What to feed corals?

[gordoncheers]

I have a predominantly LPS tank that I have been dosing with Reef Energy. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add PolypLabs Polyp booster and reef roids to my routine as well.

 

[*GAREEF*]

I have a predominantly LPS tank that I have been dosing with Reef Energy. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add PolypLabs Polyp booster and reef roids to my routine as well.

Yes, but be careful of the roids and make sure you are testing your phosphate and nitrate levels.
Using roids can quickly unbalance the ratio of nitrate to phosphate.
I use roids but very sparingly.
Most of my LPS, I use chopped or whole krill and turn the flow off for about ten minutes, until I know the polyp is accepting the krill.

 

[CHSUB]

I do it every other day and I’m very happy with the results….weekly tank maintenance keeps leftover undesirable inorganic nutrients low!

 

[*GAREEF*]

I do it every other day and I’m very happy with the results….weekly tank maintenance keeps leftover undesirable inorganic nutrients low!

Last time I accidentally zeroed out my phosphate I lost several acroporas and zoanthids.
Please be careful running zero phosphate.

 

[CHSUB]

Last time I accidentally zeroed out my phosphate I lost several acroporas and zoanthids.
Please be careful running zero phosphate.

Thanks, but not worried!

 

[CHSUB]

Last time I accidentally zeroed out my phosphate I lost several acroporas and zoanthids.
Please be careful running zero phosphate.

I will agree with 0.0 on a Hanna can be problematic, however I don’t get zero reading that often. ICP show readable po4 and at zero color change, true 0.0, on a Hanna test the reader gives an error message, per Hanna.

 

[*GAREEF*]

Oh thank you

I will agree with 0.0 on a Hanna can be problematic, however I don’t get zero reading that often. ICP show readable po4 and at zero color change, true 0.0, on a Hanna test the reader gives an error message, per Hanna.

Thank you for sharing that information! I had no idea about that. And that’s valuable to know!!

 

[VintageReefer]

I have a predominantly LPS tank that I have been dosing with Reef Energy. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add PolypLabs Polyp booster and reef roids to my routine as well.

I have mixed feelings about reef energy and have used it many many years. I honestly feel it does..nothing. For LPS at least. It will do practically zero to feed these corals

Polyp booster is more of an enticement. To lure certain corals into opening more It’s not a food and won’t feed your lps

Reef roids is a product I am against. It’s a phosphate bomb in powder form and has spiked my tank many times and there is better options. Benepets benereef is a good alternative

And for most lps, simple frozen mysis is actually ideal. Acans, torches, meat coals, Duncan’s…pretty much any lps will do best on small meaty foods

 

[KrisReef]

I have a predominantly LPS tank that I have been dosing with Reef Energy.

This product advertises as Amino & Fatty acids and vitamins.

I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add PolypLabs Polyp booster

This products also advertises to be something similar to Reef Energy

and reef roids to my routine as well.

Reef Roids, I believe, are a freeze dried plankton powder.

Adding all this duplicative stuff probably isn't at all necessary. Since you are already happy(?) with Reef Energy that product should provide more than enough missing food elements, if there were any, to keep your polyps strong, growing and thriving. (Were your lps polyps un-boosted and shriveled before you started feeding them all these vitamins and amino acids?)

I have heard many good reports about using Reef Energy from hobbyists and LFS owners and I think there is no harm done from adding nutrients to our tanks that are essential for corals which cannot synthesis some of these amino acids and vitamins themselves. They do have to come to the coral from the environment, and in the wild this means they much assimilate it from the surrounding waters.

In the few reefs I have snorkeled I have never seen a dosing pump adding amino acids or vitamins or freeze dried plankton on any natural reef. The corals there seem to get all this nutrition from the random live foods and fish wastes that drift by them.

I would recommend feeding good fish foods so that your LPS corals can catch some of it drifting about the tank and this should "boost" your polyps in a more natural way. Good, I would define as fresh live foods like clams, oysters, mussels, phytoplankton, pods, and other available replacements that simulate a natural diet.

The other thing that LPS corals do is that they are feeding around the clock on drift items and on sunlight during daylight hours. I am too lazy to set up a live plankton doser but I think that would be ideally the best Large Polyp booster for our tanks.

 

[*GAREEF*]

I have mixed feelings about reef energy and have used it many many years. I honestly feel it does..nothing. For LPS at least. It will do practically zero to feed these corals

Polyp booster is more of an enticement. To lure certain corals into opening more It’s not a food and won’t feed your lps

Reef roids is a product I am against. It’s a phosphate bomb in powder form and has spiked my tank many times and there is better options. Benepets benereef is a good alternative

And for most lps, simple frozen mysis is actually ideal. Acans, torches, meat coals, Duncan’s…pretty much any lps will do best on small meaty foods

Good to know about the reef energy I’ve been in the fence about trying it.
Thank you for sharing.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

I just bought some benereef. It’s not just a powder but has some other small chunky materials in it. Didn’t raise my phosphates from what I could tell. Reviews were nothing but positive.

 

[VintageReefer]

Good to know about the reef energy I’ve been in the fence about trying it.
Thank you for sharing.

I’ve never noticed anything positive happen after using it, and I’ve never noticed anything negative over spans of time I don’t use it.

That said. I still buy it once or twice a year. Why? Craziness. That’s the easiest way I can explain it. Because “I hear” it’s good. But I’ve never noticed anything, one way or the other, from using / not using it

 

[VintageReefer]

I just bought some benereef. It’s not just a powder but has some other small chunky materials in it. Didn’t raise my phosphates from what I could tell. Reviews were nothing but positive.

It’s a mix of particle sizes designed to be food for all reef corals

Benereef, can actually help lower phosphates. Doesn’t work for everyone, but it at least won’t raise them.

 

[56longroof]

I primarily feed mysis or brine shrimp for LPS. Reef Roids and Benepets are too messy in my opinion.

 

[VintageReefer]

Also, suggest target feeding lps with flow off. Broadcast feeding results in 80% of food going on the sand to your clean up crew.