Growing your own phytoplankton

[Koddie Doo]

Does anybody in the club make their own phytoplankton? I have looked online and it seems like it is very easy to do. Especially if you're making small batches just for your personal tank. Just wondering if there's any success stories out there.

 

[beaker77]

Super simple. I've been doing it about 10 years.

Here is how I got started:
http://www.melevsreef.com/node/1614

This is the setup I have now:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/ds/

 

[kegogut]

Piferz does it. Ive bought the stuff to do it but my A.D.D. and laziness got the better of me.

 

[chucklez]

I was growing my own for a bit. Need to start a new batch.

 

[Nanook]

I grew phytoplankton back in the day, it was pretty easy and a fun project. My issue was I made way more than I needed. The trick is keeping your culture pure and not overusing fertilizer which will lead to algae outbreaks in your tank if you're not careful. Overall, I'm not convinced that phytoplankton dosing is worthwhile.

 

[_E_]

Does anybody in the club make their own phytoplankton? I have looked online and it seems like it is very easy to do. Especially if you're making small batches just for your personal tank. Just wondering if there's any success stories out there.

I swear Koodie, you have either been reading my mind or looking at my search history lately. Every topic that you have posted a question about I have been researching (proper temp, calibrating apex temp probes, growing phyto).

I've been thinking about trying this down the road as a neat little project. The thought was that it would be used in my DT, but I wasn't sure how much would actually benefit from a bit of phyto. I therefore was exploring the complexities of culturing phtyo for rotifers or bbs.