Growing phytoplankton correctly

[Rawsreef]

hi all,

wondering if this is the right way to go about it.

Right now I am on day 2 of my setup and the only thing that concerns me is the color of the water/phyto.

Used this stuff to start the phyto culture


Used only enough to give the water a tint of green even though this stuff does not look super green to me, closer brown. Here’s what we’re looking like on day 2.


This is with grow light on, cellphone flash off





This is grow light off, and cell phone flash on




Color doesn’t look right ,what does everyone think?

 

[Fishinabarrel]

Reef Nutrition is mostly dead phyto that is densely packed. Perfect for feeding various things.
But likely hard to get anything to grow.
My LFS sold me this exact bottle claiming it would be good for growing. Since then they have been arrested and evicted (#karma)!

Algaebarn, ebay, amazon, etsy all have folks selling phyto cultures for less than $30. Go this path......

 

[Fishinabarrel]

It should not be stinky also.
How is the bubbling?
Is the light going to be directly on the bottle?

Cleanliness is critical too. I lost my colony at 6 months due to "something" growing.

 

[Rawsreef]

Reef Nutrition is mostly dead phyto that is densely packed. Perfect for feeding various things.
But likely hard to get anything to grow.
My LFS sold me this exact bottle claiming it would be good for growing. Since then they have been arrested and evicted (#karma)!

Algaebarn, ebay, amazon, etsy all have folks selling phyto cultures for less than $30. Go this path......

This is exactly what I was fearing..

Will check algaebarn I have seen them alot and I even almost ordered pods from them once too.

I would try local reefers but then again, they could be selling me crap too.

 

[Fishinabarrel]

This is exactly what I was fearing..

Will check algaebarn I have seen them alot and I even almost ordered pods from them once too.

I would try local reefers but then again, they could be selling me crap too.

YOu might have someone local growing phyto. Check with the local reef club! They will be overwhelmed with phyto if so.

 

[homer1475]

Look up @Eldredge on here for quality phyto. His stuff is 100% live, havests on sunday, ships on tuesday.

 

[Rawsreef]

It should not be stinky also.
How is the bubbling?
Is the light going to be directly on the bottle?

Cleanliness is critical too. I lost my colony at 6 months due to "something" growing.

It was a brand new bottle that we drank out of. I then rinsed it with some RO and poured up fresh mixed saltwater into it. I would say it was clean enough, any way to tell for sure?

Look up @Eldredge on here for quality phyto. His stuff is 100% live, havests on sunday, ships on tuesday.

Thank you!

 

[Mikedawg]

Look up @Eldredge on here for quality phyto. His stuff is 100% live, havests on sunday, ships on tuesday.

Yep, great stuff and great service

 

[ZoWhat]

The truth is....

Phytofeast has a few strains of phyto that can NOT be cultivated as its mixed

The 3 main strains of phyto are: Nanno, Tet and Iso

NANNO (Nannochloropsis gaditana) is a smallish, unflagellated yellow/green algae of 1-5 microns in size. In addition to being a great source of the polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), it is a voracious consumer of nitrogenous waste products (e.g. ammonia and nitrate).

TET (Tetraselmis sp.) is a green biflagellated algae of 6-10 microns in size. It is known to be an excellent source of lipids, amino acids and the Omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as EPA.

ISO (Isochrysis galbana) is a golden brown biflagellate algae of 10-14 microns in size. Valued for its extremely high DHA content, it is often used to enrich (i.e. make more nutritious) live zooplanktonic foods such as rotifers, copepods and brine shrimp. It also happens to be very readily accepted by many filter-feeding bivalve mollusks such as clams, scallops, oysters and mussels.

All 3 must be cultivated completely separated from each other.

They can COEXIST in a bottle....

....but during ant type of cultivation with light + fertilizer, cross contamination of an strain will kill all strains (which is a brown color indicating dead cells)

You can either cultivate 1 strain or all 3 strains (in separate containers) through online companies like:

Algaebarn
Mercer of Montana
Algae Research Suppy (my fav)


.

 

[Rawsreef]

The truth is....

Phytofeast has a few strains of phyto that can NOT be cultivated as its mixed

The 3 main strains of phyto are: Nanno, Tet and Iso

NANNO (Nannochloropsis gaditana) is a smallish, unflagellated yellow/green algae of 1-5 microns in size. In addition to being a great source of the polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), it is a voracious consumer of nitrogenous waste products (e.g. ammonia and nitrate).

TET (Tetraselmis sp.) is a green biflagellated algae of 6-10 microns in size. It is known to be an excellent source of lipids, amino acids and the Omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as EPA.

ISO (Isochrysis galbana) is a golden brown biflagellate algae of 10-14 microns in size. Valued for its extremely high DHA content, it is often used to enrich (i.e. make more nutritious) live zooplanktonic foods such as rotifers, copepods and brine shrimp. It also happens to be very readily accepted by many filter-feeding bivalve mollusks such as clams, scallops, oysters and mussels.

All 3 must be cultivated completely separated from each other.

They can COEXIST in a bottle....

....but during ant type of cultivation with light + fertilizer, cross contamination of an strain will kill all strains (which is a brown color indicating dead cells)

You can either cultivate 1 strain or all 3 strains (in separate containers) through online companies like:

Algaebarn
Mercer of Montana
Algae Research Suppy (my fav)


.

so basically I should just dump this bottle?

bummer

 

[Fishinabarrel]

so basically I should just dump this bottle?

bummer

That bottle can be used for feeding!
It is still a nutrition source for marine life.

 

[Rawsreef]

That bottle can be used for feeding!
It is still a nutrition source for marine life

I felt like since it sat out of the fridge over a day it may not be good anymore. Still used it on my 90 though since it really was not too much, everything seems okay

 

[Reef Nutrition]

I felt like since it sat out of the fridge over a day it may not be good anymore. Still used it on my 90 though since it really was not too much, everything seems okay

It's ok if you left it out for a day. I'm also glad you didn't just dump the bottle as this phytoplankton is still a great food source.

I would like to add that, yes, our Phyto-Feast Live does not make for a good starter culture. Your best bet is to search for clean, single species cultures. Make sure you buy from someone that knows what they are doing. You don't want to waste your money on a contaminated starter. University of Texas has excellent starters and are looked to by many in academia and aquaculture.

If you have any questions related to our products, please feel to reach out to me any time. I'm on here almost every day, except for weekends. Those are reserved for family.

Have a good weekend,
Chad

 

[Safetysteve1314]

Reef Nutrition is mostly dead phyto that is densely packed. Perfect for feeding various things.
But likely hard to get anything to grow.
My LFS sold me this exact bottle claiming it would be good for growing. Since then they have been arrested and evicted (#karma)!

Algaebarn, ebay, amazon, etsy all have folks selling phyto cultures for less than $30. Go this path......

I need to try this to Breyer feed my corals

 

[jmichaelh7]

Reef Nutrition is mostly dead phyto that is densely packed. Perfect for feeding various things.
But likely hard to get anything to grow.
My LFS sold me this exact bottle claiming it would be good for growing. Since then they have been arrested and evicted (#karma)!

Algaebarn, ebay, amazon, etsy all have folks selling phyto cultures for less than $30. Go this path......

they have been arrested and convicted? true story ?

 

[Rawsreef]

It's ok if you left it out for a day. I'm also glad you didn't just dump the bottle as this phytoplankton is still a great food source.

I would like to add that, yes, our Phyto-Feast Live does not make for a good starter culture. Your best bet is to search for clean, single species cultures. Make sure you buy from someone that knows what they are doing. You don't want to waste your money on a contaminated starter. University of Texas has excellent starters and are looked to by many in academia and aquaculture.

If you have any questions related to our products, please feel to reach out to me any time. I'm on here almost every day, except for weekends. Those are reserved for family.

Have a good weekend,
Chad

Thank you so much!


And just to give everyone an update I ended up placing an order with @Eldredge like a few people recommended. Got some phyto and some pods. Should arrive mid next week

I plan on having the same setup except maybe a larger bottle for the phyto, like a gallon jug and possibly a different tank for the pods as well. Preferably something with a spout at the bottom, like I’ve seen on some videos

 

[HeyLookItsCaps]

hi all,

wondering if this is the right way to go about it.

Right now I am on day 2 of my setup and the only thing that concerns me is the color of the water/phyto.

Used this stuff to start the phyto culture


Used only enough to give the water a tint of green even though this stuff does not look super green to me, closer brown. Here’s what we’re looking like on day 2.


This is with grow light on, cellphone flash off





This is grow light off, and cell phone flash on




Color doesn’t look right ,what does everyone think?

I would order a starter culture from Poseidon Reef Systems. They also make the phyto tank setups and I’ve had a ton of success with both their dry goods and their cultures.

Edit : if you’re in or around Texas, or want to pay for shipping I can send you a pouch of mine, this is the 9th harvest and very dense.

 

[NS Mike D]

The truth is....

Phytofeast has a few strains of phyto that can NOT be cultivated as its mixed

The 3 main strains of phyto are: Nanno, Tet and Iso

NANNO (Nannochloropsis gaditana) is a smallish, unflagellated yellow/green algae of 1-5 microns in size. In addition to being a great source of the polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), it is a voracious consumer of nitrogenous waste products (e.g. ammonia and nitrate).

TET (Tetraselmis sp.) is a green biflagellated algae of 6-10 microns in size. It is known to be an excellent source of lipids, amino acids and the Omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as EPA.

ISO (Isochrysis galbana) is a golden brown biflagellate algae of 10-14 microns in size. Valued for its extremely high DHA content, it is often used to enrich (i.e. make more nutritious) live zooplanktonic foods such as rotifers, copepods and brine shrimp. It also happens to be very readily accepted by many filter-feeding bivalve mollusks such as clams, scallops, oysters and mussels.

All 3 must be cultivated completely separated from each other.

They can COEXIST in a bottle....

....but during ant type of cultivation with light + fertilizer, cross contamination of an strain will kill all strains (which is a brown color indicating dead cells)

You can either cultivate 1 strain or all 3 strains (in separate containers) through online companies like:

Algaebarn
Mercer of Montana
Algae Research Suppy (my fav)


.

^^^^. pay attention to this.

I documented my phyto cultivation ecperience in the Tigger & Tisbe Pod Thread
It was a fun reef project but in the end I made way way more phyto than I could use and the small system was too hard to maintain temp and ammonia so it crashed. I took me months to use up the supply in my fridge. It's just way easier to buy it. I started dosing with Reef Nutrition phytofest which got me interested. With some research I went with the Mercer live phyto and fertilizer.

 

[Rawsreef]

^^^^. pay attention to this.

I documented my phyto cultivation ecperience in the Tigger & Tisbe Pod Thread
It was a fun reef project but in the end I made way way more phyto than I could use and the small system was too hard to maintain temp and ammonia so it crashed. I took me months to use up the supply in my fridge. It's just way easier to buy it. I started dosing with Reef Nutrition phytofest which got me interested. With some research I went with the Mercer live phyto and fertilizer.

Don’t see a problem there. If I have more than I need I can just sell it to local reefers, maybe even some LFS?

Also I just plan on doing 1 run to generate a good amount of phyto to feed my pods and both my tanks.

whenever I run low I can just throw the remaining phyto into a fresh mix of salt and basically refill on phyto.

Literally sounds like an endless supply, of FRESH live food. Not sure how it could be better to just buy it every time. Easier? Yes maybe but not efficient imo

Also just realized what you said about the temp and ammonia. Do you mean your stored phyto would crash or the grow tank? I have not got that far along yet so I have not ran into any issues like this

 

[Rawsreef]

I would order a starter culture from Poseidon Reef Systems. They also make the phyto tank setups and I’ve had a ton of success with both their dry goods and their cultures.

Edit : if you’re in or around Texas, or want to pay for shipping I can send you a pouch of mine, this is the 9th harvest and very dense.

Really awesome of you my friend! I am in the south FL area, already ordered the phyto but I will look into these containers

thank you !!