Do phytoplankton stay in water column?

[Back where it all began]

As the title asks. Do they reside only in the column or attach to rock, sand, etc.

 

[sde1500]

Mostly will be in the water column. I guess dead/non-motile stuff could sink and land on sand and rock. Unlikely with the flow in our tanks. Won’t really reside in the tank at all. Will quickly be eaten by various inhabitants and filtered by any mechanical filtration.

 

[Back where it all began]

Then, if I have a mixed reef with Duncans and leathers, no filter feeders, but many hermits and shrimp; would copes and phyto be worthwhile. I have a foxface, kole tang, cowfish, valentini puffer, melanurus wrasse, royal gramma.

 

[Back where it all began]

I keep easy corals right now. Maybe "harder" ones in the future.

 

[Matt Carden]

I am trying to solve this question when I start back up my tank. One of the things that keeps being repeated is that they like salinity lower than we tend to keep ours.

 

[Back where it all began]

That's interesting. I keep mine at 1.026 like most do. If they stay long enough to use nitrate and phosphate, might be reasonable. Then they die and probably release it back into the column one way or another.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

I feed my reef live phytoplankton twice a day as well as live rotifers

 

[Back where it all began]

Also, algeabarn mentioned that uv doesn't effect them. Thought that was odd.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Also, algeabarn mentioned that uv doesn't effect them. Thought that was odd.

I am not sure that is a good question trying to figure that out myself was thinking about adding a uv sterilizer but do not want to kill my phytoplankton my corals and pods love it

 

[waterskiguy]

Plankton live in the water column. Zooplankton being plant and zooplankton being animal. Phyto may not be consumed directly by the corals or animals, But what they consume probably is, somewhere down the food chain. I feed rotifers phyto to grow them out so i can feed my corals and other pods that re consumed by different animals. the way i figure, somewhere down the line, everything will have something to eat.