phytoplankton day 2, does this look right?

[drew4452862]

salinity 1.019, room temp, 2 liters, 2 air hoses on a splitter (one centred, one on the side). RODI water, IO salt, Miracle grow 5ml, 1ml Kent's marine essentials. Lighting 5000k CFL flood light used for chaeto and some natural light during the day.

 

[billsreef]

Looks like the algae settled out and your getting some bacterial growth. I'd really bump up the aeration...get a nice rolling boil going, and you have a chance the culture will come around in a couple of days. I'd also suggest ditching the miracle grown and getting some proper phyto nutrients...aka Guillards f/2 media, it's cheap enough and will grow a nutritionally superior phyto

 

[KCombs]

the shape of the vessel seems to matter also....
you tend to get less "dead spots" with conventional 2l bottles; I'd run a rigid tube to about 1" off the bottom

...also, you might be able to manage the cultures better if you rotate 2ea @2L bottles instead of one big jug

 

[drew4452862]

should have mentioned i am using phytofeast.

 

[muttley000]

+1 on the f/2. What are you using the phytofeast for, did you try to start a culture with it? I have had great luck with the algea disks, fertilizer and rotifer supplies at Florida Aqua Farms if you need a source to get set up right. The Plankton Culture Manual they sell has all the info you will need and more also.

 

[NvyroMental]

I never had any luck with the phytofeast. Most of the cells are inactive when they are chilled in the fridge prior to purchase. If any linger, I have heard that with more than one species of phyto, there is competition and several species dies off. Mine crashed within several days. I did though, have good luck with culturing individual species in separate containers from Florida Aqua Farms. I ordered an agarose disk of Tertaselmis and Nanochloropsus. Also used miracle grow and after one month had more phyto than i could realistically use.

 

[567234ta]

i know a lot of people use it but miracle grow contains copper i'm pretty sure. It may be very trace amounts by time anything gets to your tank but anything that looks like copper i run away from.

 

[KCombs]

I never had any luck with the phytofeast. Most of the cells are inactive when they are chilled in the fridge prior to purchase. If any linger, I have heard that with more than one species of phyto, there is competition and several species dies off. Mine crashed within several days. I did though, have good luck with culturing individual species in separate containers from Florida Aqua Farms. I ordered an agarose disk of Tertaselmis and Nanochloropsus. Also used miracle grow and after one month had more phyto than i could realistically use.

thats interesting and sorta/maybe explains a few things....
what is also interesting is what you get after the cultures have been in the refrig for several months:
....normally when I use the "blends" I've eventually would up with nano (I got that answer here on RC)
...anyway I found a bottle of VERY old "Tahitian Blend" that had been in the fride for months!! ...I revived it for the hecuvit and what I got was "olive brownish" .... forget what that is, buit its not nano

 

[billsreef]

i know a lot of people use it but miracle grow contains copper i'm pretty sure. It may be very trace amounts by time anything gets to your tank but anything that looks like copper i run away from.

Yup, not only does in contain copper, but in much higher quantity than Guillards media. It also has zinc, which you won't find in Guillards. Not to mention the lack of proper vitamins. Basically a very poor culture nutrient media substitute in all respects.

thats interesting and sorta/maybe explains a few things....
what is also interesting is what you get after the cultures have been in the refrig for several months:
....normally when I use the "blends" I've eventually would up with nano (I got that answer here on RC)
...anyway I found a bottle of VERY old "Tahitian Blend" that had been in the fride for months!! ...I revived it for the hecuvit and what I got was "olive brownish" .... forget what that is, buit its not nano

The Tahitian Blend was named for the Tahitian strain of Isochrysus galbana, which is brown. Actually I'm quite surprised that T-Iso would have cultured up from that after months in the fridge.