Brewed phyto is starving many of my zoas

[ZoWhat]

Been dosing phyto for a year

Tetraselmis phyto from Mercer, brewed using f/2 fertilizer also from Mercer.

Thought the plan was to feed phyto so the lil green phyto buggers would consume no3 and po4 and feed my corals

In the past year only 1/3rd of this statement has panned out for me

Dosing phyto is an excellent natural way to reduce no3 but does NOT effect po4 (based on year long dosing and testing)

The f/2 fertilizer used to grow phyto has a boatload of po4 still in it when dosed.

My deep green brewed phyto reduces my no2 to 2ppm but raises my po4 to 2+ppm.

In my zoa tank I had to severely cut back on phyto bc my zoas weren't eating the phyto and stripping them of no3 nutrients

.... to the point where my zoa disc heads have been consistently shrinking to tiny lil heads

Found this disc shrinking NOT a "too much light" issue but due to lack of no3 nutrition.

I'm open to hearing discussions on other ppls experiences

.

 

[MnFish1]

Been dosing phyto for a year

Tetraselmis phyto from Mercer, brewed using f/2 fertilizer also from Mercer.

Thought the plan was to feed phyto so the lil green phyto buggers would consume no3 and po4 and feed my corals

In the past year only 1/3rd of this statement has panned out for me

Dosing phyto is an excellent natural way to reduce no3 but does NOT effect po4 (based on year long dosing and testing)

The f/2 fertilizer used to grow phyto has a boatload of po4 still in it when dosed.

My deep green brewed phyto reduces my no2 to 2ppm but raises my po4 to 2+ppm.

In my zoa tank I had to severely cut back on phyto bc my zoas weren't eating the phyto and stripping them of no3 nutrients

.... to the point where my zoa disc heads have been consistently shrinking to tiny lil heads

Found this disc shrinking NOT a "too much light" issue but due to lack of no3 nutrition.

I'm open to hearing discussions on other ppls experiences

.

Lots of people keep zoas without phyto. What sounds good 'on paper' doesn't always work in a reef tank (as I know you're well aware). I would keep it simple. Manage your nitrate - with a more standard method - and save yourself the effort of the phyto/fertilizer, etc.

BTW - This is assuming that all of the other reasons for zoas not to do well have been excluded

 

[ZoWhat]

This is assuming that all of the other reasons for zoas not to do well have been excluded

Well, all I can think of that effects zoa health are:

*water quality way off,
* not enough nutrients,
* pests or chemical warfare
* too much flow,
* too much light over long periods

Everything in my tank checks-the-boxes except for nutrients being low at 2-5ppm no3

 

[elysics]

It can't be an overdose of one of the traces in f/2, can it? Phosphate isn't the only thing that could be left over
Done an ICP recently?

 

[Garf]

It can't be an overdose of one of the traces in f/2, can it? Phosphate isn't the only thing that could be left over
Done an ICP recently?

It all gets into the tank somehow, either in the phyto or the growth media.

 

[Garf]

Brewed phyto has slowly been starving my zoa dominated tank

Been dosing phyto for a year Tetraselmis phyto from Mercer, brewed using f/2 fertilizer also from Mercer. The plan was to feed phyto so the little green phyto buggers would consume no3 and po4 and feed my corals (and pods) In the past year, only 1/3rd of this statement has panned out for me...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Dan_P]

Been dosing phyto for a year

Tetraselmis phyto from Mercer, brewed using f/2 fertilizer also from Mercer.

Thought the plan was to feed phyto so the lil green phyto buggers would consume no3 and po4 and feed my corals

In the past year only 1/3rd of this statement has panned out for me

Dosing phyto is an excellent natural way to reduce no3 but does NOT effect po4 (based on year long dosing and testing)

The f/2 fertilizer used to grow phyto has a boatload of po4 still in it when dosed.

My deep green brewed phyto reduces my no2 to 2ppm but raises my po4 to 2+ppm.

In my zoa tank I had to severely cut back on phyto bc my zoas weren't eating the phyto and stripping them of no3 nutrients

.... to the point where my zoa disc heads have been consistently shrinking to tiny lil heads

Found this disc shrinking NOT a "too much light" issue but due to lack of no3 nutrition.

I'm open to hearing discussions on other ppls experiences

.

No experience just a thought. Could you buy a cheap lab centrifuge to harvest your phytoplankton from the medium before feeding? I think @taricha grew something with f/2 but I never quizzed him on it.

 

[Dan_P]

Been dosing phyto for a year

Tetraselmis phyto from Mercer, brewed using f/2 fertilizer also from Mercer.

Thought the plan was to feed phyto so the lil green phyto buggers would consume no3 and po4 and feed my corals

In the past year only 1/3rd of this statement has panned out for me

Dosing phyto is an excellent natural way to reduce no3 but does NOT effect po4 (based on year long dosing and testing)

The f/2 fertilizer used to grow phyto has a boatload of po4 still in it when dosed.

My deep green brewed phyto reduces my no2 to 2ppm but raises my po4 to 2+ppm.

In my zoa tank I had to severely cut back on phyto bc my zoas weren't eating the phyto and stripping them of no3 nutrients

.... to the point where my zoa disc heads have been consistently shrinking to tiny lil heads

Found this disc shrinking NOT a "too much light" issue but due to lack of no3 nutrition.

I'm open to hearing discussions on other ppls experiences

.

@Dana Riddle was a phyto feeder. Don’t know what became of his effort

 

[taricha]

If the media isn't depleted when you add the phyto, then you can improve results by filtering or centrifuge, or change phyto timing.
With all that nutrition is going into the system, some robust form of export will be needed.
If the media is simply too rich in PO4, then you might have to tweak the F/2 to your liking.

 

[fryman]

Zoas don't directly eat phyto afaik. Various types of zooplankton eat phyto tho, which zoas may then feed on. Is this your intent?

When I tested tetraselmis on f/2 it consumed all the phos to 0 leaving excess nitrate. I repeated the experiment a few times, using a centrifuge and after 6 to 9days I tested at 0 ppb phosphorus & ~20ppm nitrate. Synechoccus however is a bacteria and bacteria consume more nitrate leaving excess phos. Synechoccus is a common contaminant in phyto culture that will often take over and looks darker green than tetraselmis to the naked eye, though it's hard to tell the difference unless you have alot of experience with both organisms. You should check your culture with a microscope.

That said ime adding reasonable amounts of phyto did not have a significant effect on tank nutrients one way or the other. Or at least not as much as other types of food. I'd guess if there was alot of excess f/2 then it could.