Phytoplankton and copepod system

[MNFish]

I think I’m going to try the outdoor method once it gets warm! Plastic container in my screened in porch… DONE!

That is what I am finding so cool about phytoplankton is you can do it in so many ways. I was at a fancy plant store the other day and saw a giant glass terrarium and thought that would look cool bubbling with phytoplankton.

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

I have read wildly different dosing suggestions for phytoplankton everything from very little to as much as you have. I know a lot depends on system but what have you all done?

For dosing into the display tank? I don't follow any guidelines or measurements. Every week, half the jar of tisbe and half the jar of apocyclops go into my tank. Then I refill and feed the cultures with my phyto, anything left over gets bottled and put in the fridge for if I ever have a crash. I usually end up with 3 or 4 20oz bottles of phyto that I just dump into the tank throughout the week. Always make sure I save one bottle though.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Following.

 

[MNFish]

Today's shot

They also sell a dosing cap so you can leave a phyto tank running and just dose right out of it. I am starting to think something like that might be handy....

 

[PotatoPig]

If you ever do rotifers I HIGHLY suggest culturing them is a separate part of the room . 1 drop of a rotifer culture can crash a copepod culture in 24hours

Why is that?

/asking as I’m culturing pods…

 

[nothing_fancy]

Nice! I got a pair of these bad boys as well and true, DIY is simple enough but its definitely a well put together kit. That is A LOT of phyto you're making!! Are you going through several gallons of phyto per week?

 

[Lothar]

What are the temperature ranges for culturing phyto and copepods? I would have to do it in my garage which may get down upper 30’s in winter and up to 100 in the summer.

Thanks

 

[MNFish]

Nice! I got a pair of these bad boys as well and true, DIY is simple enough but its definitely a well put together kit. That is A LOT of phyto you're making!! Are you going through several gallons of phyto per week?

I have 3 soon to be 4 reefs set up, and whatever is left after feeding pods and reefs I will try to give away to local reefers. Eventually I will probably switch to 3 different phytoplankton.

I also have a habit of overdoing things....

 

[RJT]

Glad I found this thread. I purchased a set, once you get over the initial cost it is definitely a great purchase with no regrets. Very well made and will help to keep my tank habitats happy.

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

What are the temperature ranges for culturing phyto and copepods? I would have to do it in my garage which may get down upper 30’s in winter and up to 100 in the summer.

Thanks

Spent a while looking for this for you so I can do more than just say "my cultures are at this."

Theoretically there is a very broad range of temps that cultures can be maintained at. Mostly depends on the type of phyto and how fast you want your culture to grow. Remember, there is phytoplankton in the arctic and also on the equator so their temp range is vast.

I keep my basement fish room anywhere from 60-71, all my cultures are run without heaters and they do just fine. Their rate of growth slows in colder temps and increases in warmer. Most things online recommend keeping them from 74-80 for best growth rate. This would require supplemental heating for me and I did not want to go that route. I wanted to have as airtight of a lid as possible with airlock ventilation.

In a garage that drops down to 30 degrees I would probably look at using a heater, but you can always do some experimenting to see what works.

I know when I culture rotifers I prefer to use cooler water as it tends to make the rotifers larger and more nutrient dense. I feed these to corals. When I start trying to breed fish I will use warmer water so the rotifers reproduce faster and are slightly smaller for larval fish to eat.

Hope this helps and wasn't too much.

 

[Jstew75]

Following!

 

[Lothar]

Spent a while looking for this for you so I can do more than just say "my cultures are at this."

Theoretically there is a very broad range of temps that cultures can be maintained at. Mostly depends on the type of phyto and how fast you want your culture to grow. Remember, there is phytoplankton in the arctic and also on the equator so their temp range is vast.

I keep my basement fish room anywhere from 60-71, all my cultures are run without heaters and they do just fine. Their rate of growth slows in colder temps and increases in warmer. Most things online recommend keeping them from 74-80 for best growth rate. This would require supplemental heating for me and I did not want to go that route. I wanted to have as airtight of a lid as possible with airlock ventilation.

In a garage that drops down to 30 degrees I would probably look at using a heater, but you can always do some experimenting to see what works.

I know when I culture rotifers I prefer to use cooler water as it tends to make the rotifers larger and more nutrient dense. I feed these to corals. When I start trying to breed fish I will use warmer water so the rotifers reproduce faster and are slightly smaller for larval fish to eat.

Hope this helps and wasn't too much.

Thank you. Great information.

 

[Polyp Punk]

Not sure if this is a build thread or not but wanted to document my journey into growing Phytoplankton and copepods.
I ordered the Poseidon Reef Systems PhytoTank CL Copepod System and added on 3 extra Reactors, and 1 extra Pod nest.
I called and asked a question about my order and they were very helpful and sent some extra parts to ensure I had what I needed to get started.
It arrived yesterday and was very well packaged

It came with everything you need to start, and the cultures should be here Friday.

So far I am very impressed, heavy duty glass with a very tight fitting lid. Turned on lights and they were super bright and wrap all around the tank.

Also came with incredibly detailed instructions, and a guarantee if the culture crashes.

Cannot wait to finish set up and start these up.

I always wanted to do this and never knew how! Will follow along here !

 

[Kraig]

Spent a while looking for this for you so I can do more than just say "my cultures are at this."

Theoretically there is a very broad range of temps that cultures can be maintained at. Mostly depends on the type of phyto and how fast you want your culture to grow. Remember, there is phytoplankton in the arctic and also on the equator so their temp range is vast.

I keep my basement fish room anywhere from 60-71, all my cultures are run without heaters and they do just fine. Their rate of growth slows in colder temps and increases in warmer. Most things online recommend keeping them from 74-80 for best growth rate. This would require supplemental heating for me and I did not want to go that route. I wanted to have as airtight of a lid as possible with airlock ventilation.

In a garage that drops down to 30 degrees I would probably look at using a heater, but you can always do some experimenting to see what works.

I know when I culture rotifers I prefer to use cooler water as it tends to make the rotifers larger and more nutrient dense. I feed these to corals. When I start trying to breed fish I will use warmer water so the rotifers reproduce faster and are slightly smaller for larval fish to eat.

Hope this helps and wasn't too much.

This probably doesn't work as well with several cultures going at once, but I only have one container.

My "fish room" is in the basement as well, around 60ish° F this time of year. I use a heating mat (like what you put under seed trays when germinating seeds) and kind of surround 3 sides of the container with the mat standing up on its side. The last side that is not surrounded is where the light sits. My culture stays at around 72-74 degrees doing that.

Thought I would throw that out there in case it helps anyone else.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

Why is that?

/asking as I’m culturing pods…

The reproduction rate with rotifers is insane 6-12hr from larvae to adult. Females lay eggs every 4 hours . The rotifers will instantly out compete the copepods

 

[brannock_16]

Following

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

This probably doesn't work as well with several cultures going at once, but I only have one container.

My "fish room" is in the basement as well, around 60ish° F this time of year. I use a heating mat (like what you put under seed trays when germinating seeds) and kind of surround 3 sides of the container with the mat standing up on its side. The last side that is not surrounded is where the light sits. My culture stays at around 72-74 degrees doing that.

Thought I would throw that out there in case it helps anyone else.

That sounds like a great way to do it.

 

[MNFish]

I noticed the 2 ends are darker than the middle. Which is odd as everything should be the exact same. Only thing I can think of is the air line got pressed into the bag funny and it did not bubble for a unknown time before I figured it out..... so far these are working as advertised.

 

[MNFish]

There is something strangely beautiful about the color of phytoplankton.

 

[MNFish]

Bought these off Amazon to control lights. Working great so far.