Sexy seaweed

[sixty_reefer]

Your TLC has indeed produced outstanding results. Others should learn from your observations. Please elaborate on your continuous source of phytplankton. Do you Culture phyto? Do you have other filter feeders? How long have you been doing sponges? Initially, started with cryptic sponges but since have addd sponges from Gulf of Mexico, 20 miles west of Tampa Bay in 30’ of water.

I have seen your thread before, always found it interesting as you went for a natural look.

I’ve Donne a thread about it in the past Continuous phytoplankton|rotifers reactor 24h food supply
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...reactor--24h-food-supply.526123/&share_type=t

It’s simple engineering, but it does work using a few bottles as refugium for the phytoplankton to thrive.

My culture has been going for over a year now, without the need to split, initially I was adding the fertiliser and the salt mix separate. Today is fully automated. Removing water from the tank and dosing the fertiliser true the doser. Only need to add some fresh water every two weeks to compensate for evaporation. This is probably a record as it hasn’t crashed yet in the time that it has been going.

That’s an old vid of the phytoplankton culture on the right and wend I’ve introduced the continuous rotifers culture on the left


I’ve used to take often samples of the roti culture


Refugium always been happy with all the extra food


This was my reef a few weeks back, unfortunately had to remove all the macros from the display as some were starting to fight with coral, it’s only two years young yet.


Sponge wise every time I see one in the LFS i try to get it and reduce it to mush in hope that they start growing on the rock work so far only successful with a pink and a blue species that grow under the rock and caves.

 

[Subsea]

Your reef tank 2019 Video is outstanding. Enjoyed the music as well.

Where do you live with respect to the sponges that you find at LFS?

I looked at your threads. Are you in academia as your threads indicate advance knowledge?

Let’s talk more about your continuous phyto culture and specific to using “display tank water”

I attempted, for a short time, the use of display tank water feed thru a UV Steriizer on a batch Method. The phyto culture crashed after 6 months. I like your organic approach. Display tank water from a mature tank is loaded with organic & inorganic nutrients.

I have the phyto book and sterilization is stressed. Also stressed is Monoculture. In my experience, neither is mandatory.

My little exerience with green water leads me to believe “best man standing” dominates the culture. An accomplished reefer on nano reef demonstrated that air born spores collected outdoors near bird feeder provided nutritious phyto.

At this point, I fertilize heavy to develop as a nutritious food source. It seems that a 24 hour light schedule is best for maximum culture density.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Your reef tank 2019 Video is outstanding. Enjoyed the music as well.

Where do you live with respect to the sponges that you find at LFS?

I looked at your threads. Are you in academy as your threads indicate advance knowledge?

Let’s talk more about your continuous phyto culture and specific to using “display tank water”

I attempted, for a short time, the use of display tank water feed thru a UV Steriizer on a batch Method. The phyto culture crashed after 6 months. I like your organic approach. Display tank water from a mature tank is loaded with organic & inorganic nutrients.

I have the phyto book and sterilization is stressed. Also stressed is Monoculture. In my experience, neither is mandatory.

My little exerience with green water leads me to believe “best man standing” dominates the culture. An accomplished reefer on nano reef demonstrated that air born spores collected outdoors near bird feeder provided nutritious phyto.

At this point, I fertilize heavy to develop as a nutritious food source. It seems that a 24 hour light schedule is best for maximum culture density.

Thank you, I live in the United Kingdom, every now and den we get some good variety of rocks coming from Vietnam.

The variety is not as nice as over in the us, for sure. What do you usually feed your sponges with? Do you dose sodium silicate.

Regarding the phytoplankton I think the only thing I do differently is the use of k1 micro media to keep the reservoirs walls clean and the culture suspended at all times avoiding sediment at the bottom. The water is straight from the tank using a few layers of fine poly filter attached to the doser intake. Not sure how long it will work that way as everything still a work in progress. Am still fiddling with balancing the po4 in the system as it has been a bit above average.

 

[Subsea]

Groundwater at 1000’ deep comes from limestone formation that was a shallow inland sea with saturated silicates already.

I find that live food in the form of gut cavity bacteria from bi-valves produces good feeding response. I am fortunate as I talk to the owner diver that collects sponges & nps gorgonions