Just how much should I be feeding?

[CjAmaryllis]

Hello,
I am struggling with knowing how much to realistically feed my tank. I have 2 small clown fish and 1 royal Gramma. There's about 15 different small softies and LPS in a 40 gallon. And a shrimp, a few hermit crabs, and snails. I worry about them not getting enough food, but I also think I am having an organic matter build up problem, and there's usually a surface film so I'm assuming it's too much food. I feed the fish small pellets twice a day and feed the nassarius snails a cube of frozen bloodworms once a week (it gets consumed pretty quick). Then 1/2 cube brine shrimp and benereef powder as directed once a week for the corals and everything else. I worry that the shrimp and hermits will starve if there isn't a little extra uneaten food that makes it to the bottom.

What is your tank feeding habits? How much should I realistically be feeding? How often do I really need to feed the corals?

Edited to add nutrients. I use red sea and Salifert test kits.
Nitrate: between 5-10
pH: 8.2
Alk: 9.2
Calcium: 430
Magnesium: 1280
Salinity: 35 ppt
I don't currently measure anything else.

 

[EricR]

I would guess most of us go through this thought struggle in the beginning and there isn't really an answer that's easy to follow.

I have a 40 gallon also,,, with 4 fish, only soft corals, and a few main-focus inverts.
I feed 2x per day,,, usually LRS Reef Frenzy,,, roughly equivalent to about 1 "cube" per day (of what frozen/cubed packages look like to me).

***in the end, after quick blast of food in the tank, I feel like I should be just throwing in more,,, and my testing never seems to contradict that (((have struggled more with low NO3/PO4 in the past,,, and never high)))

Final answer = no idea,,, but we all settle into whatever works to keep our lifeforms healthy.

 

[DrZoidburg]

How big of cubes? In general I feed twice a day whatever they can eat in less than one minute. Sometimes the occasional treat. A few fish in there are over 10 years old. Its probably less than you think you need. However for example anthias they need a few small feedings a day.