Lionfish Lair
Renee
Phyto can help feed pods, which in turn feeds your coral.
Phytoplankton on the menu ?
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I don't think many corals actually consume phyto, and, I wonder if the quantity of phyto sufficient to maintain a population of zooplankton in a display tank or refugium wouldn't cause more negatives than positives.
Moreover, not all phyto on the market is truly live, i.e. able to start cultures, nor truly free of preservatives - some are more like centrifuged "phyto meal" with additives to slow bacterial growth and/or preserve color.
Some are live and pure however, if it matters. [emoji6]
Moreover, not all phyto on the market is truly live, i.e. able to start cultures, nor truly free of preservatives - some are more like centrifuged "phyto meal" with additives to slow bacterial growth and/or preserve color.
Some are live and pure however, if it matters. [emoji6]
Daniel@R2R
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Cool info here. I'm dosing phyto and coral frenzy throughout the week alternately, and I'm thinking I may add acro power to the mix. Maybe I'll try Marine snow too.
Acro maniac
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Just a thought but my nitrates increased over the month or so. I believe due to the addition of green water. Response from coral mafe me check. My nitrates are consistently at <3 and after putting a little better then 500ml a week in a 100 gal complete system nitrates were>10. Also pe went down and some corals browned. Ora plum crazy and a coupke others.
Was curious if anyone else saw the same results.
Btw no other changes in water chemistry other then a small rise in po4 but it was minner.
Was curious if anyone else saw the same results.
Btw no other changes in water chemistry other then a small rise in po4 but it was minner.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Where did the phyto come from, do they use fertilizers and if they do, what is their process for reducing it before sending it to you? Phyto itself won't raise nitrates.
Acro maniac
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On the first page of this thread i took a picture of the bag.
Algagen is the suppilier
Algagen is the suppilier
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Their site isn't iPad friendly, so I can't easily see what their process is.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Does DTs still smell?
Alagen is good stuff.
the dont use miracle grow.
the dont use miracle grow.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
It's not that a company uses miracle grow or something like an F2 fertilizer, but how they handle the end product. Some wash cells, some let the cells settle and then pour off the fertilizer rich water and add fresh water for dilution and then there's some that don't do anything. I'm sure all the commercial producers use some form of fertilizer.
I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of DTs.
I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of DTs.
Acro maniac
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Phyto might be good for some but one bad experience for me is hard to over look. Know im wondering how many months i have to look at a brown plum crazy
Kinda figured.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
How do you mean?
It smells; just like algae, and salt. LOL
Lionfish Lair
Renee
You haven't opened some of the bottles I have....
...no preservatives like others, so I'd imagine it could very well smell after a while. Some other products smell like Febreze.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
They don't all add preservatives and yet those preservative-free products don't stink.
DTs put out an explanation as to why it stinks, but it doesn't even make sense. I guess in the end if one is OK with it, go ahead and use it. I myself am uncomfortable with using a product that really REALLY smells, especially when compared to products that are prepared, packed (cell density and amount of air in bottle) and stored the same.
DTs put out an explanation as to why it stinks, but it doesn't even make sense. I guess in the end if one is OK with it, go ahead and use it. I myself am uncomfortable with using a product that really REALLY smells, especially when compared to products that are prepared, packed (cell density and amount of air in bottle) and stored the same.
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Reef Nutrition
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Not all corals consume phytoplankton, but there are plenty that do. NPS corals, as well as gorgornians and some soft corals, will consume phytoplankton. There are a number of public aquariums and home hobbyists that use phytoplankton routinely to feed not only to corals, but zooplankton and non-photosynthetic bivalves (flame scallop, thorny oyster, etc.) as well.
Just to give you an idea of how we do things at Reed Mariculture, I would like to discuss why our non-viable concentrates are different than all the live algae products found on the market. First off, the phytoplankton doesn't need to be alive to valuable to animals, just like mysis, brine shrimp, copepods, worms, etc. don't need to be alive to be consumed by freshwater and marine animals; however, the cell walls, or membranes, need to be intact. A non-viable, intact cell contains all the nutritional qualities of a living cell. The majority of our single-species and multi-species products are non-viable (not alive), with our Phyto-Feast Live as the only exception. We provide highly concentrated products to people that are working in shellfish aquaculture, finfish aquaculture and the aquarium hobby. The reason people come to us is that they either can't grow enough algae, don't want to grow algae, have seasonality issues, or simply can't grow the right species and strains of algae to fit the dietary needs of their animals. Our non-viable concentrates are being fed to larval oysters, clams, shrimp, as well as rotifers, Artemia and copepods.
Unfortunately, I am unable to describe the process with which we separate the culture media from the algae (proprietary), which is loaded with nitrogenous compounds, phosphates and iron, but I can tell you it is a method being used by a number of large-scale, algae-based bio-fuel producers. Every batch we harvest and process gets sampled and looked at under the microscope to make sure that all the cells are intact and the product meets our biomass standards. We separate the media from the algae because we don't want all the fertilizer components to go into peoples larval rearing tanks and/or their home tanks.
We don't need to add strange chemical preservatives because we rely on refrigeration and freezing to slow or inhibit bacterial growth. Some of our products can be frozen for 2 years making it very valuable to individuals that don't want to buy it that often, which results in money saved on their end. We use RO/DI water and adhere to strict biosecurity protocols. Our customers depend on us to deliver highly concentrated, chemical free products because of the delicate nature of their animals.
This is just a little information on how Reed Mariculture is doing it. Thanks for this discussion everyone! We love talking about phytoplankton.
Chad
Just to give you an idea of how we do things at Reed Mariculture, I would like to discuss why our non-viable concentrates are different than all the live algae products found on the market. First off, the phytoplankton doesn't need to be alive to valuable to animals, just like mysis, brine shrimp, copepods, worms, etc. don't need to be alive to be consumed by freshwater and marine animals; however, the cell walls, or membranes, need to be intact. A non-viable, intact cell contains all the nutritional qualities of a living cell. The majority of our single-species and multi-species products are non-viable (not alive), with our Phyto-Feast Live as the only exception. We provide highly concentrated products to people that are working in shellfish aquaculture, finfish aquaculture and the aquarium hobby. The reason people come to us is that they either can't grow enough algae, don't want to grow algae, have seasonality issues, or simply can't grow the right species and strains of algae to fit the dietary needs of their animals. Our non-viable concentrates are being fed to larval oysters, clams, shrimp, as well as rotifers, Artemia and copepods.
Unfortunately, I am unable to describe the process with which we separate the culture media from the algae (proprietary), which is loaded with nitrogenous compounds, phosphates and iron, but I can tell you it is a method being used by a number of large-scale, algae-based bio-fuel producers. Every batch we harvest and process gets sampled and looked at under the microscope to make sure that all the cells are intact and the product meets our biomass standards. We separate the media from the algae because we don't want all the fertilizer components to go into peoples larval rearing tanks and/or their home tanks.
We don't need to add strange chemical preservatives because we rely on refrigeration and freezing to slow or inhibit bacterial growth. Some of our products can be frozen for 2 years making it very valuable to individuals that don't want to buy it that often, which results in money saved on their end. We use RO/DI water and adhere to strict biosecurity protocols. Our customers depend on us to deliver highly concentrated, chemical free products because of the delicate nature of their animals.
This is just a little information on how Reed Mariculture is doing it. Thanks for this discussion everyone! We love talking about phytoplankton.
Chad
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