Can you dose phytoplankton?

[leonk]

Hello I was just curious how good phytoplankton can be fine for before going bad I was planning on dosing it with a doser daily but will it be fine not in the fridge? Over the span of a month in the dosing container? Thank you for the reply’s!

 

[Lavey29]

Hello I was just curious how good phytoplankton can be fine for before going bad I was planning on dosing it with a doser daily but will it be fine not in the fridge? Over the span of a month in the dosing container? Thank you for the reply’s!

Get an electric cool cup holder

 

[Gribbles]

Get an electric cool cup holder

You just sent me down a giant rabbit hole

 

[Naekuh]

Get an electric cool cup holder

why not!

We have kalk stirers... might as well have phyto cooler for our hobby to make it easier for dosing pumps!

 

[kingranch2003]

why not!

We have kalk stirers... might as well have phyto cooler for our hobby to make it easier for dosing pumps!

I feel like I just gained something that I needed from this.

 

[Nano_Man]

Plankton should not really have a smell when it’s good but if it goes off it will stink you need to keep it cool fridge temperature you should get in the fridge 6 weeks maybe more but remember to gently move your plankton about not shake it but gently move it about every day if possible . Some people buy mini fridges for dosing refrigerated products by drilling the side for dosing tubes

 

[Kmst80]

I dose it, got it in a 2 liter bottle but I dose 360 ml a day. 36ml per hour 10 hours a day. The 2 lt bottle is sitting on a magnetic stirrer that stirs it twice a day. I dose 3 lt. a week this way before I get the next lot and repeat. Wouldn't go any longer without refrigeration but.

 

[floridareeflabs]

Hello,

Refrigeration allows the phyto to last longer as it slows down its need for food. It is possible to keep phyto alive for more than 6 weeks in a fridge, but it does start to die off after a week or two BUT dead phyto can still be good phyto if it’s been refrigerated. Meaning, 3-6 week old phyto is still good to feed your copepods and does have nutritious benefits to your tank in general. We wouldn't recommend dosing 2-4 month-old phyto to your tank as it does loose nutrition as the weeks go on after it dies and decays and that could cause some balance issues in your tank. We feed phyto that was refrigerated greater than 10-18 days directly to our zooplankton, they do great with live or "freshly" dead phyto.



We have taken phyto that has been refrigerated (forgotten about) more than a month and been able to re-culture it, BUT lots of sediment and straining needed after a few days to remove the dead cells. It really is not recommended, and we did it as a TEST but in general most cells will die as result of lack of fertilizer after a week or two.



As already stated above, any phyto your purchase and plan to store be sure to invert the bottle or lightly stir the container daily or bidaily to keep it suspended (not a violent shake to cause foam!). The longer it can be suspended the longer it will live vs collecting at bottom/settling and suffocating itself causing quicker die off.

Also, if dosing using automated doser we recommend keeping lines as short as possible BUT in the end as long as your pushing phyto through it 2-4 times a day it will help keep lines from clogging up. Once a year you "may" need or want to pull the main line and blow air through it to blast out/clean and reconnect.

If more questions just reach out, we love to talk shop!

 

[John Biddle]

@floridareeflabs how long would phyto stay alive at room temperature for use with a doser? Would it have to have air bubbled in like in a culture? Would it need to be stirred?

Also, is there an easy way, usig a test strip for example, to test culture water to determine when the fertilizer has been used up?

 

[floridareeflabs]

Hello, phyto at room temp will last days without getting fertilizer. This is because the cells will still be active and consuming what food is left. You could just add air line and pour fresh phyto in every few days and the air bubbles and pouring new phyto in will keep it stirred up but it is also a bit more work than leaving in a fridge where no air is needed and cells are slowed down so barley consuming. In a fridge you can get creative with how to keep things stirred up and worry less about fouling the phyto.


As for knowing when f/2 is depleted you can get some nitrate test strips off amazon or LFS and after culturing your phyto for 10 days test sample daily , if zero or near zero then pull or split and start again.

 

[John Biddle]

Hello, phyto at room temp will last days without getting fertilizer. This is because the cells will still be active and consuming what food is left. You could just add air line and pour fresh phyto in every few days and the air bubbles and pouring new phyto in will keep it stirred up but it is also a bit more work than leaving in a fridge where no air is needed and cells are slowed down so barley consuming. In a fridge you can get creative with how to keep things stirred up and worry less about fouling the phyto.


As for knowing when f/2 is depleted you can get some nitrate test strips off amazon or LFS and after culturing your phyto for 10 days test sample daily , if zero or near zero then pull or split and start again.

Thanks