Benefits of Phytoplankton

cd77

cd77

Premium Member
I just picked up my first bottle of DT's from my LPS (after some research and a feather duster losing its head) but I've also read of other benefits of adding phytoplankton and have read a lot of guides for culturing it yourself -- melev's reef being my favorite.

How important is feeding phytoplankton for the long term success of a mixed reef? I'm curious to see whether or not some people consider it a necessity, a benefit, or just plain unnecessary.

What are the benfits of adding phyto? For those of you who add phyto to your tanks, how much/frequently do you add?

Just looking for some opinions and thoughts. Feel free to rant!
 
ohh no the phyto debate again!!!
well my 2 cents is......... Im a firm believer in it. I culture my own and have seen a huge differance in my tank since doseing. your pod population will explode and feather dusters will pop up everywhere in time. Phyto is the bottom of the food chain, so your whole tank will benifit from it. Do you have to dose to have a great healty tank, NO!! but you will see some change in your tank while doseing. I culture my own and dose about a cup or so every other day. just my 2 cents !
 
Although not all corals will consume the phyto, as jpitts mentioned dosing it can benefit the tank by feeding the pods and other filter feeders.

It may be a good idea to test your water periodically after you initially start dosing to make sure you are not dosing more than than the tank can handle, spoiling the water quality in doing so.

That being said, more of my dosing was done for clams, but I would cover them and then inject some phyto in until the water cleared. I only dosed the whole tank from time to time, especially to conserve it since DTs was not available in my area.
 
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If you have coral then its not a benefit. Its a necissity. They may not show signs up front but after time you will and in some cases it may be to late.
Some or most coral derive there food from bacteria in them and the bacteria need to be feed to keep the coral healthy.
Consider it a requirment and start useing , also turn skimmer off a few hours after adding to the tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10980953#post10980953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demonsp

Some or most coral derive there food from bacteria in them and the bacteria need to be feed to keep the coral healthy.
Click to expand...

Zooxanthellae are a symbiotic algae, not bacteria :)
 
If you're trying to improve coral health, zooplankton would be a better choice. If you have inverts you want to feed then it's not a bad thing. Most tanks don't need it though and won't see improved functioning from it.
 
I agree with Jpitts on this, I've cultured phyto before and saw a definate postive result with my tanks. Overall fish color even looked better.

Wrench, home cultured phyto is not as concentrated as DT's phyto, so a full cup of home cultured stuff is still probably less phyto than a capful of DT's. We're talking the difference between a billion cells per ml and a million cells per ml. (different strains are different sizes and i don't remember the concetration of DT's off hand, but you get the idea.)
 
very easy to culture, just keep everything sterile. You can also make easy money with it. culture enough for the LFS to sell and make a little extra money or store credit.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10980953#post10980953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demonsp
If you have coral then its not a benefit. Its a necissity. They may not show signs up front but after time you will and in some cases it may be to late.
Some or most coral derive there food from bacteria in them and the bacteria need to be feed to keep the coral healthy.
Consider it a requirment and start useing , also turn skimmer off a few hours after adding to the tank.
Click to expand...

This is just not true at all. If you all are dosing it and see good results, good for you. But dont go around saying you need to use it, when obviously you dont. Most people dont dose it and have fine looking tanks.

The corals contain algae, which needs light to survive, not bacteria which needs food.
 
Thanks, all.

greenbean - can zooplankton be home cultured as well? Where can it be obtained?

For those of you who do use phyto/zoo, how much do you use?
 
I use both, phyto is easy to culture and cost almost nothing and my tank loves me for it. Lots of people say that corals dont benifit from it but i have several that do. For instance it has increased my pod population therefore my open brains and acans get to eat pods all night long. yeah they would be okay with just zooplankton or nothing at all at that. Phytoplankton will make things that you have never seen in your tank become visable, your corals will eat the pods and whatever else roams around and everyone is happy. Ohh and you can get both at your lfs.
 
When you dose with phyto, should you turn off your return pump to the display tank to prevent it being filtered out by a 20micron filter sock? Or is this stuff so small it will go right through? If so, how long should I leave my pump off?

I always pour it in the fuge first to maximize its duration within the water column (assuming it gets filtered out).
 
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