fuge, or is it more involved than that?
<Mmm, and/or perhaps less... a "healthy" refugium will generate a mix of larval to adult plankter life... which can/may serve as food if/when transported to the main system>
I've read so much lately that all of the "phytos" are starting to sound very similar.  I'm anxious to get the new refugium on line and I would like to take full advantage of its potential as a food source.  As always, Thanks for sharing your collective advise and expertise.
Mike
<Spend a while reading here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm
and the linked files above. BobF>

Feeding the Reef Tank   7/4/06
Hi there....sorry for asking 2 questions in one day.
<No worries.>
  I'll make this short.  
<Awesome.>
What product do you recommend as food for SPS corals?
<Large refugia is great, other than that variety...specifically?; Read this: http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic20086-9-1.aspx .>
Or personally, what product have you used for SPS food and have had great results?  
<Google: Eric "Hugo" Borneman Recipe.>
Thank you
<Adam J.>