Growing green water and bugs

[CoralClasher]

Can't imagine the temp swings here are going to be very helpful for this.

So far the temp has swung from low 40’s to 80. Water temp has hit 90

 

[R.Weller]

Yeah my DT has lots of nutrients. I haven’t added anything to my experiments. It’s just tank water out in the sun. How green does it need to be?

This was one of my initial mistakes. I thought I could use a splash of starter & it would take off. As it turns out, the recommendation from Mercer is 1:1, but I'm using 2:1 after doing some reading online. Here's a picture of my latest batch.

Additional reading here:

Phytoplankton Culture

How to culture phytoplankton at home, click here to review the full aquaculture article for free

www.saltwateraquariumblog.com

 

[CoralClasher]

This was one of my initial mistakes. I thought I could use a splash of starter & it would take off. As it turns out, the recommendation from Mercer is 1:1, but I'm using 2:1 after doing some reading online. Here's a picture of my latest batch.

Additional reading here:

Phytoplankton Culture

How to culture phytoplankton at home, click here to review the full aquaculture article for free

www.saltwateraquariumblog.com

Yeah I have looked at getting phytoplankton and starting cultures but if they crash you have to start over. Just taking tank water and put it outside seems really easy. I didn’t have the guts to put the full 2 liters in last night so I did 8 ounces. I did notice a feeding response from my green serpent starfish and Scolly went in feeding mode.

 

[CoralClasher]

I noticed the bug tank is turning green today.

 

[CoralClasher]

 

[CoralClasher]

Can anyone give me ID on that video?

 

[CoralClasher]

Really turning green.

 

[CoralClasher]

I got rid of the macros in the outside experiment.

 

[creativeballance]

Maybe it was covered already and I missed it, but are you trying to get phytoplankton or something else?

 

[R.Weller]

I got rid of the macros in the outside experiment.

At this point, are you using any other nutrient source beyond starting with tank water & the used filter pad?

 

[CoralClasher]

Maybe it was covered already and I missed it, but are you trying to get phytoplankton or something else?

Trying to grow both phytoplankton and zooplankton.

 

[CoralClasher]

At this point, are you using any other nutrient source beyond starting with tank water & the used filter pad?

I’ve been taking some of this green water and dosing it to DT then take the same amount out of DT back to the outside experiment.

 

[CoralClasher]

At this point, are you using any other nutrient source beyond starting with tank water & the used filter pad?

Should I be adding a fertilizer or pellet fish food?

 

[CoralClasher]

I did start another experiment today. I’m going to turn this 55 gallon tank into a bug tank

 

[CoralClasher]

I mixed up 60 gallons of new water added 5 gallons from DT and some of the phytoplankton I have growing.

 

[R.Weller]

Should I be adding a fertilizer or pellet fish food?

We've been at this for about 1 month, & we're finally back outdoors using a 2:1 RO to Phyto blend + F2 from Mercer. We started with 4 oz & harvested 12oz, & now we're using 60oz to get 1.5 gal (on the right). We should be able to harvest in another 5 days.

Here's today's pic after 48 hours outdoors:

I love that it is bubbling. You can see photosynthesis occurring.

Pods eat phyto. So as long as the tub on the left stays lime green, they should reproduce. That's the theory anyway. I'll know in another 20 days. We have a similar thread going in the DIY community if you want to see it from the beginning.

 

[CoralClasher]

We've been at this for about 1 month, & we're finally back outdoors using a 2:1 RO to Phyto blend + F2 from Mercer. We started with 4 oz & harvested 12oz, & now we're using 60oz to get 1.5 gal (on the right). We should be able to harvest in another 5 days.

Here's today's pic after 48 hours outdoors:

I love that it is bubbling. You can see photosynthesis occurring.

Pods eat phyto. So as long as the tub on the left stays lime green, they should reproduce. That's the theory anyway. I'll know in another 20 days. We have a similar thread going in the DIY community if you want to see it from the beginning.

Is Miracle-Gro ok to use as fertilizer?

 

[R.Weller]

Is Miracle-Gro ok to use as fertilizer?

I have read that it contains trace elements & might not be suitable for our applications in the long run. Here's a thread on R2R (not much detail but I know there are others of the same opinion). While at the same time, there are others that are having success with it (e.g. here).

For me it comes down to design & purpose. The F2 that came from Mercer w/ the seed phyto is designed for our purposes, & w/o being a chemist, that makes me think it's better over time.

To each his own.

 

[CoralClasher]

I have read that it contains trace elements & might not be suitable for our applications in the long run. Here's a thread on R2R (not much detail but I know there are others of the same opinion). While at the same time, there are others that are having success with it (e.g. here).

For me it comes down to design & purpose. The F2 that came from Mercer w/ the seed phyto is designed for our purposes, & w/o being a chemist, that makes me think it's better over time.

To each his own.

Ok just ordered the f/2. This is my first attempt at growing green water. Things are looking pretty good maybe I don’t need to add fertilizer? Or should this water be darker?

 

[R.Weller]

Ok just ordered the f/2. This is my first attempt at growing green water. Things are looking pretty good maybe I don’t need to add fertilizer? Or should this water be darker?

It looks like you're crushing it for a first attempt. My first attempt failed miserably!

When you compare Day 1 to Today, I'm sure you can see the difference & you are infact growing phyto. The used filter floss & the fact that you started with tank water that already contained nutrients, combined with sunlight, has provided sufficient source materials for you to get this far. Well done.

The deep green comes from the ratio of dense phyto to water, fertilizer, sunlight & time. We're following the recipe pretty close although we're not using 1:1 water to phyto but 2:1. We split the culture every 7 days. We are trying to get to the end result of outdoor culturing a little quicker because we are feeding ~425 gallons (100ml / day), & buying dead cultures is expensive at this volume. So far, it's proven to be pretty successful.

When your F2 arrives, I would grab another 2L container, pull out that volume from our 10gal & add the required amount of fertilizer. Ideally you might have another 10gal tank or open plastic tub. Allow this to sit next to your current culture & take a picture around the same time every day. When your control starts to turn lighter, it has consumed all nutrients & you will need to add fertilizer. If your fertilized sample starts growing darker, than you'll know you're on the right track. Once it's deep green, pull out 2L & keep it in the fridge as a backup in the event the culture fails. It should last 30-45 days.

My $.02 anyway. I'm also very new to the culturing game but I have studied the topic a decent amount.