henrystyle
Member
1 more question. Will my skimmer skim out the phyto from the tank? Is it good to turn off the skimmer for awhile when feeding phyto?
How to avoid Phytoplankton crashes
- Thread starter melev
- Start date
I don't know what I'm doing right but I took a slight break when it came to caring for my phyto cultures and have left them alone for now a month and a half, just checking them now and my 2 x 2L bottles are still a healthy dark green.
My setup is a 4 bottle system built out of plumbing parts, a valv system and rigid airline. The whole thing was started with some DT's and uses a single CFL to light up to four bottles. It all goes through temp swings depending on whether or not the AC is on. Lit 24 hours a day, this current culture started with 5mL of miracle grow liquid plant fertilizer per bottle.
My setup is a 4 bottle system built out of plumbing parts, a valv system and rigid airline. The whole thing was started with some DT's and uses a single CFL to light up to four bottles. It all goes through temp swings depending on whether or not the AC is on. Lit 24 hours a day, this current culture started with 5mL of miracle grow liquid plant fertilizer per bottle.
I'd bet that nice dark green is a nice cyano culture that came along after the phyto crashed
Who knows what you've got in there. It could be a number of algaes, or cyano like Bill said.
well that's unfortunate if it is the case, they just look right lol.
I'm going to apply a test batch to a small 10G and see what happens, to me it doesn't appear to be cyano, cyano has a distinct color. I've been watching my bottles since this thread and they go through a cycle:
-Healthy dark green
-Detritus settles
-gets slightly lighter in color
-over the next day goes back to normal.
I'm going to apply a test batch to a small 10G and see what happens, to me it doesn't appear to be cyano, cyano has a distinct color. I've been watching my bottles since this thread and they go through a cycle:
-Healthy dark green
-Detritus settles
-gets slightly lighter in color
-over the next day goes back to normal.
April_Sherwood
New member
I agree with Bill and NirvanaFan in that you should be careful with that month and a half old phyto. Is there a smell to it? (shouldn't be any strong odor) Are there a bunch of chunks in it??
A good way to check to see if you have any good phyto in there would be to check it under a microscope. I purchased one just for that purpose - to check on my cultures of phyto and rotifers.
What's in the 10 gallon that you're going to test your culture on and how much are you going to put in there to test with?
Best wishes that it doesn't create a problem for you!
A good way to check to see if you have any good phyto in there would be to check it under a microscope. I purchased one just for that purpose - to check on my cultures of phyto and rotifers.
What's in the 10 gallon that you're going to test your culture on and how much are you going to put in there to test with?
Best wishes that it doesn't create a problem for you!
henrystyle
Member
Where can I get a good starter culture? Something that will give me the best feeding response.
I'm not trusting this first batch that I made.
This stuff is not getting dark at all...
I'm not trusting this first batch that I made.
This stuff is not getting dark at all...
henrystyle
Member
Which phytoplankton would be best for an sps tank? Nanochloropsus or Tetraselmus? Any others?
Also how do dried phyto compare to live? Any good?
Also how do dried phyto compare to live? Any good?
SpareParts
New member
Has anyone used water softener salt to make culture medium? I've read about a few people doing this to save $$.
I buy the evaporation purified water softener salts as there is less garbage than the "rock salt" looking softener salts.
Be sure it is sodium chloride because there are other salts that can be used for water softeners.
I mix 10 parts water softener salt to 1 part epsom salt and dilute to 1.017 which is what I culture my nano, brine shrimp and rotifers at.
Be sure it is sodium chloride because there are other salts that can be used for water softeners.
I mix 10 parts water softener salt to 1 part epsom salt and dilute to 1.017 which is what I culture my nano, brine shrimp and rotifers at.
If you go the water softener salt way, be sure it does not have any additives such as those used for anti caking. Plain old Morton Solar Salt is best. However, keep in mind the trace element portion of Guillards f/2 is based on using a proper salt mix with all it's associated trace elements.
I started my culture about a month ago. I had two successful batches but everything after that has been crashing. Here in Arizona it stays warm even into October but once it started cooling down is when my cultures started crashing. Could the temperature swings be killing my cultures? How do others control the temperature of their cultures?
I know this thread hasn't been active for a while, but I wanted to post my question about Miracle Grow. If the miracle grow is not fully consumed in your 2L bottles by the phyto will it cause an algae bloom in your DT when dripped/added daily?
Has there been any changes to your regimen over the last couple of years; ie tips or pearls to help me get started over what's been said in these thread pages?
Happy Growing!
Has there been any changes to your regimen over the last couple of years; ie tips or pearls to help me get started over what's been said in these thread pages?
Happy Growing!
If it's not fully consumed, it will boost the nutrient content of your tank...and yes, that could lead to a bloom. Also, keep in mind, Miracle Grow has a high zinc and copper content (not really good for a reef tank), and lacks the vitamins to grow a properly nutritious phyto. I wouldn't add Miracle Grow to reef tank, so I wouldn't use it to grow phyto Especially considering the proper Guillards f/2 media is readily available and economical, and isn't overloaded with zinc and copper.
Especially considering the proper Guillards f/2 media is readily available and economical, and isn't overloaded with zinc and copper.
