Do you dose Live Phytoplankton?

[djkms]

Just trying to get a general idea around here of who does and doesn't dose phyto.

If you do:
How large is your system?
How much do you dose?
How often do you dose?
Do you culture it yourself?
What are you feeding with it?
How do you control the amount of nutrients in your tank?
What benefits have you seen dosing?

If you don't:
Why not?

 

[sirreal63]

How large is your system? About 130 gallons
How much do you dose? None
How often do you dose? Never
Do you culture it yourself?
What are you feeding with it?
How do you control the amount of nutrients in your tank? Bio-Pellets and WC's
What benefits have you seen dosing? I used to dose phyto because others did, I saw no benefit

Phyto cultures never did anything for my tank positive, but I did notice an increase in PO4, a more rapid depletion of GFO and I had to clean my glass daily. The last time I dosed phyto was about 6 years ago, so far I haven't missed it.

 

[Dustin1300]

Id have to agree. Never saw a single benefit of dosing it and from every one I've known/heard from it does not help. Water changes and dosing does it for me. A little dirty water actually makes my sps happier. Found that out by too much water being changed weekly.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[Original Fin]

60 gallon system, daily dosage 20ml in the fuge, 20 more in the DT. 0 Nitrates, but I do have some PO4. I scrape diatoms from glass every two days.

I will tell you that I have a bazillion feather dusters that seem to be pretty happy about it, and I'm pretty sure they thrive like they do because of the phyto. I consider myself lucky to have such a large population of these beneficial filter feeders...
Also, if you're going to have a pod culture in your fuge, it's a must have.

It seems that there are pros and cons to this like anything else.

 

[djkms]

I added a bag of reef pods to my fuge about 2 months ago and I see pods there still. Haven't dosed phytoplankton yet and wondered if it would be worth it. I also have a feather duster and Coco worm which seem to be doing OK but would benefit from phyto.

Sent from my droooid using tapatalk.

 

[muttley000]

I have a small tank so I know I would have to be careful with it. I haven't started yet because I haven't read enough on the subject. I am mostly interested in it to provide food for my small critters so that they make food for my tank.

 

[T Diddy]

Just trying to get a general idea around here of who does and doesn't dose phyto.

If you do:
How large is your system? 180, soon to be 280 gallons
How much do you dose? drop drop squirt
How often do you dose? once or twice weekly
Do you culture it yourself? no...phytofeast
What are you feeding with it? everything, directly or indirectly
How do you control the amount of nutrients in your tank? water changes, soon to have refugium and skimmer added
What benefits have you seen dosing? great polyp extension in corals, an explosion of fan worms, and assorted pods

If you don't:
Why not?

I should note that I also add oysterfeast quite often when feeding my fish. I add phytoplankton in an effort to feed rotifers (and other zooplankton)specifically, which in turn become live coral food.

 

[cobs00]

Here's what the experts have to say on this great little video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BSI3kIV6Oc

 

[djkms]

Nice video. I am curious how much phyto is actually already in our tanks. I wonder this because like previously stated I do have copepods still living in my tank after introducing them 2 months ago. I wouldn't consider it a huge population but they have to be feeding on something...

 

[Joshnlaura]

I dose about two cups of phyto (that I culture at home) every other day both in the sump/fuge and in the main tank. 1 cup to the tank, 1 cup to the sump. ( I turn the sump and skimmer for about 5 hrs during the dose ). I also have several feather dusters and coco worms that really enjoy it.
I started my culture about 3 mths ago from a bottle of DT's and its been going ever since. I actually ordered a phyto culture from Florida AquaFarms but havnt had to use it yet since the DT's and a little miracle grow have been doing fine. I use 2 liter pop bottles and about 10cc's of miracle grow. It matures in about 7-10 days and its ready to use. I havent had a crash yet.

 

[Swolek]

I dose but only because I have animals that directly benefit. Otherwise I wouldn't.

How large is your system? 10-gallon and a 37-gallon
How much do you dose? I honestly don't know at this point, I would guess about 5 mL in the 37-gallon and a much smaller amount in the 10-gallon. I don't really measure it out anymore. The phyto is also target-fed, not just dumped in the tank.
How often do you dose? Twice a week minimum on the 37-gallon. Once a week or so on the 10-gallon (I'm kinda lazy with my 10-gallon so it's inconsistent).
Do you culture it yourself? No, I buy DT's live phytoplankton. I have cultured it before, though.
What are you feeding with it? I'm kind of a tube worm maniac so in the 37-gallon it feeds lots of feather dusters (all different species, some hitchhikers, some purchased) and a coco worm. It also feeds some of my gorgonians. In the 10-gallon, it feeds a dwarf feather duster (pink) and a small cluster duster (30+ worms).
How do you control the amount of nutrients in your tank? Refugium and over-powered skimmer on the 37-gallon along with regular water changes. The 10-gallon gets by with occasional water changes and the fact that I purposely grow algae in one section to help remove nitrate. The 10-gallon is overall just a mature, stable tank so I don't have any problems.
What benefits have you seen dosing? In the 37-gallon, I originally started dosing for purchased animals like a large feather duster (who was one of the first invertebrates I bought) but have now noticed many hitchhiker feather dusters who are doing great and growing. It also seems to boost my copepod and amphipod populations.

 

[bobafet1]

This thread is very old however I'd like to see if anyone has decided to dose phyto as part of their regular regimen?
I have some cultures going that I'm afraid to use cause of phosphates. So, do I toss them or use them? Not sure.

 

[Devaji108]

yes I would like to know this as well. thinking about culturing some for my gorgs.

 

[HefeWeizen]

125 gallon

Dosed once and noticed no difference except that my glass got algae.

 

[Xxero]

I just picked up a bottle of DT's phytoplankton yesterday. I honestly do not expect to see any dramatic coral responses dosing it, but if I do, I will report them here.