Phyto Culture

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?

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

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.

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 :lol:

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

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.

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.

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.

interesting... guess its time for a poll

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

Thanks for the info cyberchief

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

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

cyberchef said:

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

Click to expand...

sweeeeeet more $$$$$$$$$ for clams:dance:

nice going cyberchef, look waht you've done now

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...

OH yeah, forgot about Casey's ultimate clam collection/museum/zoo... :lol:

Tom I thought I even saw a post where you said wiping the diatoms and algae off the glass into the water column will help feed things am I right?

yup, the diatoms are a good size to feed the filter feeders, although many sps will actively feed on them, their actual contributioin to their nutritional status is of debate at this point. Much to do with size and ability to utilize the substances provided by the phyto. Gut analysis of many sps spp. shows up to 3 times the oral opening size as far as what they consume, however, what they keep and digest is another story.

Clams and other filter feeders to benefit from both phytoplankton and diatom scraping though.

One comment. I have noticed that if you do rotifers and phytoplankton cultures without a divider and on the same table. And you are very poor at sterilizing your equipment, Yo u will end up with multiple rotifer cutures and no phyto. These buggers can Fly. I have two different setups, two different sets of soda bottles for my cultures but after I fill the fridge, I let them die off and buy new starter kits. I figure it is worth it in the long run to keep Florida Algae farms in business and belive me a little nano paste makes a bunch of cul;tures. Buy the plankton culture manual as your first purchase though.

I currently culture Baby brine shrimp, rotifers, phtyoplankton and expermimenting with mysis but I can't seem to get a stable culture outside of a refugium.

Ray

thnaks ray, that was my next question..... can the phyto bottles be stored in the fridge? i sure dont want to feed a full 2 litre bottle every day!!!

i noticed flame angel uses a cup at a time, but no mention of where she puts the "left overs"

was wondering do i top off the bottle and continue, or does the bottle go in the fridge, like dt's?

i gather this is correct, from your message, but just want to be sure.