NateRealBig's Truly Minimalist 120g Office Build

[naterealbig]

The ingredients used by the lfs are the following: clams, squid, white fish, boiled carrots and peas, boiled beef heart, binder such as gelatin, and I don't remember the rest, possibly nori and garlic, but it's quite a meticulous job and they do it with a food processor.

Ah, I should have read further... I'd be curious if there's scientific reasoning behind the beef heart, peas, carrots, and gelatin). The food processor works, but requires much more work to evenly chop the bits.

If your really want to do it right, a meat grinder is the right tool. The challenge is, a good one is a pretty penny.

To be honest I have no idea what difference it makes when using a food processor, it's possible that the crushed food has another type of function for the fish instead of the liquefied food,

It's only "liquified" if you blend it to that point. A few short pulses will keep chunks. The longer you blend, the smaller the bits. A blender works great as long as the mix has enough liquid to mix well as its blended. In my case it works perfect because the dry ingredients are reconstituted with aminos and Selcon.

if I were to make a seafood porridge like that then I would use a blender to make the mixture easier and faster.

You've got this nailed.

The only fish with which I have tried this food and have not accepted it are the obligate coralivores (Chaetodon baronessa and Chaetodon capistratus), in addition to Singapore angelfish and Multibarred angel.

Might just be the "state" of the food. Perhaps if you took some and froze it in a clam shell or something? Not that it's what this conversation is about, but have you tried fresh clams, mussels, or oysters on the half shell?

Nice chatting.

 

[LaloJ]

I'm sure that the function of the gelatin within the porridge would only be as a binder, think of Seachem focus for example, I also know that I must have the complete recipe somewhere on my computer but in a screenshot but it is in spanish, If I can find it I will share it here.
It's a good theory that the fish I mentioned above might not take food in the water column, I tried clams and mussels and that didn't work either, I will still take more tries with this type of fish but it would be great to be prepared with the necessary foods also, I just remembered that on one occasion beets were used in the LFS porridge, and it was accepted more by the saltwater fish than by my freshwater fish, which was unexpected.

 

[Sam123]

Ah, I should have read further... I'd be curious if there's scientific reasoning behind the beef heart, peas, carrots, and gelatin). The food processor works, but requires much more work to evenly chop the bits.

If your really want to do it right, a meat grinder is the right tool. The challenge is, a good one is a pretty penny.



It's only "liquified" if you blend it to that point. A few short pulses will keep chunks. The longer you blend, the smaller the bits. A blender works great as long as the mix has enough liquid to mix well as its blended. In my case it works perfect because the dry ingredients are reconstituted with aminos and Selcon.


You've got this nailed.



Might just be the "state" of the food. Perhaps if you took some and froze it in a clam shell or something? Not that it's what this conversation is about, but have you tried fresh clams, mussels, or oysters on the half shell?

Nice chatting.

If I had to make an educated guess I would say the beef heart is in there for taurine; heart is one of the best (and cheapest) sources for it. I don’t have fish, but I do raw feed a dog! After a quick google it runs out taurine is important in (most/some) fish diets for growth, immunity, longevity, stress reducers…

 

[naterealbig]

I'm sure that the function of the gelatin within the porridge would only be as a binder, think of Seachem focus for example, I also know that I must have the complete recipe somewhere on my computer but in a screenshot but it is in spanish, If I can find it I will share it here.

Yes, of course - not sure why I asked "why" on the gelatin. I suppose my thought was that the binder is used to 'glue' smaller chunks of food together to make larger chunks, and to me, it would just be simpler to blend the food into larger chunks and not use the binder. I suppose it would make processing easier, as you didn't have to worry about the size of the particles - just blend in into tiny pieces, add gelatin, then break the prepared food up as you see fit. I'm overcomplicating it I know - it's just that I put a lot of though into particle size when I was trying to figure out how long to blend everything together Also didn't realize you were in Mexico. Where at? I visit one of my company's mfg facilities in Chihuahua frequently.

It's a good theory that the fish I mentioned above might not take food in the water column, I tried clams and mussels and that didn't work either, I will still take more tries with this type of fish but it would be great to be prepared with the necessary foods also

Yes, if you are trying to get picky fish to eat you want literally every food you can purchase. If you are able, try to put the prepared food on something - it will allow them to mimic their natural feeding, and will make accepting prepared foods easier. One food that almost all finicky fish have accepted readily is Ocean Nutrition Formula One (and less-so Formula Two). I don't know why, but fish go crazy for this stuff. I don't use the food under normal circumstances, but I always have it available if I am getting new fish that I know will be a challenge to get feeding.

I just remembered that on one occasion beets were used in the LFS porridge, and it was accepted more by the saltwater fish than by my freshwater fish, which was unexpected.

Interesting indeed. It must have a flavor profile or smell that the fish enjoy. Do you know if it was canned beets or fresh beets? Cooked? I'm adding this to my list!

 

[naterealbig]

If I had to make an educated guess I would say the beef heart is in there for taurine; heart is one of the best (and cheapest) sources for it.

Ah!

I don’t have fish

Wait, what? What are you doing here? Do your dogs like reefs?

but I do raw feed a dog!

I have 2 boxers - have toyed with the idea of raw food for the pups as well. I'm sure it is 100X better than the prepared garbage, but is there any cost savings to it? Break even? More expensive?

After a quick google it runs out taurine is important in (most/some) fish diets for growth, immunity, longevity, stress reducers…

Just learned something - thanks!

 

[LaloJ]

Yes, of course - not sure why I asked "why" on the gelatin. I suppose my thought was that the binder is used to 'glue' smaller chunks of food together to make larger chunks, and to me, it would just be simpler to blend the food into larger chunks and not use the binder. I suppose it would make processing easier, as you didn't have to worry about the size of the particles - just blend in into tiny pieces, add gelatin, then break the prepared food up as you see fit. I'm overcomplicating it I know - it's just that I put a lot of though into particle size when I was trying to figure out how long to blend everything together Also didn't realize you were in Mexico. Where at? I visit one of my company's mfg facilities in Chihuahua frequently.



Yes, if you are trying to get picky fish to eat you want literally every food you can purchase. If you are able, try to put the prepared food on something - it will allow them to mimic their natural feeding, and will make accepting prepared foods easier. One food that almost all finicky fish have accepted readily is Ocean Nutrition Formula One (and less-so Formula Two). I don't know why, but fish go crazy for this stuff. I don't use the food under normal circumstances, but I always have it available if I am getting new fish that I know will be a challenge to get feeding.



Interesting indeed. It must have a flavor profile or smell that the fish enjoy. Do you know if it was canned beets or fresh beets? Cooked? I'm adding this to my list!

I'm not sure about the beet, but it may have been eaten fresh and then boiled to be used in the porridge or something, since the hue of the porridge turned reddish, so it was probably done that way. I live far from Chihuahua, I'm in the north of Veracruz, and here it's difficult to get fish that are normally available in the United States such as some coralivore butterflies and several angelfishes as well. I'm close to trying one more time with Multibarred angel which is very rarely available. You should know that all marine and freshwater fish are imported directly to Mexico City where the entire distribution lot is located, so I normally order fish directly from there, and unfortunately the handling and quality are not the best. I must be prepared with foods like this, that's why the porridge you are preparing caught my attention, so I will take a lot of notes here and thank you for sharing it.

 

[Sam123]

Ah!


Wait, what? What are you doing here? Do your dogs like reefs?


I have 2 boxers - have toyed with the idea of raw food for the pups as well. I'm sure it is 100X better than the prepared garbage, but is there any cost savings to it? Break even? More expensive?


Just learned something - thanks!

Ha! I’m here because I love fish and reefs and enjoy reading about them, learning, seeing other people’s coral and fish! It’s my downtime reading material! And there is soooo much to learn, methods, ID, biomes, feeding, import/export! It’s . Onto second question…Raw feeding a dog, I would definitely say is more expensive (and time consuming if you DIY) compared to kibble (unless it’s a prescription kibble, which is ridiculous for what is basically wheat or wheat and water…don’t get me started ). However, I feed it as I know what’s in it and it’s biologically appropriate…my previous dog had some dietary/health issues in later life so my dog now has been raw fed since I got him as a pup. I diy (whole bones and chunks), so I generally know what’s what, hence the heart and taurine. It also a good source of CoQ10! Anyway, maybe it will save on vet bills…his muscle tone is great, teeth, coat, skin, smaller poops than a kibble fed dog as well! If only he wasn’t so clumsy I would be more confident of this.

Ah!


Wait, what? What are you doing here? Do your dogs like reefs?


I have 2 boxers - have toyed with the idea of raw food for the pups as well. I'm sure it is 100X better than the prepared garbage, but is there any cost savings to it? Break even? More expensive?


Just learned something - thanks!

 

[naterealbig]

Few shots from earlier today.

 

[naterealbig]

Some new additions currently cooking in QT.... No time to grab quality shots at the moment. More to come...

Great Owl Zoa. This thing is absolutely insane. Bright yellow skirt and screaming canary yellow ring with an electric blue eye. Fingers crossed this one grows quickly - looks like a baby or two is getting ready to pup up on the sides.




WWC 24K torch. Stunner.

 

[naterealbig]

So, I've had my 2 x Tunze Stream 6205 on timers and both props have broken, as they start pretty roughly each time they switch. To be fair, i haven't been the best at cleaning them (acid, etc), but i want to remove the risk associated with hard starting each one daily.

The pumps are on 12 hours cycles, and to be honest i really don't like the max 10 seconds pulses, but I'll work with it until Tunze comes out with a better controller.

They are on sale right now though, so I went ahead and pulled the trigger on 2 x 6255 Ecos. These are redesigned from the original - they are a few hundred gallons less per hour, and the impeller appears to be very different than the standard Tunze (also, uses about 40% less wattage, but really i don't care). Even at the lower 4500 gph, they are Definitely overkill, but i can put them on my next tank, witch will be very likely 6 feet long. I get them on Tuesday!

Turbelle Stream eco 6255 (1321 to 4491 GPH)

Highly Efficient Tunze Turbelle Stream eco For Aquariums Larger than 528 Gallons 1,321 to 4,491 GPH Controllable Flow Rate Highly Efficient - Uses Only 10-31 Watts "Built to Last" 5-Year Tunze Warranty The 6255 Pump Tunze has been making some of the most reliable aquarium pumps for years and...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[SliceGolfer]

I came across your thread when searching for different approaches to cycling dry rock. Very detailed and impressive build! I read all 9 pages and look forward to how this turns out for you.