basic NEWB questions

[Reefer769]

i just have some basic questions.

-when would be some good times to turn on/or shut off the lights every day/night?

-is turning the protein skimmer off at night a bad idea?

-What are good times to feed your fish, and how many times a day if you are using flakes?

[new2salt2]

i am new at reefing too but from what i have read its between 9-12 hours for lights. i feed mine flakes too and 2 times a day. sometimes use an automatic feeder. dont now about turning off skimmer. Since it is a filter of sorts i cant imagine that turning it off for any period of time woudl be a good idea

[Ninong]

-when would be some good times to turn on/or shut off the lights every day/night?

Turn them on whenever you feel like it and leave them on for about 12 hours. My actinics come on at 8:00 a.m. and go off at 9:00 p.m. (13 hours) and my halides come on at 9:30 a.m. and go off at 7:30 p.m. (10 hours). I would like to run my halides 11 hours a day but I have to deal with some heat issues first.

-is turning the protein skimmer off at night a bad idea?

Most people run their protein skimmer 24 hours a day. Some people do not. I usually turn off my skimmer for an hour after feeding but not always. It depends on what I'm feeding and whether I'm running a foam block in the sump or not. I usually remove the foam block and turn off the skimmer whenever I feed phytoplankton and sometimes when I feed Cyclop-Eeze, but not always. If your skimmer is too noisy and you can't sleep, it's OK to turn it off at night.

-What are good times to feed your fish, and how many times a day if you are using flakes?

No one agrees on the correct answer to this question. A lot depends on what kind of fish you keep. I keep some fairy wrasses that are planktivores (same as anthias) and used to feeding all day long. Therefore I feed my tank four or five times a day. Some people only feed their tanks two or three times a week -- that's extreme and I wouldn't recommend that unless you have an extremely large tank (500+ gallons) loaded with natural food sources and not many fish. Most people feed at least once a day, many people feed twice a day.

My recommendation is that more frequent feedings are better than less frequent feedings, all other things being equal. That means that if you have a teaspoon of food that you intend to feed to your tank each day, it is better to feed 1/2 tsp twice or 1/4 tsp four times than to feed the whole tsp all at once. I'm only using a teaspoon as an example.

I don't think flake food should be the primary food. It's fine as long as it is not more than 50% of the total diet. Everything depends on what kind of fish you have, but, in general, you want flake food to be part of the diet, not the entire diet.

[Reefer769]

then what should the other 50% be that i feed my clowns?

[new2salt2]

how can you get a vacation with the need to feed your tank that much ??

[Ninong]

then what should the other 50% be that i feed my clowns?

Lots of things. You can either make your own or buy commerical frozen foods. I use frozen mysis, frozen brine shrimp, frozen squid, Marine Cuisine, frozen bloodworms, Frozen Formula One and Frozen Formula Two, freeze dried Cyclop-Eeze (although the frozen is better), sinking shrimp pellets, sinking Formula One pellets, and homemade frozen food that I make myself by mincing squid and shrimp extremely fine (or you could use a blender), then soaking it with a teaspon of Selcon (or other vitamins), adding some chopped nori and some freeze-dried Cyclop-Eeze and enough R.O./D.I. water to make a thick soupy concoction. Then I freeze it flat in ziploc baggies in the freezer. I just break off whatever I need at a time.

Cyclop-Eeze would be good for clownfish if you want to maintain their bright orange coloration.

P.S. -- I don't have any clownfish in my tank. I have four carnivores and one herbivore/omnivore.

[new2salt2]

and you never get away from house for mor than 4 hours a day huh? what if you want to go away for a 2-week vacation?

[Reefer769]

so by 50% flake and 50% cyclop-eeze you mean feeding them flakes in the morning and cyclop eeze at night? or should i switch off every other day?

[Ninong]

so by 50% flake and 50% cyclop-eeze you mean feeding them flakes in the morning and cyclop eeze at night? or should i switch off every other day?

As I explained in my reply earlier in this thread, I use a wide variety of different foods. I would estimate that flake foods represent no more than 1/4 of the total package that I feed. I have found that it is better to feed flakes alone or at least before you feed frozen foods so that the fish do not ignore the flakes in favor of the more desirable frozen stuff. As far as Cyclop-Eeze is concerned, I usually do not feed it all by itself. I usually feed some other frozen food at the same time and since I am using the freeze dried Cyclop-Eeze, I have to turn off my pumps because otherwise it would all go over the overflow too fast. Either that or I have to remove the foam block from the sump and leave the return pump running so that the Cyclop-Eeze can recirculate. I prefer to turn off the pumps.

Just experiment and see what works best for you. The natural diet of clownfish is composed mostly of tiny zooplankton plus a small amount of algae that they find near their "home" -- their host anemone.

[Ninong]

and you never get away from house for mor than 4 hours a day huh? what if you want to go away for a 2-week vacation?

When I am home I feed the tank at least three times a day, often as much as five times a day. If I am going out, I feed the tank in the morning and again in the late afternoon/evening when I return, unless I return after all of the lights are off (9 p.m.).

I haven't taken a vacation since I set up the tank last July. I guess I will have to train someone to look after it if I want to get away for more than two days. I usually go to California two or three times a year, so I better get busy with the training soon because May is one of the months that I usually spend in California.