Phytoplankton - opinions?

[tgrover]

I'm looking for opinions on using phytoplankton on mixed reefs... Is it effective?

[rayjay]

I switched to using enriched rotifers.

[11purewater]

I do feed my tank live phyto but its hard to say if there are huge benefits.I'd need to run a tandem tank without to test,but I do have a clam and Ive noticed healthy growth in my sponges and other filter feeders.I drip feed the tank 50 mil every other day.

[tgrover]

Why did you change? Were you using live Phyto?

[Midway]

I dosed live phyto 2 or 3 times a week in my 240 mix reef. I have 4 clams and other filter feeders, and sponges and i have seen the difference big time since i started dosing phyto. The clams are growing like mad, everyhting seems so much alive in there for sure.

[tgrover]

Thanks... I'm just wondering if it is worth the cost. My tank looks great since I started dosing...

[rayjay]

Phyto isn't much of a cost if you DIY.

[tgrover]

Any suggestions on DIY?

[dreef]

Any suggestions on DIY? Skip the petri dish culture,buy some phyto from someone and use that as starter.

http://www.melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html

[FitoPharmer]

The FAF manual is great source of information on the subject of phyto and zooplankton. You can pick up a copy from florida aqaua farms online store. Just search their name in Google. They also sell the fertilizer to grow phyto, starter cultures, and equipment. But as someone previously mentioned going local for your starter source is always preferred.

[rayjay]

This is how I do it. There are many ways people have cultured phyto so just pick the method you feel will work best for you.
I do however recommend using the proper f2 fertilizer if you are going to put this in the display tank.
Miracle grow and other non phyto fertilizers contain elements not used by the phyto and so you will be dumping those into the tank when you add the culture water.
Nannochloropsis Culture (http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/phyto.html)

[tgrover]

How dangerous is the Miracle Grow? Opinions?

[dreef]

I too use the f2 to feed the phyto,it's not very expensive and lasts forever.Just didn't like the idea of using fertilizer made for plants.

[tgrover]

Also, I need your help and opinions... I currently buy Phyco Pure from LFS... Can this be grown similar to Phytoplankon?

[monocus]

if you must use miracle grow ,use the one for fruit and vegetables.i use micro algae grow from florida aqua farms,and all my cultures are grown in aqua medic reactors.the only live phyto that you can really grow from your lfs is if they culture them themselves,and are not mixed with various strains of micro algae.your best bet is to get the micro algae culture book from faf,and read up on them

[tgrover]

Thanks, How do you know the Phyto is growing?

[emerald crab]

I use a hydroponic fertilizer known in the orchid world as "Michigan State University fertilizer RO water Formula". It works great and it is a low phosphorus fertilizer 13-3-15. I believe that any hydroponic grade fertilizer low in phosphorus would work. I use it at 130 ppm NO3 (1g/l).

[monocus]

i use the density stick from faf to measure density-but you could make your own-an L shaped stick marked at i cm intervals with a white dot on the L part.your cultures will get more opaque as the culture grows.nanochloropus is a light green,tetraselmius is a forest green(and under a microscope it constantly moves)isocrysis is a tea coloured brown (and one of the hardest to grow).i'm also going to start danellia next year as it's very high in natural oils(they are culturing it for bio-fuels)

[tgrover]

Ok, so let's say I tried culturing Phyco Pure www.alagen.com. Is it safe to grow? If I split it, add 1.019 and grow it under t5s... Would I be able to successfully feed my tank with it?

[Reef_Geek]

sorry for the double post. my dog walked on my keyboard

[Reef_Geek]

IMO, adding phytoplankton to a reef tank for corals is a very nice to have, but plenty of folks have success without doing so. If you were to worry about the fertilizer in the phytoplankton water being poured into your tank, you can use the same philosophy as larval fish rearing... where you're trying to package nutrients into rotifers. So you could feed phytoplankton to rotifers, and in an hour, strain the rotifers through micron screen, then just rinse the rotifers off the screen and into the tank.

If you were breeding marine fish, however, phytoplankton is essential to larval rearing in 1) it has far more HUFAs than other feeds (ie yeast) for sustaining larval fish development, 2) in larval rearing water quality management (buffer pH in constant light, consumes nitrogenous wastes) especially where you can't really have much flow or filtering in a larval rearing tank, and 3) keep the water darker (along with painted tank sides) so larvae aren't wasting energy swimming against the glass.

Phyco Pure is a good product. I used to work next door to Eric at Algagen.

[Reef_Geek]

somebody else once posted this link, which is a good guide on algae culturing

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/W3732E/W3732E00.HTM

the hardest part about culturing algae is to keep them from getting contaminated with other micro organisms, leading to crashes. To get around this, use good sterile practices, and split up as much as possible so you always have something left as seed stock.

That is why you would use dozens of small containers, ramping up to just a few large tanks of algae where you harvest from while restarting other new small cultures.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/W3732E/w3732e0a.gif

[FitoPharmer]

Ok, so let's say I tried culturing Phyco Pure www.alagen.com. Is it safe to grow? If I split it, add 1.019 and grow it under t5s... Would I be able to successfully feed my tank with it?
Chances are you will not be able to successfully start a culture from a product like this. And even if by chance you did, after a few times splitting your cultures one strain of phyto will always dominate the others eliminating its main benefit. I am pretty sure if you do not split a culture 2 weeks after its peak growth the effectiveness in starting new cultures greatly diminishes if it is not stored properly, which in most cases it is not.

[FitoPharmer]

If you live in Edmonton, A LFS or someone will most likely already have a healthy stable Nannochloropsis culture brewing and maybe some rotifers. Nannochloropsis is one of the easiest types to start with. Once you have found a place to get some fresh Nannochloropsis to start a culture order some of this:
http://florida-aqua-farms.com/shop/micro-algae-grow/
and pick up one of these:
http://florida-aqua-farms.com/shop/plankton-culture-manual/

And if you are really in a pinch and cannot get phyto or rotifers in Canada you can order them too:
http://florida-aqua-farms.com/product-category/store/live-cultures/

Once it all arrives you just do a little reading, setup your equipment, and start your cultures.

[tgrover]

Thanks to all!! Interesting discussion and I have some thinking to do. Merry Christmas

[daniella3d]

The benifit is huge. first, it's not really the corals that will eat phyto but the zooplankton. By feeding phyto you will effectively feed the zooplankton and thus the corals.

It is the very base of the food chain, and without it there is not much pods or zooplankton that will thrive in your tank.

It is the only thing that clams eat, and it must be alive for them to eat it as they reject dead phyto.

Feeding phyto is the best way to make a healthy pod population grow.