How do you feed your fish?

[hummer]

I have a typical setup consisting of a main display with overflow and sump. When I feed my fish I turn off the pump so the food doesn't escape through the overflow. Since my system syphons back a few gallons, I also have to adjust the airflow to the skimmer because the increase in water volume in the sump will cause it to overfill.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips/tricks that they use when they feed their fish without turning off the pumps?
The reason I'm asking is that I want to improve my process and make it easy for someone to take care of my system while I'm on vacation for extended time.

One way I thought of was to drill some holes in the return pipe in the tank to stop the water from syphoning back down.
But any other sugguestions would be great!

Thanks

[Jyman]

why not try one of those feeding rings that sticks to the side of the tank so that it does not move.

[hummer]

why not try one of those feeding rings that sticks to the side of the tank so that it does not move.

Interesting. I've never seen one. Closes thing I use is a nori clip. Do you have a link or a suggestion of an effective one?
Thanks for the suggestion.

[Jyman]

there is this one.

http://www.cdaquatics.co.uk/catalog/nutrafin-floating-fish-feeding-ring-p-1424.html

I have never used it my self.

[kien]

I assume your overflow is at the top of the tank, you could try injecting food into the tank towards the bottom of the tank with a turkey baster. It would take a little while for the food to float up and sucked into the overflow. This is of course you feed with food that sinks, like pellets :-)

Second, ya, reducing the amount of siphon into the sump is probably a good idea. This is what I do.. a couple of holes drilled in the back of my return outlets (just below the normal operating water line; important because if it is above the water line you'll inject air in).

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af144/muzanji/IMG_1393.jpg?t=1248762891

I personally do not turn off my return while feeding. Just my two main powerheads. My fish are quite voracious eaters and very little gets into the overflow by the time they are done eating. Instead of dumping all their food in at once I feed in two small intervals though. Dump in half their food, wait a little bit(let them polish it off mostly), dump in second half of their portion. I suppose that might be a pain for a tank sitter though.

[hummer]

Thanks for the picture. I'll try drilling the holes tonight and see how that works. This would also become useful when the power goes out.

[Starry]

i have all my pumps, powerheads and skimmer plugged into a powerbar so at feeding time, i just turn the bar off.

[shrimpchips]

Thanks for the picture. I'll try drilling the holes tonight and see how that works. This would also become useful when the power goes out.

Drill them at a downward angle (about 20 degrees from the pipe is good) 1 cm above your usual water line - this will minimize the amount of bubbles generated as well as minimize the backflow.

Also, constantly turning off your powerheads and return pumps will shorten their lives - I leave everthing on, and the fish chase after it.

[kien]

also, keep an eye on the holes, they will have a tendency to clog up with algae over time. This is also why it is a good idea to drill more than one.

[mike31154]

I spent some $$$ a while back and purchased an Eheim dual chamber auto feeder for one of the issues you described. When I'm away, I don't want things to be too complex for whoever is looking after the system. I've read more than one horror story about well intentioned tank sitters overfeeding and the resulting disasters. I use the autofeeder on a daily basis, so when I'm away, there's no change in the routine except that the critters don't get their evening treat of thawed out frozen goodies.

I don't have a sump, so no overflow to worry about in that sense, although my skimmer is fed water from a pre-skimmer box which works in a similar fashion as an overflow, potentially skimming floating food before it has a chance to sink and be consumed by the intended critters. I never turn off any pumps or powerheads for feeding time, the fish have to chase the food and that seems to be working just fine, even with two VorTechs pushing plenty of water. If they're lazy, they go hungry. Once they're hungry enough, they chase down what they need. This doesn't work with all species however, so your mileage may vary.

I tried one of those feeding rings once I started using the Eheim auto feeder, but found it was too small and much of the food was dropping around the perimeter and being lost to the skimmer. The feeder's mounting options were not working for me, so I fashioned an acrylic hang on mount for it with a section that extends below the surface of the water. The extension does the same job as the floating feeding ring, but better in my situation. It captures all of the stuff dropping out of the feeder, allowing the flakes to soak a little while the granular stuff sinks straight away, but is immediately dispersed by the flow from the VorTechs.

Several photos of the rig follow:

It took several attempts to get the holder design right and I added a little ramp to give the feeder additional tilt. It wasn't dispersing large flakes too well in the horizontal position.

http://ogfarq.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pjyqI8-9GXQ5zk_9l2ctFDjZ7YTCvXqfPF2TuuwG4Z-vjWUaqzEsy1BIE2KHdKDYC_14SZq7UbUTUMcyuBsH2kg/P1010781c.JPG

http://ogfarq.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pT_ldxEyDEfeiqWheR9eiCl77VscCXI5jaBo87C4RuYg2McN WisuSOcc7k6-XEfAsVNiEZS_xmVehcFSBDLHMKw/P1010784c.JPG

http://ogfarq.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pzbEuVHgLWjSM1OuuZIhgoaTjI4qVsJVuRj4BMUG9UW50ZCj 7keIw2Iu0ePAWvxpM7M1NXoYGPr7zS54qZpYHJw/P1010786c.JPG

[new but handy]

I make a mixture of food and vitimins, freeze them in ice cube trays and drop the cubes into a floating ring. The ring is right above a PH so it spreads the food around fairly well. A good bonus is the cubes melt slowly so the fish keep up with the food. The only problem is my 7" regal figured it out so he hangs out by the ring and picks off most of the food. Enough gets by for the rest of my fish though. I leave at 5:30 am so this was the easiest way for the girlfriend to feed my tank

[mike31154]

Ha, ha, funny you should mention your regal having the smarts (or hunting instinct) to know what's up at feeding time. In my system it's my Singapore Angel that has the wits and courage to cruise up to the feeding box when the food drops. He helps disperse the remaining food by pecking away at the floating morsels. He's not a hog, though, one or two pecks and he drops back down to chase down the remainder of his meal. Usually takes a few seconds after he does his thing for the rest of the crew to go into feeding mode.