phytoplankton feeding experiment...results are very interesting

[ddckec6972]

So. a while back i bought some phytoplankton, the directions said 1 drop per gallon. so for me thats 100 drops aka 1 tsp. Now my water params have always been spot on,or better yet. very VERY close to perfect minus the Small fluctuations.. the tank set up is 6 weeks old and is cycled according to four different LFS .......so after i started feeding this stuff to my GPS, Trumpet, xenia, eagle eye zoa and green clove polyp frags, ( about 1-2" frag size). i noticed a brown haze on everything.

I thought it was a diatom bloom, but why? tank is cycled unless i have been lied to by 4 sperarte LFS and my own testing implied cycled, then thought may have been the phytoplankton settling in the tank, it kind looks greenish brown,. so i stirred the sand bed up by redoing my aqua scape, stopped the feeding of phytoplankton, cleaned the glass and began watching and waiting to see if this brown haze return.it never returned. EXCELLENT....... during this waiting period i was testing my water every day. again..my water params were spot on, or better yet. very VERY close to perfect minus the small fluctuations.. my point is there was nothing alarming in my water parms.(PH, DKH, Nitri, nitra amo, cal, mg, phos, salt)....So two days ago i started back with the phytoplankton feeding and guess what?????? the brown haze is back on my glass and sand. Thoughts?

 

[Crusinjimbo]

You will get better feedback if you provide information on your water quality and testing methods, “spot on” really isn’t much help. I have experienced the same “haze” for periods of 3-5 months after initial setup on all my tanks. Good luck

 

[sde1500]

Diatom bloom has nothing to do with the nitrogen cycle. New tanks, which yours is, go through phases of different things growing. Phytoplankton definitely adds more nutrients to the tank, which for such a new tank can possibly overload it.

 

[Pitter98]

While your tank may be cycled, it is far from matured. As sde1500 said, your tank will still go through a bunch of phases over the next 6 months to a year. You will likely get diatoms (which is likely what you are seeing now), hair algae, and several other nasties - especially if you add anything from other tanks.

Reef tanks are a marathon and not a race.

 

[pisanoal]

You WILL get diatoms. Almost every, if not every tank goes through at least one diatom bloom on its way to maturity. Its fine. Let it go through its maturity cycle, this is absolutely nothing to worry about. Keep dosing phyto if you like, just don't over do it.

 

[jurgenph]

cycled means: you have bacteria that process ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate -> nitrogen

cycled does not mean: your tank won't grow algae, diatoms, cyano, or other undesirables when you add extra nutrients to the tank.

also, don't just add the "suggested dose" of any product to your tank. start much lower and observe how your tank reacts to it. or test if you have a test kit for it.

you probably don't need to feed more phyto to your tank.
every time you wipe the glass is a phyto feeding.


J.

 

[gogo7]

unless you have fresh live rock and a lot of filter feeders, you really don't need to overdo the phyto.... and also depending on your filtration.
is your phyto live or dead..?.. is it a mix of differing species or is a singular, like nannochloropsis?


gotta agree with everybody here....your tank is too new and unspecified.
do you wanna keep sponges and corals or do you wanna mixed reef.?
do you want 'fish' or will the fish inhabitants be native to your reef goal?

i like the fact that you're using phyto, but it has to be live phyto to make any headway at this point in the game, at least with what i'd assume you'd be doing, but then again you're using test kits, although you don't seem too worried about results.... i assume you have some decent live rock you're trying to encourage back to life.

i need to know more about what you're doing

 

[sde1500]

phytoplankton feeding experiment...results are very interesting

I've been adding close to a gallon of phyto that I grow every week to my tank for a couple months now. It's a 2 year old tank so a bit more established. I've seen no ill effects. Just know it does add nutrients to the tank.

 

[laverda]

Your tank is very new and while it may be cycled, it is far from established. Why are you dosing Phyto?