Phytoplankton / Who uses it

[Brucey]

So . . .

1. Who uses phytoplankton
2. How much do you dose and how often
3. What benefits do you think your getting
4. What benefits are you actually seeing.

I always use to add Phyto and use to see a lot of growth in sponges etc in the tank. I always assumed SPS corals benefitted from it's addition but NO, not true. SPS corals will reject Phyto, preferring Rotifers, Zooplankton and other animal matter plankton. It also adds to the Phosphates which is the primary reason why i stopped adding it. So i'm thinking of adding it again and hence my questions above

 

[pyxis]

well, i use DT's Live I add 2 cap fulls every week 1x and i notice that on my lps and softies, they seem to benefit from it by expanding larger and showing alot more movement than usual right after a target feeding.

Not sure why, but they seem to like it. so why change a good thing

Hope this helps

 

[Brucey]

Thanks bud. I grow my own so it's free . . . . seems a shame not to use it but obviously don't want to comprimise the tank conditions if it has adverse effects
Brucey

 

[fidojoe]

I used a group of three different types of "instant algae" that we do group orders on with my local reef club. Once is nannochloropsis, one is called shellfish diet, and one is called omega boost. They seem to make my softies and my torch happy, but my batch went bad (after the 3 month refridgerator shelf life) right before I got my hammer and 2nd torch. I am still waiting on another group order from them, cause its only $10 for a 3+ month supply of all 3 types, but only the nanno. can be frozen for the 1 year shelf life.

 

[Montanareefer]

Yeah I use the green water on the wife's tank and have noticed alot of feather dusters appearing and more life on the LR.

 

[Curtswearing]

Sponges, small clams, and other filter feeders will benefit from phyto. Corals don't really use phyto though.....they eat bacteria, fish poop, their zoox feed them, DOCs, etc.

Using polyp movement to decide a food material is good can be misleading. They are able to sense things in the water column through chemoreception. You could probably put a teaspoon of sugar in the tank and see the same reaction.

There used to be an additive on the market that was rumored to be dried cow blood. The corals would react to it but that didn't mean it offered any nutrition to the coral.

I don't add it to my tank because I don't have many things that need it. I don't like dead phyto at all....Phosphate in a bottle. I like the live phyto a lot better but if you are using live phyto, feed sparingly. Once the phyto dies, it releases a lot of Phosphates into the water column. Make sure you run your skimmer wet for a day to remove the dead phyto after dosing.

 

[Witfull]

another problem with feeding algaes to your tank is the possiblity of a bloom. i have seen it happen when using the liquid bottle that is kept in the fridge. and i agree with the P issue curt described.

 

[fidojoe]

You guys have convinced me to stop using it... cool, that saves me 10 bux I think stuff responds better to cyclop-eeze anyways, its like crack for critters

 

[AustinReef]

i only dose cyclop-eeze. All of my sps and lps open up their feeder tentacles as soon as this stuff hits the water. Plus my fish like it too

 

[Brucey]

Curt - - - great info as always. So i grow my own so it's always alive. Are you saying you think it's ok to add if your running a wet skimmer and adding it in small quantities. Thanks bud.
I'd like to see the benefits of more fan worms etc but don't want the additional Phosphates !!!! catch 22. I've can grow it by the litre and so it's a shame not to use it ????
Brucey

 

[NaH2O]

Brucey, if you decide to use it...I would turn the skimmer off for an hour after you dose....that way the critters that use it can utilize it before it gets to the skimmer. Then, as Curt stated, run your skimmer wet. Personally, I won't use it. I already want to limit the nutrients in the system, not introduce more. Sure the feather dusters and sponges grow....because there is more nutrients available to them. Not something I want in a SPS system. I guess it depends on what you want to look at. Do you think using your algae magnet and cleaning off the glass would provide similar effects? Also, Brucey, have you ever thought of getting rotifer cultures and growing that as well?

The chemoreception is right on. There are numerous reasons polyps extend....and sensing something in the water is one of them.

 

[Brucey]

Hi Nikki . . . . in round about answer, I think the solution here is to buy another tank (hee hee . . . . try selling that one to the misses). Yes, I had a Rotifer tank (20 gallon) and the things were fairly easy to keep . . . which is why I grow my own phyto. But I had a real bad experience about 3 weeks ago when introducing a new fish and since then i have been plagued with ich . . . and even went out and bought a gorgeous UV to knock it on the head. Thankfully, it's just about gone now. So the Rotofier tank has been turned into a Q tank instead. You learn your lessons the hard way eh !!!! So, if I can get my LFS guy to give me another "little" tank, then I might think about Rot's again. But for now, I'm not going to dose the phyto anymore.
Thanks ALL for your input
Brucey

 

[NaH2O]

Brucey - the new "little" tank can be a gift for the baby. You'll just have to take care of it until the little one can do it (I can always find excuses for tank purchasing)

 

[Brucey]

LOL Nik . . . . . 14 days and counting . . . . must get more coral quick . . . . must get more coral quick.

Brucey
---x----

 

[mattie]

i been adding phyto to my tank for a long time now i do only add small amounts 2x a week but i do notice that after i add it the skimmer pulls more or pulls out the phyto.
i have not seen any changes on sps corals but some soft polyps have colored up after i started using it
i think it can cause problems as with anything else you add if too much is used

 

[addict]

I use phyto to feed my baby clams in a bowl, and that's it... don't ever add it directly to the tank. I use DT's anyway, but from what I understand, it also adds Phosphate like the 'dead' phyto mixes (i.e. Kent Phytoplex).
I figure I'm getting enough phosphate from the fish foods, so wherever I can cut down nutrient importation I will.
We used to dose it a bit in the old tank thinking it did something for the corals and squamosa clam, but they all actually seem to be growing better in the new tank that we don't dose any phyto in at all...
I think when we dosed phyto before the skimmer ended up with most of it anyway.