Dinoflagellates.
- Thread starter DNA
- Start date
karimwassef
Active member
Phyto is a food source. It needs to be constantly added. I don't expect it to have much of a half life in the tank.
EvMiBo
VictoriaConcordiaCrescit
Not sure if you're talking to me or cal_stir, karimwassef.
But, if you go non UV and only the micro fauna balance route do you dose a lot of pods off the bat, then just feed phyto from there? Maybe on occasion add more/different pods than before..? The phyto is a food source for many things, but is it actually out competing dinos? If not, is the pod population out competing dinos? The idea of microfauna balance makes sense, although I don't understand what's keeping dinos in safe abundance.
But, if you go non UV and only the micro fauna balance route do you dose a lot of pods off the bat, then just feed phyto from there? Maybe on occasion add more/different pods than before..? The phyto is a food source for many things, but is it actually out competing dinos? If not, is the pod population out competing dinos? The idea of microfauna balance makes sense, although I don't understand what's keeping dinos in safe abundance.
karimwassef
Active member
I did. I added pods and phyto.
But for me, UV had the greatest impact.
But for me, UV had the greatest impact.
That's it in a nutshell for me, 9 weeks dino free.
I dose 200ml of phyto 4 x daily, also culturing copepods and amphipods.
DNA
New member
The effects of the toxins produced are debated, but there are theories.
One is that their purpose is to stunt the growth of their predators.
This fits our problems at eliminating them just fine.
In my tank SPS don't grow, the predators are missing and dinos dominate.
Another is that dinos use the toxin to find each other for sexual purposes.
This also fits perfectly how Ostreopsis sp gather in my tank.
The fission is the fast division, but fusion is for genetic variability.
One is that their purpose is to stunt the growth of their predators.
This fits our problems at eliminating them just fine.
In my tank SPS don't grow, the predators are missing and dinos dominate.
Another is that dinos use the toxin to find each other for sexual purposes.
This also fits perfectly how Ostreopsis sp gather in my tank.
The fission is the fast division, but fusion is for genetic variability.
karimwassef
Active member
So the toxins killed big snails and big crabs. It didn't kill pods, or urchins, or small snails and crabs. There may be a threshold that impacts large predators disproportionately.
Quiet_Ivy
New member
Sounds a lot like importing into Canada. And we supposedly have free trade with the U.S.
What about dry phyto? Many health food stores here are touting the health benefits of phytoplankton. Apparently the stuff can survive being freeze-dried as I've seen sites selling dry disks for culture. Might be tough to find a brand that tells you what the actual ingredient is, but worth a net search maybe?
hth
ivy
EvMiBo
VictoriaConcordiaCrescit
A couple questions:
-you dose 200 mL of phyto 4 x a day? That seems like a lot. How big is your system?
-what's your process to culture copepods and amphipods?
I have a 90g display and about 220g water volume and a vertex alpha 200 skimmer that skims 24/7.
I culture copepods in a bucket at 1.024 and an air line @ 3 bubbles per sec. and feed fresh phyto, the same for amphipods except I feed them enriched flakes.
Water changes every couple weeks, room temp. and ambient light.
karimwassef
Active member
Got a pic? How did you start it?
This is a link to the phyto culture that I used.
http://melevsreef.com/node/1615
This is the link to the copepods culture except I feed fresh phyto.
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c90/raising-live-rotifers-copepods-c199.html#_preparing_a_bucket
I got the copepods from Live Aquaria.
This is a video I used for the amphipods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7df2F_-8ao
I got the amphipods from Indo Pacific Sea Farms.
Eventually the amphipods will be abundant in the tank and I will stop culturing them but I plan to continuously culture the copepods.
This is my copepod culture, I plan to move it to a permanent location. I scoop the out with a brine shrimp sieve.
http://[url=http://imgur.com/wyDokCV]
[/URL]
http://melevsreef.com/node/1615
This is the link to the copepods culture except I feed fresh phyto.
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c90/raising-live-rotifers-copepods-c199.html#_preparing_a_bucket
I got the copepods from Live Aquaria.
This is a video I used for the amphipods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7df2F_-8ao
I got the amphipods from Indo Pacific Sea Farms.
Eventually the amphipods will be abundant in the tank and I will stop culturing them but I plan to continuously culture the copepods.
This is my copepod culture, I plan to move it to a permanent location. I scoop the out with a brine shrimp sieve.
http://[url=http://imgur.com/wyDokCV]
[/URL]This is my tank.
[url=http://imgur.com/ZAOYHLg]
[/URL]
[url=http://imgur.com/ZAOYHLg]
[/URL]Adrnalnrsh
New member
This is my tank.
[url=http://imgur.com/ZAOYHLg]
Nice I have a 90 but absolute no color right now. Wish I had 200+ gallons of water as well. I am starting to get some hair algae growing. Started to increase my clean up crew.
Adrnalnrsh
New member
Just got finished transferring my phytoplankton culture from a small water bottle to 1 gal (2.5 gallon jug)
Adrnalnrsh
New member
Did a 15gallon water change last Sunday and just in the last day or two I saw a few small new dinos. Can tell by the bubbles.
Not sure if the water change had anything to do with it or what.
Not sure if the water change had anything to do with it or what.
I would cease with the water changes at this point, if your cleaning the sandbed then run the water through a filter and put it back in.
maybe turn off your skimmer for a couple days.
Adrnalnrsh
New member
Skimmer has been off for two weeks now and I have a bare bottom tank.
Instead of water changes I am vacuuming into a filter sock and reusing the water.
I am definitely seeing some new dino growth in places that had cyanobacteria before the chemiclean. Not many have bubbles at this point. Most of the bubbles I saw previously disappeared.
Are you sure its not diatoms?
