Feeding and Bio Pellets

[jreimers]

I've been web surfing and I really can't find the answer. Since bio pellets strip the nitrates and phosphates out of the water column people are saying you need to feed your corals more. What should you feed them? Coral supplements? Or just regular food like you feed your fish?

 

[Wes]

that all depends on what kind of coral, each has different needs and can typically prefers to consume a specific size of food. Reef Nutrition sells a variety of food that you can feed your coral including oyster and fish eggs like they naturally consume.

 

[melev]

Feed your fish more often, and they in turn will provide coral food each time they 'waste' over your reef. We just had this discussion on facebook this evening, as I'm about to refill my biopellet reactor with Thrive's Crush. Let me copy and paste over some of the content:

Since my 400g has been taken down (April 2012) and all the livestock was transferred to the 215g with some live rock and about 80lbs of live sand, I've not tested nitrate once... until yesterday. I was curious what that number might be. It measured about 3ppm, not bad at all since I feed my tank 3x a day. The feeding replenishes what the biopellets would otherwise strip from the system, so you are able to fatten up your fish without concern. Be sure to dose bacteria regularly, and water changes shouldn't be omitted. I tend to do 25% monthly.

As with anything, water tests are key to knowing what is going on in your tank, and watching the livestock closely for any clues both good or bad. I hope this helps.