Started using my aF4 for whole tank feedings

[BriDroid]

And it’s working very well. I came up with the following slurry recipe just in case anyone else wants to try this method out. Warning, this stuff STINKS!

• 20 ml Phyto Feast Live
• 15 ml Oyster Feast
• 20ml 40 ppt saltwater
• 1 cube mysis
• ½ cube spirulina mysis
• ½ cube cyclops
• ½ cube rotifers
• ½ cube Calanus (Reef Plankton)

This is enough for 5 days of feedings. Twice a day with the feed amount set to 5ml. The salinity is high enough that I can use the coldest setting too. My tank runs low nutrients, and this recipe seems to be ok, N and P are holding great and the corals and clams go nuts when this feeds. Since it’s a lot less bigger food, I’m still feeding a small amount of Easy Reef’s pellets once a day to make sure that the fish are getting enough to eat.

 

[commod0re]

How is the feeding amount consistency for you? I’ve seen some people on here have not been impressed with that aspect, but I’m still intrigued by the idea

 

[BriDroid]

How is the feeding amount consistency for you? I’ve seen some people on here have not been impressed with that aspect, but I’m still intrigued by the idea

It is much better with the high flow cup, but I cycle between the regular and the high flow cup each week. The only thing I wish it had was a better way to agitate the slurry before feeding. If you watch it with the lid off, it does suck some out and blow it back into the cup slightly mixing it somewhat. I just wish it could be changed to mix it a little bit more. Other than that, I have no real issues with it. It beats the heck out of manually feeding frozen and phyto/oyster feast everyday.

My honest opinion is that it works as a whole tank feeder better than a fish only feeder trying to dispense larger particles of food. Using it that way it is a little inconsistent from a fresh batch to a batch that has been sitting for a few days. I know it's doing something though since my PE is great right after it feeds. I think the way that I've been using it is how it is optimized to feed, especially without some better way to agitate the food more.