A quick look at feeding "SPS" : What they need and how to give it to them!

[uniquecorals]

Love the book idea. The reason I believe yours would work especially well is that you come at your topics from the viewpoint of the hobbyist as opposed to that of the scientist. No offense to the doctorates and such but there are simply more of us regular folk out here and it's nice to go through a given article without feeling the need of having to lie down afterwards. Go for it and good luck.

Sorry to hear about your Dad.

Thanks for the kind words, Michael....I have literally received dozens of emails about doing a book over the past several days, and I've started reviewing some of the material that I have written for just such an endeavor! I think I'm gonna start one for sure...Just want to make sure that it stays relevant and approachable for readers- and I think I can do that! Appreciate the encouragement!

-Scott

 

[FlyinBryan]

Please write that book!! Some of these geek out so hard on stuff and write too scientifically I can't even pay attention to it. The flip side is they put down a lot of words without saying much of anything. I think you strike a good balance. Passion sells. Trust me. I think LFS stores get so wonky about purity of water. Helping the industry to chill out about everything in tanks, including our hands, will help people to get in and stay in this awesome hobby longer!! Getting them all keyed up about doing this and 4x size protein skimming gets people, IMHO, turned off. $.02!
Looking forward to the book!

 

[uniquecorals]

Please write that book!! Some of these geek out so hard on stuff and write too scientifically I can't even pay attention to it. The flip side is they put down a lot of words without saying much of anything. I think you strike a good balance. Passion sells. Trust me. I think LFS stores get so wonky about purity of water. Helping the industry to chill out about everything in tanks, including our hands, will help people to get in and stay in this awesome hobby longer!! Getting them all keyed up about doing this and 4x size protein skimming gets people, IMHO, turned off. $.02!
Looking forward to the book!

Thanks for the encouragement and interesting points! I mean, there is a balance between fluff and good factual information..I would definitely say that I have always been a bit more on the "lighter side", if you will. However, after 30 plus years in the marine hobby, a lifetime as a fish keeper, and over 10 years writing, speaking, and touring all over the fish world, I think I have the confidence to put down some hard facts...and opinions where warranted.

It's funny, my very first MACNA that I spoke at (Pittsburgh), gave me two weeks to select a topic and get a presentation done..I knew I needed to strike a balance between the hard science stuff that everyone else seemed to present at the time, and pure comedy, which no one did..So I chose a topic and created a presentation ("Aquascaping for the Aesthetically Challenged"-still the most requested talk I give today!) that purposely left me in a position where I couldn't hurt myself with too much "disputable" fact by the more science-minded reefers...I mean, what does an egghead know about aquascaping, right (LOL- that's gonna get me flamed here...)? Seriously, though, I did strike a balance and occupy the niche in the fish-geek-author/speaker world that I still hold today, and it seems to have struck a responsive chord among many...

Nonetheless, all the years of experience and trial and error and downright mistakes- and listening to people that know way more than I (and questioning them, too!), and being an owner of a now-major livestock propagator and vendor has led me to the more opinionated, more confident reefer you see today..LOL. Bottom line is, I promise that this book, in whatever form it takes, will give you the same kind of stuff you read here..I owe it to everyone in the hobby to be true to myself and stay with what I know from real world experience. If I need to dish on facets of the hobby and industry that I feel are deserving, I will! Otherwise, I'm not giving you my true voice...Someone has to speak their mind, right? Thanks to everyone here for continuing to inspire and teach me every day! I'm psyched.

-Scott

 

[kandymann]

Nice write up Scott

I have some nice SPS corals coming to me next week from you guys. I am loving the Acropora Hyacinthus colonies you all provide. By far my favorite SPS corals. Can't wait to read more articles from you all as well as receive more awesome corals.

Great job!

 

[kandymann]

Scott

Do you recommend Coral Frenzy? Is this a good SPS food? Just wonder if you or anyone you knew had good luck CF.

Thanks

 

[Eienna]

I am loving that new "wild orchid" coral you have out. Man, if I was set up for SPS I'd be all over that thing!!

 

[Mason Dixon]

What is your skimmer schedule like? Is it oversized like most ppl recommend? Is algae a problem?

 

[joekool]

Thank you for the reply Scott.

 

[Coral Frenzy]

It's funny, my very first MACNA that I spoke at (Pittsburgh), gave me two weeks to select a topic and get a presentation done..I knew I needed to strike a balance between the hard science stuff that everyone else seemed to present at the time, and pure comedy, which no one did..So I chose a topic and created a presentation ("Aquascaping for the Aesthetically Challenged"-still the most requested talk I give today!) that purposely left me in a position where I couldn't hurt myself with too much "disputable" fact by the more science-minded reefers...I mean, what does an egghead know about aquascaping, right (LOL- that's gonna get me flamed here...)? Seriously, though, I did strike a balance and occupy the niche in the fish-geek-author/speaker world that I still hold today, and it seems to have struck a responsive chord among many...

Hey Scott,

I remember you speaking at Pittsburgh. It was our first show at MACNA and I remember you doing a great job. It is funny how 7 years passes so quickly.

I can't wait for the book, I am sure it will be a great read.

Ken

 

[scoobysnack77]

There are a bunch of good ones out there. We use Two Little Fishies "AcroPower" in our facility. Stuff works great!

-Scott

hey scott , I'm using red seas's reef energy that has a 2 part amino system. is that good enough or should i include acro power once a week or use it by itself without the reef energy?

 

[scoobysnack77]

hey scott , I'm using red seas's reef energy that has a 2 part amino system. is that good enough or should i include acro power once a week or use it by itself without the reef energy?

oh and i forgot to ask , should i feed zooplankton to my sps? if so can u recommend a product or method?

 

[uniquecorals]

Hey Scott,

I remember you speaking at Pittsburgh. It was our first show at MACNA and I remember you doing a great job. It is funny how 7 years passes so quickly.

I can't wait for the book, I am sure it will be a great read.

Ken

Hey Ken! That was my first MACNA speaking gig! I remember it fondly. BTW, we should try out some of your food!

-Scott

 

[uniquecorals]

oh and i forgot to ask , should i feed zooplankton to my sps? if so can u recommend a product or method?

I think that you could try out some of Ken's food! And Red Sea's product is an excellent one, although we don't use that on in our systems currently.

Thanks!

Scott

 

[RobbReef]

Nice read

 

[scoobysnack77]

I think that you could try out some of Ken's food! And Red Sea's product is an excellent one, although we don't use that on in our systems currently.

Thanks!

Scott

so you just use acropower for your aminos? Nothing else right? And I'll look into kens food ill be grabbing some of your wild orchid soon

 

[Coral Frenzy]

Hey Ken! That was my first MACNA speaking gig! I remember it fondly. BTW, we should try out some of your food!

-Scott

Hey Scott! Yeah, Pittsburgh was a lot of fun.
That would be great. We will send you some powder and pellet along with a product that we are releasing at the end of the month.

Ken

 

[jservedio]

Great read! I think one especially important note about nutrients in your system is their source. You can have decent nitrates and low phosphates, but where they are coming from is a very big deal and can be the difference between success and failure with an SPS sytem. For example, having your phosphates and nitrates come primarily from dead and decaying detritus in the top couple of inches in your sandbed and rock is terrible and will do absolutely nothing for your corals. Vacuuming your sand and basting your rocks will remove all of that decaying detritus and allow you to maintain the same levels of nutrients as before (or slightly less), while feeding far more than you used to.

My phosphates are right around 0.025ppm with nitrates of 1-2.5ppm (wish they were double that!) and they have been like that for months and months. But since I started regularly vacuuming my sand bed and basting weekly, I have been able to more than double the amount of food going in without the phosphate needle moving at all. Even though my "numbers" haven't changed in months - the coloration and growth of my acros (and other corals) has exploded.

In just 20g I am feeding 1/4-1/2 of a "postage stamp" sized piece of LRS Reef Frenzy enhanced with the Elos "Skimmer" food and Amino Acids (adding AAs, complex carbs, and vitamins - doesn't matter the brand) every single day in a broadcast fashion - dumping it from the cup directly onto my acro frag rack. Since doing that, things are better than ever and since I am more effectively exporting nutrients by cleaning the sand and rock, I can feed like this without letting nutrients rise to the level of supporting algae.

 

[KoleTang]

Great article Scott!

I agree wholeheartedly that corals MUST be fed. (Post #30 Home blended coral food, (used to be $5) - Page 3)

This is the only sentence I felt was a bit off, I just wanted to clarify (not questioning you, just discussing ):

However, good skimmers run on a continuous basis can effectively strip large quantities of dissolved organic matter out of the water. That’s organic matter that corals can utilize for growth.

The problem I'm seeing here is the use of the term dissolved organics. Skimmers remove organics (food) before they are broken down into dissolved organics (P04, N03). Corals themselves don't utilize much dissolved organics. In fact, wild reefs have much lower phosphate than our tanks ever could (down to 0.005 ppm. Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com). It's the un-dissolved organics that they want. Personally, I go by the principle that you cannot over-skim, you can only under-stock and under-feed. I suggest that you could absolutely strip phosphate and nitrate down to 0 and with proper feeding and stocking keep any type of coral.

If skimmers could remove dissolved organics, that would be great. The corals could eat and anything left over would be removed. This is why I am intrigued by algae turf scrubbers. The coral are able to eat the organics. Any organics that become dissolved get consumed by the algae in the form of nitrate and phosphate. Win/win for everyone. A guy on the local forum runs his 180g with only an ATS. The water is so rich in organics that he had to get a copperband to handle the tube worms and digitate hydroids that were beginning to take over.

 

[uniquecorals]

Great article Scott!

I agree wholeheartedly that corals MUST be fed. (Post #30 Home blended coral food, (used to be $5) - Page 3)

This is the only sentence I felt was a bit off, I just wanted to clarify (not questioning you, just discussing ):

However, good skimmers run on a continuous basis can effectively strip large quantities of dissolved organic matter out of the water. That’s organic matter that corals can utilize for growth.

The problem I'm seeing here is the use of the term dissolved organics. Skimmers remove organics (food) before they are broken down into dissolved organics (P04, N03). Corals themselves don't utilize much dissolved organics. In fact, wild reefs have much lower phosphate than our tanks ever could (down to 0.005 ppm. Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com). It's the un-dissolved organics that they want. Personally, I go by the principle that you cannot over-skim, you can only under-stock and under-feed. I suggest that you could absolutely strip phosphate and nitrate down to 0 and with proper feeding and stocking keep any type of coral.

If skimmers could remove dissolved organics, that would be great. The corals could eat and anything left over would be removed. This is why I am intrigued by algae turf scrubbers. The coral are able to eat the organics. Any organics that become dissolved get consumed by the algae in the form of nitrate and phosphate. Win/win for everyone. A guy on the local forum runs his 180g with only an ATS. The water is so rich in organics that he had to get a copperband to handle the tube worms and digitate hydroids that were beginning to take over.

No, you actually nailed it...After re-reading what I wrote, I did inadvertently write "dissolved"...and I wholeheartedly agree, it would be amazing if skimmers could remove dissolved organics...Home run! The point I intended to make is simply that they remove the "low hanging fruit", before they become "dissolved", and that this could be problematic for corals in the long run.

Thanks for the pickup!

-Scott

 

[OneReef]

This all sounds great in theory, or maybe some people have had success, but I don't see how one could feed heavily and skim sporadically and not get algae growth, cyano, and numerous other issues, with rising phosphates and nitrates...