CA2OR Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 So I just made another batch and did it a bit differently this time around. I've noticed a bit of interest in doing this so I thought I would share what I do. I snapped some pic's of what I used this time so you guys could get an idea. First time around I spent $8 and I made 2 gallon size freezer zip locks of food. But I bought a mixed seafood bag (for sushi). It worked fine and my entire tank loved it (corals and fish included) but I noticed a few additives to it that I thought might be better to avoid this time. So I got all my stuff from the Deli\butcher for the freshness but ended up paying $13. Made about the same if not a bit more (clap) and I most definatly feel it was worth it. Here we go, I got handfulls of each ingredient listed from the Deli....sorry I didn't take exact weights...next time I will pay more attention. Problem is next time isn't for about 3 to 6 months depending on feeding. Ingredients you may chose to use more or less meat or veggies depending on tank inhabitants. Mine is rather meaty as I have triggers and such. Nori (1 full bag) Oysters (1 full jar) Squid Scallops Crab (this is artificial crab made of white fish, they were out of actual crab meat) Shrimp White fish (I was going to get a fillet or 2 of cod or salmon) also mix in your additives or coral foods (cyclopeeze, etc). My self I added 16 mL's of each of these http://www.marinedepot.com/Liquid_Life_Bio_Marine_Plankton_Promo_Pack_32mL_each_Refrigerated_Food-Liquid_Life-LF1211-FIFDFZRF-LF1211-vi.html Directions: add about half of all items listed above into blender (Ultimate Chopper for use with blender attachment) and blend. If it is too thick, you can't see it spinning quick at the bottom and slow rotation at the top, then add some water until it meets desired consistency. Pour contents of blender into 1 gallon Freezer Zip lock bag and lay flat on counter. Attempt to get as much of the air out as possible by slowly pressing on the bottom of the bag and working your way up. You should avoid getting any of the "paste" in the "zip's" of the ziplocks. After bag is flattened, approximately 1\4 to 1\8 in thickness depending on your desire, seal bag and lay flat on freezer bottom. If unable, as I am, use a cookie sheet or flat square pan Add remaining ingredients to blender and repeat. Simply chop into cubes at will or you may pour into ice cube trays or what have you. I just chop off as I need to feed. You should end up with something like this. Not bad for $13. Benefit, it's a all in one food for your entire reef....and it's $13 for like 6 months worth This is what I got Sample of pan to use to flatten food when freezing. Note pan is square and the ziplocks should be approximately same depth as this pan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 the crab isn't crab your holding up. Everything else looks good but it is processed and cooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 no it is artificial....made of white fish meat. They were out of crab. I should also probably note that taking in the additives that I bought and stuff actual cost was probably closer to $20 or $25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 It's only $13 if you do the basic stuff though. The supplement and the nori you add brings the price up to like $26 or so. Still a great deal for the amount of really nutritious food your getting... One downside is that it stinks very badly until it freezes up. Oh, and the lady at the seafood counter, although very helpful, undoubtedly thought we had lost our minds(nutty) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 The crab is process and cooked. Nothing else was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefMe Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Very helpful This was very helpful and appreciated! Simple, easy to follow instructional DIY stuff, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 have you ever tried going to one of those asian markets that have everything and then some? might be a good source for things not normally eaten and available at the normal deli. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I start off at the Asian market. Get a bag of frozen fish pieces. This has all sorts of stuff including shrimp, crab,octopus,squid, and more. I get a block of little white fish and uncooked seaweed. I add cyclop-eze garlic flake food. Blend. I spread the mix into mini ice cube trays and freeze. Feed 2 cubes a day. Next time i will add oysters and oyster eggs. It's soooooooooo much cheeper and everything feeds from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonH Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 This was a great walk through and very helpful. But when I did the math, I figure that making the same amount of food would cost be about $50,000! (scratch) Let me double check my math: Nori - $4.99 Oysters - $5.67 Scallops - $3.48 My wife divorcing me for using her kitchen to make fish food - $49,985.86 - Oh there it is DOH!(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 This was a great walk through and very helpful. But when I did the math, I figure that making the same amount of food would cost be about $50,000! (scratch) Let me double check my math: Nori - $4.99 Oysters - $5.67 Scallops - $3.48 My wife divorcing me for using her kitchen to make fish food - $49,985.86 - Oh there it is DOH!(laugh) If you get away with it. There is still the explaining of the bag of pellets in the freezer next to the frozen dinner roles. What's that smell??(whistle)Sushi alla tar tar(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Here is a previous thread discussing this in more depth including several more options for ingredients: http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13690 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I think Im going to give this a try!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I used a "slap chop" for the meats, blended the veggies ,nori and supplements with rodi water and froze in bags. Seems to really mess the tank when thawed. Have you experemented with thickness of the paste or any safe binders to keep it from clouding the water? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Max-GTE Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Right now I am imagining Jon doing a Slap Chop commercial with fish food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted April 4, 2010 Author Share Posted April 4, 2010 Re: How I make my DIY reef food....with pic's I used a "slap chop" for the meats, blended the veggies ,nori and supplements with rodi water and froze in bags. Seems to really mess the tank when thawed. Have you experemented with thickness of the paste or any safe binders to keep it from clouding the water? yes key one is to rinse very thuroughly. you kinda have to play with it in the blender as far as slowly adding water till it is like paste. I also used some of those gel cubes which really helped in the binding and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 Nice write up, i think i'm going to try this, add some of the marine garlic extract and then freeze it on a cookie sheet on wax paper in egg crate, think that would work? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Fred Meyers sells the small ice cube trays, almost the same size and frozen fish cubes. Reusable and rather cheap when you look at the big picture. I used the regular ground up garlic in a jar you find at Winco. It is pure stuff with no additives. Sometimes when you buy designated marine type stuff you pay more. JMO Good luck. Fun to make your own food. I do it about every 3 months. I let the kids feed so no overfeeding when I tell them they only get 3 cubes to feed each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Fred Meyers sells the small ice cube trays, almost the same size and frozen fish cubes. Reusable and rather cheap when you look at the big picture. I used the regular ground up garlic in a jar you find at Winco. It is pure stuff with no additives. Sometimes when you buy designated marine type stuff you pay more. JMO Good luck. Fun to make your own food. I do it about every 3 months. I let the kids feed so no overfeeding when I tell them they only get 3 cubes to feed each time. yep but they are hard to find in that huge place...lol I found them in the same isle with the small appliances and plastic storage containers in the home sections to be a little more specific. They are perfect for this though that's for sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gradth Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 I made my first batch last week. Nothing that fancy, but the fish seemed to like it. Got some clams, shrimp, some mysis, red seaweed, nori, some fresh garlic. About a cup of rodi water and tossed it in my magic bullet. Froze it up in a ziploc baggie. Nothing special, but the fish love it. Probably about 4 bucks into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Snowpunk funny about the ice cube trays. I had the same ordeal. Daughter finally found it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToxicPoison Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Snowpunk funny about the ice cube trays. I had the same ordeal. Daughter finally found it!!! A much better solution that I've found is to use the eggcrate diffusers for florescent lighting in offices ( http://www.collins-consulting.org/orchids/eggCrate.jpg ) Just cut the egg crate to the size of a cookiesheet, place it on the sheet, then fill each square with the mashed up food. Let it freeze and you can pop out little cubes of food. It seems to be a much better size than the ice cube trays, plus you can make a LOT more at once. Hope someone finds that helpful =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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