anyone making their own food?

[svynx]

I've done some reading on here about DIY fish/coral foods. Most of the ones I've found were for a larger tank, and therefor the owners were able to make a good amount (largest one I found was 10 pounds of food). Obviously, if you are running a nano tank, that quantity of food would go bad in the freezer before you even got half way through. I'm curious to see what you all are doing. I have some thought on what type of items are going into the mix, but the quantity/weights are something that I'm unsure of. Here's my thinking:

- frozen seafood mix (shrimp, lobster, clam, scallop, ...) anything I find uncooked
- marinesnow/phytoplankton/coral food
- small amount of nori
- normal flake food for binding agent
- tank water

Blend everything up into a paste and bag it. I'm unsure on the amounts. Suggestions on that? I want to make a little clip on a magnet so I can put a cube of the concoction in the tank and let it thaw little by little, but not float.

[ReefWreak]

I haven't made it. I don't eat fish or seafood, so it never appealed or made sense to me to buy these ingredients despite how relatively simple the recipes make it sound.

I'm using rods food now because it's available locally, but ideally, I would like to be using Rogger's reef food (http://www.roggersreeffood.com/), which I used the whole time I had my 120g SPS tank, because I know him personally, and know the quality of produce he uses in it. He's a chef and eats seafood, so he knows how to pick it, buy it, and cook it (unrelated to making fish food, but just adds another dimension of depth to the understanding of the food).

I've been bummed that I can't find it locally, and I don't go through enough food to justify buying it online (I mostly feed NLS Thera+ pellets, with maybe weekly a bit of frozen rods).

There are good articles out there with recipes, like this one from advanced aquarist (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/10/tips). They quote one of the locals who was well known for his big reef tank down in FL when I lived there, dgasmd. Another great one from ReefCentral's own Reefkeeping magazine (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/diy/index.php)

[svynx]

I took a look at Rogger's page. Things look good, until shipping is considered. I realize, just like LiveAquaria, special care is needed to keep things at the right temperature during shipping. But, after putting things in the cart, the price doubled with shipping. I'll have to look at Rod's and see how it compares to home made. It's the whole convenience vs cost thing.

[ReefWreak]

Yea, believe me, I'm in the same boat. I want to order Rogger's food, but the shipping is astounding. Even for me to pick it up in person when visiting family in FL, it's tough because I'd have to keep it cold during transport. And I could buy $100 worth and stash it in the freezer, but in a nano it'll last longer than I will.

Maybe if we have a bunch of people meeting at Reefapalooza we could do a group order and take it back with us that Sunday....

[svynx]

I added the coral food (2oz) and the 3oz of complete blend plus. Added the clip since it's cheap. With shipping it was over $50. That's not a lot of food for that cost. But, going in together with people would definitely be beneficial. I don't mind spending $30 on fish food as long as I get $30 worth of food.

[ReefWreak]

Yea, it's because the food has to stay frozen, so it'll be overnight shipping with cooling packs and styrafoam, so it's painfully expensive. Same as ordering livestock. That's why it only makes sense when buying a lot of food.