Phtyo - Does it survive?

[JennyFlow]

If you add living phyto to a tank, does it continue to grow? I see articles on how to grow phyto in soda bottles but why doesnt it survive when simply added to a reef tank? Is it because it gets eaten faster than it can grow? Or does it just die?

 

[lowtek]

To my understanding, it's the protein skimmer that removes most of the phyto. I usually turn off my skimmer for an hour or two.

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[Michael Hoaster]

I've wondered about this too. Since most aquariums are set up to minimize algae, it doesn't live long in them. You could set up a tank to favor phytoplankton, eliminating all mechanical filtration, skimming, etc. and keep nutrient levels higher, so it could flourish. If you are successful, you'll likely end up with a tank full of green water.

It would great to find a happy medium, so it could live indefinitely, without clouding up the water. Tough to do in a low nutrient reef tank, but maybe in a high nutrient planted tank (like mine) it could work. I may give it a try at some point. If so, I'll be sure to report back to RC.