If Calfo says we have low-plankton tanks, how do we add it??

[Mr James]

Phytoplankton?? I read a small clip of a big article he wrote and once sentence stood out (I can't find it at the moment). He talked about how our tanks are low in nutrients. How do we add it to out tanks?? Oh, I remember. He was talking about BTA's and how they need nutrient rich waters. How do we make nutrint rich water??

 

[spineshank385]

stop skimming and water changes

 

[Mr James]

Seriously now.

 

[spineshank385]

lol my guess would be to skim heavily and feed as much as possible.

Maybe culture phyto and drip that into the tank?

 

[marinelife]

I culture my own phyto and add it daily

 

[Mr James]

I used to culture my phyto and rotifers. I may start doing that again. Where can I get live zooplankton or live phyto??

 

[tinyreef]

i've been thinking about a remote sunlit refugium to make phyto for the main tank. i think the sunlight will allow easier phyto generation if you limit it to a small (controllable) zone, like a refugium.

i've been running a 2.5-gallon sunlit pico tank for the last 9-months and i believe there's a significant amount of phyto being generated. without uncontrolled nuisance algae being generated at the same time.

i'm going to try a sunlit refugium piped in-line with my display tank soon (consolidating some tanks). i'm hoping it will solve certain more difficult-to-care corals needs.

 

[Malcolm_C]

will the skimmer remove rotifers?

 

[GreshamH]

Yes, if they come in contact with it. To much water flow will cause them to drop thier eggs, produce cysts and males due to the stress.

 

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7862411#post7862411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spineshank385
lol my guess would be to skim heavily and feed as much as possible.

Maybe culture phyto and drip that into the tank?

heavy import if nutrients , heavy export( skimming , fuge, dsb, water changes...)

 

[Acroholic]

Hey, I have a question about you guys that are feeding cultured phyto to your tank. How are you doing this without introducing all the phosphates that are in the phyto culture??????
I have tested my phyto cultures (Nano & Iso) many times and my cultures have heavy amounts of phosphates from the plant/phyto food. I have a problem with putting that directly into my main display tank.....

 

[Reefflections]

Yep,I'm with you Acroholic here with you also.Why is this post so many of us from Florida asking the same thing?I'm here in Tallahasse,Fl.My SPS coral hate this stuff
Yet, my Pink Acan Lords drool for this stuff,and the other LPS stuff.
Very hard to have both type coral in the same system for sure.Where SPS thrive on pristine water conditions,where others don't.

 

[Mr James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7897991#post7897991 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefflections
Tallahasse,Fl.My SPS coral hate this stuff
Yet, my Pink Acan Lords drool for this stuff,and the other LPS stuff.

You guys need to read Anthony Calfo's Propagating Corals book. I have it bookmarked, that SPS eat zooplankton and rarely if ever eat phytoplankton. Phyto is for most softies and some LPS; filter feeders. SPS eat zooplankton, which is smaller than phyto. I use to culture both phyto and rotifers. I would feed the phyto to my rotifers and the rotifers to the tank. I NEVER directly fed phyto to my SPS. Same reason you don't feed dog food to a cow.

 

[GreshamH]

SPS eat zooplankton, which is smaller than phyto.

larger then phyto, and a food source for zooplankton

 

[Reefflections]

What I meant here was adding the Phosphates into the system,with the SPS corals.Because tends to hinder the color enrichment of the SPS's (brown).It's like a double edge sword!And can bring on unwanted algae.

 

[renko]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7898026#post7898026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr James
I would feed the phyto to my rotifers and the rotifers to the tank. I NEVER directly fed phyto to my SPS. Same reason you don't feed dog food to a cow.

So you would feed a dog to a cow? Interesting analogy.

 

[Acroholic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7898026#post7898026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr James
Same reason you don't feed dog food to a cow.

ummmmmmmm??????? Huh?

I gut load my rotifers also, but the question I asked was to those who add phyto directly to the tank......

 

[wld1783]

Balance is key.

If the things you want to grow are growing you are doing something right.

Heavy feeding and heavy export is costly.

Remember a reef tank is a captive ecosystem and you will not be able to keep all the things you want well feed without causing problems later.

Bill

 

[GreshamH]

OT, Bill, had was that photo taken in hour avatar? By another jet in front of it?

 

[tasos]

If you are adding phyto in the tank ,that is heavily skimmed, the rotifers go with the skimmer's skum.......
You must feed the rotifers to another tank ,harvest them and feed them to the corals, stopping the skimmer for an hour or so......
....Or you go skimmerless!!