Dosing phyto from a refrigerator

[dangles]

Has anybody tried this?

I stumbled on a YouTube video where a guy got a tiny fridge and ran dosing tubing into and out of it, then programmed his DOS to run a normal dosing program with a modification to run it in reverse immediately after each dose to return the unused liquid into the refrigerated bottle it came from. I can't seem to find the video now.

I'm thinking about trying it with one of these...

Robot or human?

There's even enough room in there I could put a small magnetic stirrer inside and set it on a timer I think?

Anyway any experience with something like that?

 

[vic5hands]

I drilled the holes and set the tubing ,but I did not draw the unused liquid back. That would seem to me a good chance of not properly dosing .

 

[Gtinnel]

I have never done it but I was ironically just watching a video where they show how to program the dos to pump the liquid in and then clear the line. This may not be the video you saw but it should help with the dos programming.

 

[Pistondog]

Seems like more effort than necessary for something so easy to grow.
Dilute the phyto 1:1 with tank water, keep it agitated with stirrer or pump, shine a light on it for 4 to 6 hours a day. Dose away.

 

[biophilia]

If you're just trying to dose phyto and not a mix of foods, a fridge is probably overkill.

For live phyto, just stick an airline into a pitcher of phyto to keep the algae from settling, and use a cheap dosing pump to feed it out.

If it's dead phyto that you want to keep refrigerated, look into a Sharper Image wine bottle chiller or similar.

Another option that doesn't require refrigeration is Easy Reefs EasyBooster phyto. It's in a gel suspension and can be kept at room temperature. You can connect a peristaltic pump directly to the packet.

 

[dangles]

I drilled the holes and set the tubing ,but I did not draw the unused liquid back. That would seem to me a good chance of not properly dosing .

The problem would be that depending on the dose intervals, the phyto left in the tube might die off. From what I've read/heard, live phyto should be kept refrigerated. Any idea how long it survives at room temp? Admittedly I'm very new to all this

Seems like more effort than necessary for something so easy to grow.
Dilute the phyto 1:1 with tank water, keep it agitated with stirrer or pump, shine a light on it for 4 to 6 hours a day. Dose away.

I've watched a few videos from high profile YTers about farming phyto. They were consistent in saying that using tank water puts you at higher risk for a colony crash because of the bacteria that exists in our systems. They were very insistent that all the equipment has to be kept VERY clean and bacteria-free. They all recommended using freshly mixed salt water. Have you had any issues with colonies collapsing?

If you're just trying to dose phyto and not a mix of foods, a fridge is probably overkill.

For live phyto, just stick an airline into a pitcher of phyto to keep the algae from settling, and use a cheap dosing pump to feed it out.

If it's dead phyto that you want to keep refrigerated, look into a Sharper Image wine bottle chiller or similar.

Another option that doesn't require refrigeration is Easy Reefs EasyBooster phyto. It's in a gel suspension and can be kept at room temperature. You can connect a peristaltic pump directly to the packet.

How long do phyto colonies survive at room temp? My understanding was they need to be refrigerated. I don't plan to farm them so I'd be dependent on store-bought bottles (at east initially - although maybe this will become cost prohibitive to buy a new bottle each month!).

I'll have to read more about that EasyBooster phyto stuff. Thanks!

 

[Pistondog]

Ive watched a few videos from high profile YTers about farming phyto. They were consistent in saying that using tank water puts you at higher risk for a colony crash because of the bacteria that exists in our systems. They were very insistent that all the equipment has to be kept VERY clean and bacteria-free. They all recommended using freshly mixed salt water. Have you had any issues with colonies collapsing?

you are correct i meant salt water, fresh.
What is collapsing?
if you let the phyto go too long, without fertilizer, it dies in a few days. This can get discarded or dosed to the tank, as many phyto products are dosed dead anyway.
Otherwise it just grows.
We have 4 1 gallon cultures going usually, we constantly experiment with 'very clean' and find it is not worth the effort or necessary.
But certainly start that way for best chance for success and adjust as desired.

 

[biophilia]

How long do phyto colonies survive at room temp? My understanding was they need to be refrigerated. I don't plan to farm them so I'd be dependent on store-bought bottles (at east initially - although maybe this will become cost prohibitive to buy a new bottle each month!).

I'll have to read more about that EasyBooster phyto stuff. Thanks!

In general, live phyto cultures will go downhill and start dying within a day or two without refrigeration (unless they are being fertilized, and actively growing under strong lighting). Most of them will also start settling in the containers they are in within a few hours unless they're being actively stirred or aerated in some way.

At the public aquarium I work at we routinely keep containers of live phyto on air for ~24 hours at room temp, but discard after that. In addition to the microalgae dying, it also begins losing a lot of nutritional content after a certain point if it is warm (and growing), but not able to photosynthesize or gain access to nutrients.

What is your goal with the phyto dosing to begin with? Are you sure you need to be dosing live phyto? Depending on your needs, you may be able to get away with dosing "dead" phyto like Reef Nutrition's PhytoFeast or similar.

If you're just trying to keep a healthy copepod population for your fish to eat, if you seed your tank with the copepod Apocyclops panamensis, their nauplii will do fine eating dead phyto and the adults will primarily consume the film algae growing on surfaces in the aquarium. I have a mandarin dragonet that has been eating A. panamensis all day long in a 12 gallon aquarium for almost two years and the glass is still swarming with copepods because I dose "dead" PhytoFeast twice per day to feed the copepod population it is eating.

 

[dangles]

What is your goal with the phyto dosing to begin with? Are you sure you need to be dosing live phyto? Depending on your needs, you may be able to get away with dosing "dead" phyto like Reef Nutrition's PhytoFeast or similar.

If you're just trying to keep a healthy copepod population for your fish to eat, if you seed your tank with the copepod Apocyclops panamensis, their nauplii will do fine eating dead phyto and the adults will primarily consume the film algae growing on surfaces in the aquarium. I have a mandarin dragonet that has been eating A. panamensis all day long in a 12 gallon aquarium for almost two years and the glass is still swarming with copepods because I dose "dead" PhytoFeast twice per day to feed the copepod population it is eating.

Yeah pretty much just for pods. I'd also like to maybe get a clam in the future. As I understand it, clams are much more reliant on filter feeding when they're little fellas

I would be less worried about keeping the pods fed if my tank were a little more mature. It's pretty stinking pristine right now (I only recently turned the lights on very low).

Maybe just dosing the "dead" phyto and not worrying about refrigeration is the way to go then.

Good to know about the apocalypse pods. I had ordered one of the mixed pod options thinking diversity would be helpful. Maybe just not needed in my case!

Thanks for the insight!

 

[dangles]

Still REALLY clean (although I’m sure there’s some microscopic stuff going on)