backbayreef
2500 Club Member
Sorry, I've never dosed phyto in my 30+ years in the hobby... what am I missing out?
How much phyto do you dose?
- Thread starter Daniel@R2R
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I'm dosing because I started a NPS tank and am keeping a Sea Apple which needs phyto.
Probably a dumb question but I've been wondering what would happen if I added freshly hatched brine shrimp to the phyto since I'm dosing those as well but manually.
backbayreef
2500 Club Member
Gotcha - guess I won't be keeping those for a long time.. lol
Randy Holmes-Farley
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My Tank Thread
I’m not really sure how knowing an mL per day dose someone else uses is useful unless you use the same brand. It’s not like there is some standard phyto concentration.
I auto dose phyto feast live at night using the manufacturer recommended dose. I use an old mini fridge, a BRS 1.1 mL per
Min doser on a timer, and a magnetic stirrer to mix it for a few min just before dosing.
I auto dose phyto feast live at night using the manufacturer recommended dose. I use an old mini fridge, a BRS 1.1 mL per
Min doser on a timer, and a magnetic stirrer to mix it for a few min just before dosing.
ShakeyGizzard
Southern Dude
Based on what has been stated here today, I plan on setting up my 4th (unused) dose pump to pull from an active culture. setting up my needed plumbing and also will set my pump to purge lines of non active phyto
Thanks. I'll try small container and see.Hmm, not sure. Only one way to find out.In theory, they should eat the phyto and then live in it similar to pods.
Boehmtown
Well-Known Member
I do reef nutritions phyto feast live. It's the thickest densest phyto I've ever seen. 1 drop per gallon is more than enough daily. It'll last a while. You can get half priced at shows, and if you're lucky they have a commercial one that's even more dense
I have a similar dosing amount:
My auto-dosing setup for Phyto w/ BBS
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...ton-for-optimum-benefit.1068523/post-12806904
I do. Works great: My auto-dosing setup for Phyto w/ BBS
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...ton-for-optimum-benefit.1068523/post-12806904
skey44
2500 Club Member
I dose small amounts compared to what I see posted here. I dose with the skimmer off for a few hours. I used to measure it out to about 15ml for 80 gallon tank. I’ve digressed to just pouring a small amount in daily when I remember and am able to have the skimmer off for a while. I usually go through a pint per month or so 
my main thought process for dosing is to feed the food chain by offering various sized foods (and corals potentially). I have a good planktonic drift in my tank, especially visible by flashlight at night. Just trying to feed everything and keep the food chain producing. My nitrates already drop super fast so I’m not looking for any nutrient reduction out of it.
I agree with Randy, all concentrations are different so it’s hard to say the right amount. Also I think there are lots of thriving tanks that don’t dose at all. I forget for weeks sometimes or run out and don’t re-up right away and I honestly don’t notice any remarkable differences.
I need to research phyto feeding more as I’m likely doing it wrong or missing the point! I just like seeing the cloud of green hit the MP and
Makes me feel good that I’m feeding something I can’t see or tell if it’s working lol feel Similar about dosing aminos. Ooh look weird color… cool.
my main thought process for dosing is to feed the food chain by offering various sized foods (and corals potentially). I have a good planktonic drift in my tank, especially visible by flashlight at night. Just trying to feed everything and keep the food chain producing. My nitrates already drop super fast so I’m not looking for any nutrient reduction out of it. I agree with Randy, all concentrations are different so it’s hard to say the right amount. Also I think there are lots of thriving tanks that don’t dose at all. I forget for weeks sometimes or run out and don’t re-up right away and I honestly don’t notice any remarkable differences.
I need to research phyto feeding more as I’m likely doing it wrong or missing the point! I just like seeing the cloud of green hit the MP and
Makes me feel good that I’m feeding something I can’t see or tell if it’s working lol feel Similar about dosing aminos. Ooh look weird color… cool.
33AP
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Love this haha! I need to do this!
I'm bad at remembering to dose so I 3d printed this and put it next to the fish food.
Reef By Steele
10K Club member
We recommend dosing 1-3ml per day per gallon of actual system volume. As per our dosing chart we send along it depends on how stocked and what types of corals. We also recommend regular testing of nitrates and phosphates. Someone earlier stated to watch for a spike in these nutrients. Dosing live phytoplankton should never cause an increase, but rather a decrease in these parameters. Therefore with a quality live product your concern would be more about zeroing these vs a spike.
Even if th Phyto was harvested right after start with the highest nutrient level (fertilizer) like 100-150 ppm, 1 ml per day would have little to no effect to a system as it would be adding 1/3785 of that to the tank as there are 3785ml per gallon. At 150ppm this would be adding .0396ppm per day. No mature culture would have anything near that for ppm, generally they are down to almost nothing. If you Phyto raises your nutrients it is not live, as it is decay that gives off the nitrates and phosphates. Live phytoplankton should consumes them much like macro algae in a refugium.
With regular testing you can determine the amount the nutrients are dropping. As they near your target numbers, you can reduce them to achieve a balance, or if you are happy with the results you can dose products like NeoNitro and NeoPhos from Brightwell.
As for culturing vs buying, culturing is more cost effective over the long haul, but it can be time consuming. If culturing your own, do a bare minimum of two strains 1 green and 1 brown or gold. For optimum nutritional profile and targeting everything in your tank I would recommend 5-8 strains. Each has different levels of vitamins, amino acids, lipids, fat, HUFA and more. Also cell size and shape varies considerably making some easier for different corals, pods and filter feeders to consume them.
Even if th Phyto was harvested right after start with the highest nutrient level (fertilizer) like 100-150 ppm, 1 ml per day would have little to no effect to a system as it would be adding 1/3785 of that to the tank as there are 3785ml per gallon. At 150ppm this would be adding .0396ppm per day. No mature culture would have anything near that for ppm, generally they are down to almost nothing. If you Phyto raises your nutrients it is not live, as it is decay that gives off the nitrates and phosphates. Live phytoplankton should consumes them much like macro algae in a refugium.
With regular testing you can determine the amount the nutrients are dropping. As they near your target numbers, you can reduce them to achieve a balance, or if you are happy with the results you can dose products like NeoNitro and NeoPhos from Brightwell.
As for culturing vs buying, culturing is more cost effective over the long haul, but it can be time consuming. If culturing your own, do a bare minimum of two strains 1 green and 1 brown or gold. For optimum nutritional profile and targeting everything in your tank I would recommend 5-8 strains. Each has different levels of vitamins, amino acids, lipids, fat, HUFA and more. Also cell size and shape varies considerably making some easier for different corals, pods and filter feeders to consume them.
FernBluffReef
Active Member
I dose by the turkey baster. Have to do the math to know the amount. Usually I do 3 turkey blasters full per day. I culture my own, and I’m back to two colors so if I have not mixed yet sometimes it’s two basters full of each color lol.
A baster full is a bit over 1oz it says so let’s say 3.5oz a day. So for my reef which has roughly 120gallons - I’m just under a ml a day.
I used to refrigerate my Phyto but found refrigeration tended to kill it, esp the ISO gold so I just store it on the countertop anymore. I have a new batch every ~7 days so it’s fine.
A baster full is a bit over 1oz it says so let’s say 3.5oz a day. So for my reef which has roughly 120gallons - I’m just under a ml a day.
I used to refrigerate my Phyto but found refrigeration tended to kill it, esp the ISO gold so I just store it on the countertop anymore. I have a new batch every ~7 days so it’s fine.
Stephers
Well-Known Member
I culture 5 species myself: T-Iso, Tetra, Rhodomonas, Phaeodactylum, and Synechococcus.
I dose 300mL daily on my 75 gallon. I make it as dense as possible. Pretty much black when mixed all together. And after some experimenting, I've found the minimum amount of fertilizer possible to still get it very dense but avoid excess fertilizer going into the tank. I have more pods than stars in the sky. Makes for happy mandarins.
I dose 300mL daily on my 75 gallon. I make it as dense as possible. Pretty much black when mixed all together. And after some experimenting, I've found the minimum amount of fertilizer possible to still get it very dense but avoid excess fertilizer going into the tank. I have more pods than stars in the sky. Makes for happy mandarins.
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