Are phyto and copepods necessary for my 24g AIO?

HawkeyeDJ · Nov 22, 2021

So I've been taking it slow with my first reef. However, I've decided to redo my aquascape. The rocks are currently curing in a 10g filled with WC water from the 24g, a little mysis shrimp to produce ammonia, a dirty polyfill pad from the sump, a bit of sand and a submersible pump and heater. The only filtration is a small bag of GFO to absorb any phosphates so they don't leach into the rocks.

I'm testing parameters weekly and the tank seems to be cycling nicely. My plan is to let these rocks cure for about 4 months. That will bring my 24g AIO to the 1 year mark. That is when I intend to get serious about populating the tank with corals and a nem for the two clowns in the tank now.

I'm wondering if I should dose the DT with phyto and pods in the meantime. Will that help create a more stable and complete ecosystem? Or are there downsides to doing so of which I'm unaware?

Mywifeisgunnakillme · Nov 22, 2021

I would not bother dosing phyto or pods until you have thriving corals. Pods you could add if you have a sand bed and fish poop accumulates. They're good scavengers.

Gedxin · Nov 22, 2021

Interesting very slow approach here. Not really sure what you're hoping to accomplish by letting things cook for so long without introducing any new biodiversity though. Letting the rock sit for two weeks versus 4 months won't change much imo. Sure you'll have more bacteria 'density', but only the strain you started out with, so I'd argue there's little benefit to the wait.

No reason I see to dose phyto, you don't have any coral to consume it - it'll just contribute to a nutrient increase.

Mywifeisgunnakillme · Nov 22, 2021

finish your ammonia cycle. then add some small fish and bunch of hardy (soft) corals, wild stuff on live rock would be ideal. Let the ugly phase complete, deal with it with cleaning rocks and water changes and the like, then when the tank is growing coraline alage and ulglies are done, you can add and/or switch out more corals.

HawkeyeDJ · Nov 22, 2021

Gedxin said:
Interesting very slow approach here. Not really sure what you're hoping to accomplish by letting things cook for so long without introducing any new biodiversity though. Letting the rock sit for two weeks versus 4 months won't change much imo. Sure you'll have more bacteria 'density', but only the strain you started out with, so I'd argue there's little benefit to the wait.

No reason I see to dose phyto, you don't have any coral to consume it - it'll just contribute to a nutrient increase.

Good thought regarding phyto, but I thought pods need phyto to thrive.

Are pods a part of a biodiversity? Will they contribute to a stable environment?

I've been told that nems only do well in well-established, stable and mature tanks. Is that true?

I've also read that many of the more challenging corals require very stable parameters, that is why I am going so slow.

The DT is going on 9 months now, and I introduced GHA, aptasia, bristle worms, and a few other hitchhikers when I put a single piece of live rock in the tank at about month two. It looks like I have those issues under control at the moment.

There is no sign of coralline algae in the DT yet, but I'm patient. I was told it will show up eventually, and it is supposed to be a sign of a stable well-maintained and healthy tank. That's what I want before I start sinking a boatload of money into expensive corals.

homer1475 · Nov 22, 2021

Necessary, no, beneficial, sure is.

But with nothing in the tank to consume the phyto, your just going to increase your nutrients, and let the phyto grow in the display(very unsightly).

Once you get some coral, for sure start dosing phyto. It's very beneficial.

attiland · Nov 22, 2021

My thinking is if coralline or pods have nothing to eat they will not appear from thin air. They have to be introduced.
I see no reason not to introduce it but be very careful with phytoplankton. In an empty tank they can explode in Population. Newer seen it first hand but R2R sure has some tread about it. (green water)
Pods survive on other algae in the tank so I would definitely add them in several waves and different sources. They will keep your rocks clean.
as of coralline that has to be introduced too. Topically shells of CUC has some on them which than spread eventually if parameters are right

Gedxin · Nov 22, 2021

HawkeyeDJ said:
Good thought regarding phyto, but I thought pods need phyto to thrive.

Are pods a part of a biodiversity? Will they contribute to a stable environment?

I've been told that nems only do well in well-established, stable and mature tanks. Is that true?

I've also read that many of the more challenging corals require very stable parameters, that is why I am going so slow.

The DT is going on 9 months now, and I introduced GHA, aptasia, bristle worms, and a few other hitchhikers when I put a single piece of live rock in the tank at about month two. It looks like I have those issues under control at the moment.

There is no sign of coralline algae in the DT yet, but I'm patient. I was told it will show up eventually, and it is supposed to be a sign of a stable well-maintained and healthy tank. That's what I want before I start sinking a boatload of money into expensive corals.

Imo, stable parameters have less to do with time and more to do with your water maintenance and nutrient import/export process. Sure, the longer you practice the better you get at it, butt that's just the nature of it all.

You will never grow coralline if you don't introduce it to your system. Possibly your live rock had none on it. In my tank I saw coralline growing at the 3-week mark - I introduced about 10 shells covered in coralline from my LFS, worked wonderfully.

You didn't 'introduce GHA' with your LR. It's always in our systems, just an imbalance of nutrients that help it thrive. Also it won't grow over corals or coralline.

I'd highly recommend you watch BRS' 5-min reefing videos. Also recommend you add cheaper coral as soon as possible to your DT to increase biodiversity. Sure they might die, but it's a good learning experience.