tencwhiskey
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Local fishy store. Tells me that it's I should feed the tank/corals some phyto feast ? What say you?
Phyto feast?
- Thread starter tencwhiskey
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ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
I say nay. 
Unless you have some hard to keep non-photosynthetic corals then phyto isn't needed.
What corals do you have?
Unless you have some hard to keep non-photosynthetic corals then phyto isn't needed.
What corals do you have?
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tencwhiskey
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Fairly new tank. I have Zoa, hammer frogspawn and a Duncan. No non photo.
I also say nay! Target feed your LPS some lil meaty foods every now and then. Zoa's fish poo
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tencwhiskey
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Well sweet I won't use that crud then. Thanks!
gtbarsi
Well-Known Member
Phyto is really good for filter feeding inverts, SPS and non-photosynthetic corals. Additionally great for pod re-production, but I would not dose my DT with it just for my pods.
My primary issue with products like that is insuring that you are able to remove the excess, after your corals have had a chance to feed. Lots of filtration is needed to do this well. Think 100 micron felt filter socks and a really good skimmer. I would shut down the sump return pump, dosr the DT, let it circulate for a bit, then turn the sump return pump back on. Changing the filter socks every 2-3 days would be a must if you dosed often.
My primary issue with products like that is insuring that you are able to remove the excess, after your corals have had a chance to feed. Lots of filtration is needed to do this well. Think 100 micron felt filter socks and a really good skimmer. I would shut down the sump return pump, dosr the DT, let it circulate for a bit, then turn the sump return pump back on. Changing the filter socks every 2-3 days would be a must if you dosed often.
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tencwhiskey
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This just does not seem like something I need to get into. Is there any benefit with "feeding" the corals I do have? And if so any recommendations?
RacinRevo0818
Active Member
If you have it I would use it!! Never hurts to feed pods and micro fauna a little bit. I'm talking like a couple drop every few days. If it's reef nutrition that stuff is super concentrated! I think unique corals just did a post about setting up new tank and feeding pods and fauna, so can't be bad but for a beginner just don't over do it. I dose live phyto and never had an issue with it. Depending on your fish load which should be low, you shouldn't really see a nitrate or
phosphate problem.
phosphate problem.
HaloPhenom27
Community Member
Understanding this topic is as simple as understanding the food chain in an aquarium. And the answer on whether or not to use is different for every system based on what that system already has when it comes to bacteria, phytoplankton/algae. Those are the building blocks of every reef and start the "Circle Of Life." They are the Microbes in your tank. Knowing that, you probably should not just ignore that very important truth.
Contrary to popular belief, you need some algae in your tank (Phytoplankton). These are Primary Producers for all life in your tank either directly or indirectly. This means they feed just about everything after them in the chain.
And without going through the whole chain for you, I will add the next group, which are a form of Heterotrophs and consist of such species as Copeods, Krill, Oysters, Mussels etc. These feed on that Phytoplankton and other Autotrophs. Without the first group (Autotrophs) the next group never exists to help feed the next group after them which are called Secondary Consumers (Heterotrophs) such as various species of fish, humpback whales, Lobsters, Sea Stars etc..
After that we have Tertiary Consumers such as Dolphins, some sharks, and various fish species. These are also HeteroTrophs. They feed on the previous group.
Next comes Apex predators (Heterotrophs) such as the Killer Whale who have no direct predator preying on them. Last I checked, I have not seen any of these in a home aquarium.
Lastly, the Decomposer's (Detrivores) who process all of the waste from all of the previous groups essentially and start the process over again.
The key to whether or not to dose Phyto is whether or not you already have a healthy source of Phyto in your tank. If you do, you don't need to dose. If you don't, then your food chain will get put of balance and this is where most problems start and end in our world.
If that food chain does not remain in balance, you will have all sorts of problems. The difficulty is in that not too many reefers have the ability or knowledge on how to test their microbe populations. Unless you know this, it is difficult to know what imbalance you may have and how to fix it let alone keep a stable balance.
You must have that biodiversity. If you don't feel your tank has enough plankton, correct it by feeding it. Each system is different which us why nobody can give you a clear cut answer based on their tanks.
Contrary to popular belief, you need some algae in your tank (Phytoplankton). These are Primary Producers for all life in your tank either directly or indirectly. This means they feed just about everything after them in the chain.
And without going through the whole chain for you, I will add the next group, which are a form of Heterotrophs and consist of such species as Copeods, Krill, Oysters, Mussels etc. These feed on that Phytoplankton and other Autotrophs. Without the first group (Autotrophs) the next group never exists to help feed the next group after them which are called Secondary Consumers (Heterotrophs) such as various species of fish, humpback whales, Lobsters, Sea Stars etc..
After that we have Tertiary Consumers such as Dolphins, some sharks, and various fish species. These are also HeteroTrophs. They feed on the previous group.
Next comes Apex predators (Heterotrophs) such as the Killer Whale who have no direct predator preying on them. Last I checked, I have not seen any of these in a home aquarium.
Lastly, the Decomposer's (Detrivores) who process all of the waste from all of the previous groups essentially and start the process over again.
The key to whether or not to dose Phyto is whether or not you already have a healthy source of Phyto in your tank. If you do, you don't need to dose. If you don't, then your food chain will get put of balance and this is where most problems start and end in our world.
If that food chain does not remain in balance, you will have all sorts of problems. The difficulty is in that not too many reefers have the ability or knowledge on how to test their microbe populations. Unless you know this, it is difficult to know what imbalance you may have and how to fix it let alone keep a stable balance.
You must have that biodiversity. If you don't feel your tank has enough plankton, correct it by feeding it. Each system is different which us why nobody can give you a clear cut answer based on their tanks.
fishgirljockey
Active Member
I agree! I couldn’t believe the amount of people who said no. I am dumb founded. I use this stuff religiously and my corals love it. The tank loves it. I just use 2.5mL every night before I feed the fish. I have 40g breeder tank. I noticed my corals were looking more fat and luscious. Everything looked like they were pumped with roids lol excellent excellent stuff!
I added some to my tank as a few corals have been looking sluggish. Might be nothing but the very next day corals looked best in weeks. I'll likely stay with this a few times a week.
fishgirljockey
Active Member
Excellent. I will continue to use this regardless of what people say. I don't think people realize that we are taking a piece of the ocean and putting it in our living rooms...THINK ABOUT THAT. We need all the help we can get. We are not God and we Cann't mimic the oceans parameters. I dump whatever I can for the corals - in the ocean they get 24 hour nutrition. In our homes, they don't.
damsels are not mean
Valuable Member
I grew phyto for a few months and would dump large amounts into the tank every day. Like enough that the water was a bit cloudy for a while. I can't say I really noticed any difference in anything. Ironically I am seeing more copepods, cryptic sponges, and feather dusters now than ever before and the phyto bottle has been empty since mid summer. I really doubt phyto makes much difference unless you are using it to culture something. I could be wrong though. Maybe my tank is just naturally dirty enough to support these creatures and somebody that keeps their tank sterile would benefit from it.
fishgirljockey
Active Member
I see what you mean. I guess if your tank is mature enough then you don't really need it, but for newbies and people;e who keep their tank super clean can benefit from it. I would try to dose it again and see if you notice anything now that its been a while since you haven't. try it and see what it does. I just know for me, when I wasn't dosing it, my corals were fine, but they didn't look as luscious, especially the acans. They're so dang fat lol It also depends on the coral and fish, some like a tank more dirty and others don't so that can vary to. But even if I didn't need it, it couldn't hurt to dose it anyway, just to have the added nutrition versus none.
EDIT: your screen name is hilarious! I just got rid of two damsels lol they are jerks!!
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damsels are not mean
Valuable Member
I have added some LPS since then, maybe they will react differently.
