I've heard of people rinsing their mysis shrimp, pe mysis, etc with RO/DI water and thought that was extreme. I am now an extremist lol, I put a cube in a cup last week and let it melt in the tank water I collected like I always do, then as I swirled the cup around I noticed how cloudy the water was so I let the shrimp settle and poured out the cloudiness. Added some more tank water rinsed off the shrimp again and emptied that out. I will never put all that cloudy mess in the tank anymore.
Rinse your mysis!
- Thread starter BioMan
- Start date
- Location
- Franklin Square, NY
I've been rinsing all my frozen foods for many years now. Every little bit helps in keeping nutrients down.
After reading the article below, I actually started feeding more and rinsing less. my system is 120 G and I haven't noticed any differences since I stopped rinsing my frozen food a few months back. I try to feed 2-4 times a day. I mainly use Hikari mysis as I noticed it was less cloudy then some other frozen foods when I would thaw it. Now, I just put a half cube in some vitamin C and garlic and once it's thawed, I spread it in the tank with a baster. Feeding pellets and cyclopeeze as well.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry
- Location
- bayonne / nj
If you would like to find out for yourself / take your food and add it to a nitrate and phosphate test that you run hopefully you do. Then you will know what your food is doing to your tank . I used a food that one small piece raised the phosphate to the darkest colot I ever thought was possible in a matter of seconds.
I don't doubt there is something there but as the calculations in the article outline, that test reading you get is what the food does to a 4 oz cup of water. That reading is negligible in a 120 gallon system. I'm not encouraging people to not rinse their food, just saying not all people do and still don't have issues .
- Location
- The Big City
The question is are the Phosphates and Nitrates coming from the food itself or the water that it is frozen in, which may have waste and Phosphates in it.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
I don't bother rinsing my food. I will broadcast feed my tank with a mix of Mysis, Marine Snow, and Cyclopeeze once a week. It gets cloudy but all of my fish and corals love it. My skimmer runs a little crazy for a bit, but I've never had any problems in the long run.
- Location
- bayonne / nj
I tested a food product that was a pellet form . Reefers test your own products , there are no sweedish models posting results . Don't believe everything you read . Do your own testing and you will know for yourself .
Agreed! As I tested the nitrate and phosphate levels of the cup of thawed frozen food, I was a bit concerned with the elevated readings I was getting. Once I did the simple math of converting to what it would do to a reef tank that is much larger than a cup of water, I realized that these levels were insignificant. The Randy Holmes article reaffirmed my decision to not rinse my food; it is not the deciding factor.
It's only been a few months of multiple daily feedings so I will post again later this year with any adverse affects I see of feeding this way. If for some reason I do see negative effects to my tank, I will seek alternative methods of nutrient export. In the interim, I will continue to feed alot and rinse free, seeing as the food itself contains the majority of phosphate levels that reefers worry about.
I happened to stumble on this thread again after discussing similar issues with friends. I'm happy to update the only change I've made to feeding is....feeding more! I'll feed 1-1.5 cubes at least a couple times a day; more on the weekend. Still not rinsing any food. I've stuck with Hikari and Dr G's mysis. A few other brands I've tried when my usual choice wasn't in stock leave the water way too cloudy for my liking. Who knows, maybe I would have a different stance if I was using the other brands of frozen food (not willing to find out).
- Location
- Valley stream
Lrs and call it a day
Wow! I forgot about this,, funny thing is after this thread I actually decided and acted on this,, I have now been hitting up my local supermarket and buying a half dozen shrimp, some crab and whatever fish I like and then coming home and blending it to a nice paste then freezing. Simply break off a piece, melt in in some tank water then dump! Fish love it and I have all happy fish,, and a happy wallet
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