Phyto Culture

[laddy00]

I started my phyto culture today. I got my f/2 from florida aqua farms and my culture from a local reefer. I am culturing nanochloropsis as to flame angels instructions on her website http://www.sjwilson.net/reef/ . If anybody is interested in starting one i highly recommend taking a look at her site. I can't wait to have some live phyto for my tank without spending the high price for DT's

[thefatman]

i know i remember once reading some detailed instructions from flame angel once, on culturing phtyo.

but cant find it anywhere on her site now.

i just bought my first bottle of dt's and oh lord is that crap expensive!!!!

i've gotta grow my own!!! any idea where those instructions are?

[wanareef]

fats

Just click on the url on the post above and then click on the bar vertical bar on the bottome arrows- you'll see the section

hth

[Casey]

Phyto is easy guys you can even start with a little dts if you have some just need some soda bottles air pump and some liquid fertilzer from Florida Aqua farms and a couple of flo tubes.
remember dont add to much at a time it will cause a diatom bloom
I stopped growing it cause it just made to much I couldnt give it away fast enough.

[thefatman]

ha! there it is.. apparantly last night i had the scroll bar down a little, so the link that said step by step instructions, was hidden

i knew i had seen it on her site before

casey, thanks for the tip. i jsut bought DT's the other night, so all i need now is some fertilizer !!

[wanareef]

Just fyi- the newer DT's can not be used to start a culture, see link- http://www.dtplankton.com/f_a_q_.htm third from bottom in FAQ's.

[Casey]

Might be a sales tactic to make you buy more hummm
Well anyway Jay a culture from Fla Aqua farms is cheap pick one up when you get the fertilizer.

[cyberchef]

We just had the pleasure of having Anthony Calfo (Book of coral propogation) speak to the ARC on Saturday. Really great talk and very informative. His view on DT's and phyto in general is that it's a waste of money and basically nothing more than algae food. Most everything we kep cannot use or does not use it. About the only thing it is good for is feeding rotifers which are a much more useable/better food to give our systems, but for most it's probably still a waste.

[thefatman]

interesting... guess its time for a poll

i'm a follower, so i want to do what everyone else is doing

[wanareef]

Thanks for the info cyberchief

[Casey]

Does that mean I can stop buying that overpriced algae then?

[cyberchef]

Since you no longer have a DSB to feed/crash I guess so...

[Casey]

Originally posted by cyberchef
Since you no longer have a DSB to feed/crash I guess so...

sweeeeeet more $$$$$$$$$ for clams

[thefatman]

nice going cyberchef, look waht you've done now

[tdwyatt]

actually, casey has the clams...

...and Tridacnid clams can adequately utilize the Nanochloropsis.

Feeding rotifers is an excellent use for the phyto. Rotifers make a great source of feed for the sps corals in particular, and along with the photoplankton will feed some of the other filter feeders in the tank like some of the sponges, tube worms (esp the small types) sea squirts, etc, but not really good for corals in general (although Gorgonians seem to do will with them...) Dendronepthea spp. on the other hand, seem to still be lacking in something from the phytoalgal feedings... I still see my corals plump up and extend tentacles after scraping the front glass for diatoms and algae, prolly all the tank needs unless your tank has a large population of fiolter feeders.

You really have to want rotifers (or be raising clownfish fry) to do the cultures...