Phytoplankton Accident

DSmithZ28 · Sep 22, 2017

Long story short I did not know the Algae Barn shipping dates and when I ordered it last week I missed the cutoff time. So it shipped this week and I was out of town working and I had my daughter temp acclimate the pods and add the phytoplankton. Here's where things went bad. She added the two copepod bags and both bottles of Phytoplankton. Ooops. I did'nt know the exact dosage as I wasn't there and she thought adding both bottles to both bags of pods seemed logical. So does anyone know what happens with an overdose? My wife and daughter both said the water turned green but by the end of the night was clearing up. I have no fish or inverts in the tank. No coral either. I was seeding the tank before my QT fish are ready next week. Should I buy more phytoplankton to dose at a later time or just leave it until me next order? I have no idea what parameters are. Ugh... I hate when I'm out of town!

Big G · Sep 22, 2017

Really fat copepods? LOL. I'd wait a few days before adding more phytoplankton. If you feel you need a quick refill, on Amazon, Mercer of Montana sells nice quality phytoplankton in a couple of different size containers. I use it. It works. Cheers.

AlgaeBarn · Sep 22, 2017

Hi there, sorry to hear about this! We dont think it will harm anything. You may see an increase in nitrate and phosphate if the phyto starts to die off in the tank before it can be consumed or removed. You will see some excellent polyp extension and feeding response from your LPS, soft and NPS corals. If you have a skimmer that will help remove it before it starts to die off. If you start to see issues or if the water remains green (this means you are now growing phyto in your display) just do a water change if you trust the fam to accomplish that or when you get back.

As for needing more, I would hold off for a few days before adding more to let this stuff process through and then resume your regular dosing routine so you can keep the pods fed. Please keep us updated and let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

AlgaeBarn · Sep 22, 2017

Big G said:
Really fat copepods? LOL. I'd wait a few days before adding more phytoplankton. If you feel you need a quick refill, on Amazon, Mercer of Montana sells nice quality phytoplankton in a couple of different size containers. I use it. It works. Cheers.

Have you ever tried AlgaeBarn OceanMagik, it is a 4 species blend in an easy to dose bottle. PM us and we can help you out with a great offer!

DSmithZ28 · Sep 22, 2017

AlgaeBarn said:
Hi there, sorry to hear about this! We dont think it will harm anything. You may see an increase in nitrate and phosphate if the phyto starts to die off in the tank before it can be consumed or removed. You will see some excellent polyp extension and feeding response from your LPS, soft and NPS corals. If you have a skimmer that will help remove it before it starts to die off. If you start to see issues or if the water remains green (this means you are now growing phyto in your display) just do a water change if you trust the fam to accomplish that or when you get back.

As for needing more, I would hold off for a few days before adding more to let this stuff process through and then resume your regular dosing routine so you can keep the pods fed. Please keep us updated and let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

I actually don't have any more left. My Daughter emptied out the two bottles I got with the copepod order. Also you were right, My skimmer went nuts and it has a lot of green stuff in it from what I could tell from a picture. I wont be home until Sunday to check. I don't have any fish, inverts or coral in the tank yet so I should not need to repurchase phytoplankton for a while right?

AlgaeBarn · Sep 22, 2017

DSmithZ28 said:
I actually don't have any more left. My Daughter emptied out the two bottles I got with the copepod order. Also you were right, My skimmer went nuts and it has a lot of green stuff in it from what I could tell from a picture. I wont be home until Sunday to check. I don't have any fish, inverts or coral in the tank yet so I should not need to repurchase phytoplankton for a while right?

Oh okay thats no big deal at all then if there is no other livestock in the tank. I would just leave everything alone until you get back. Maybe even turn the skimmer off to prevent it from removing it so fast so there is more for the pods to consume- you mind as well get as much as you can out of it. You will want to to continue feeding your pods- especially in a new tank where there is little to no detritus, fish waste, leftover fish food, or nuisance algae for them to consume- once this phyto is removed or consumed. While you did add a month or two supply of phyto all at once this doesnt mean you should now not feed for a month or two because as you've seen most of the extra is already being removed by the skimmer. What I dont want to happen is that the pods get a huge meal now and then starve in a few weeks because they dont have any new food being added in the tank. This could reduce your population and now is the best time you have (without predators) to really grow and culture a strong population in this new tank. PM us and we will help you out with a significant discount on some more phyto to help you out in this situation.

Katrina71 · Sep 23, 2017

@AlgaeBarn how often do you suggest feeding phyto to your tank? Both young tanks, no skimmer.

AlgaeBarn · Sep 25, 2017

Katrina71 said:
@AlgaeBarn how often do you suggest feeding phyto to your tank? Both young tanks, no skimmer.

We recommend a small dosage every day. Thank you for asking!

JAMSOURY · Sep 26, 2017

Can the copepods live and reproduce without the phyto?

Big G · Sep 26, 2017

Some say you can get by with feeding the copepods food like Seaweed Extreme pellets, etc.

donnievaz · Sep 26, 2017

JAMSOURY said:
Can the copepods live and reproduce without the phyto?

In a well established tank they can.

Saltybubbles288 · Sep 26, 2017

My pods live on micro algae and other detritus I do not add phyto.

Mombo · Sep 26, 2017

I also imagine it depends on the predators in the tank. My tank is only 4 months old and I do not use phyto and my copepods are all over the place. But I don't have a predator like a mandarin. I imagine the phyto makes them fatten up quicker and reproduce faster. So you might only need it if you are trying to keep up with a predator. As long as your tank is at the phase where it's growing algae and other food sources.