How often to use Phytofeast?

[Krixic]

Ok so im pretty new to aquarium nutrition. Im trying to create and establish a steady copepod population. Just bought some from a local reefer and should be coming next week. I have phytofeast which I plan on using to feed the pods along with my filter feeders. Its says to use it daily 1-5 drops per gallon which to me seems like alot. Im not even sure if phyto feast is the best option to feed pods. Is there such a thing as seeding phytoplankton to be self sustaining?

On a separate note,, I also feed corals reef roids once or twice a week at most. Are there other/better brands I should look into for coral nutrition?

Thanks

 

[0utworld]

I feed 30 drops of it daily in my 20 gal and everything seems to be fine.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Interestingly, I think it depends on what you consider to be "a lot." I personally like the pod water to be tinted fairly green, which requires 10-20+ drops/gallon.

You should know that technically your tank already produces phytoplankton. But your goal here, is to supplement the algal growth the copepods are nomming on. If you were to boost phyto growth to increase the pod population in your tank, you might be concerned about your tank being "too" full of phytoplankton and want to get rid of it.

@ThePurple12 feeds spirulina instead of phytofeast, and I think spirulina might be more cost-efficient as well.

 

[Krixic]

I feed 30 drops of it daily in my 20 gal and everything seems to be fine.

I see! Just seemed a bit much to me but ill give it a shot.

Interestingly, I think it depends on what you consider to be "a lot." I personally like the pod water to be tinted fairly green, which requires 10-20+ drops/gallon.

You should know that technically your tank already produces phytoplankton. But your goal here, is to supplement the algal growth the copepods are nomming on. If you were to boost phyto growth to increase the pod population in your tank, you might be concerned about your tank being "too" full of phytoplankton and want to get rid of it.

@ThePurple12 feeds spirulina instead of phytofeast, and I think spirulina might be more cost-efficient as well.

Interesting! Well I would like my tank to not look super "cloudy" so would having a heavy pod/phytoplankton tank lead to this? I just want to be able to have some biodiversity and some things my fish can nom on while doing their daily. Plus pods seem neat to me haha. @ThePurple12 How do you use Spirulina effectively without "overdoing it"? I definitely am interested in something more cost effective like that but how does it differ from a live supplement?

 

[ThePurple12]

Honestly, I never measure, I just add enough for a decently-sized cloud but not enough to tint the water.

 

[Larry L]

Interestingly, I think it depends on what you consider to be "a lot." I personally like the pod water to be tinted fairly green, which requires 10-20+ drops/gallon.

You should know that technically your tank already produces phytoplankton. But your goal here, is to supplement the algal growth the copepods are nomming on. If you were to boost phyto growth to increase the pod population in your tank, you might be concerned about your tank being "too" full of phytoplankton and want to get rid of it.

@ThePurple12 feeds spirulina instead of phytofeast, and I think spirulina might be more cost-efficient as well.

Agree with your advice for pod cultures, but I think the OP was talking about using it in the display tank.

 

[whitejawfish]

I feed twice a week. no issues.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Ok so im pretty new to aquarium nutrition. Im trying to create and establish a steady copepod population. Just bought some from a local reefer and should be coming next week. I have phytofeast which I plan on using to feed the pods along with my filter feeders. Its says to use it daily 1-5 drops per gallon which to me seems like alot. Im not even sure if phyto feast is the best option to feed pods. Is there such a thing as seeding phytoplankton to be self sustaining?

On a separate note,, I also feed corals reef roids once or twice a week at most. Are there other/better brands I should look into for coral nutrition?

Thanks

The phytoplankton in our Phyto-Feast is the same as what we feed our copepods. The species of algae in our product are not likely to colonize in a reef tank. This blend of algae is ideal for zooplankton and filter-feeding inverts. I recommend you start off with 1/2 TSP per 100 gallons. You can increase the dose as your animals get larger and as you add more corals/inverts to the tank. We don't use Spirulina on our copepods at our farm, only the species you see in the bottle. I also recommend our Oyster-Feast for your corals. Check out our website for more information: www.reefnutrition.com.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

 

[Krixic]

The phytoplankton in our Phyto-Feast is the same as what we feed our copepods. The species of algae in our product are not likely to colonize in a reef tank. This blend of algae is ideal for zooplankton and filter-feeding inverts. I recommend you start off with 1/2 TSP per 100 gallons. You can increase the dose as your animals get larger and as you add more corals/inverts to the tank. We don't use Spirulina on our copepods at our farm, only the species you see in the bottle. I also recommend our Oyster-Feast for your corals. Check out our website for more information: www.reefnutrition.com.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

Thanks for the information! Much appreciated

 

[Acroporaguy]

Daily. My SPS and clam respond very well to it.

 

[Krixic]

The phytoplankton in our Phyto-Feast is the same as what we feed our copepods. The species of algae in our product are not likely to colonize in a reef tank. This blend of algae is ideal for zooplankton and filter-feeding inverts. I recommend you start off with 1/2 TSP per 100 gallons. You can increase the dose as your animals get larger and as you add more corals/inverts to the tank. We don't use Spirulina on our copepods at our farm, only the species you see in the bottle. I also recommend our Oyster-Feast for your corals. Check out our website for more information: www.reefnutrition.com.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

Also, this may be a dumb question but when you say per 100 gallons, that's NET volume, correct?

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Also, this may be a dumb question but when you say per 100 gallons, that's NET volume, correct?

This is actually a good question as most people count the entire volume of their system, for the sake of simplicity. Some people will turn off their returns and allow the animals to consume the algae in just the display for up to 30 minutes. So just counting the display volume applies. If you have a refugium, you can add that into the total volume.

I appreciate your time. Hit me up any time if you want to know more.

Chad

 

[Krixic]

This is actually a good question as most people count the entire volume of their system, for the sake of simplicity. Some people will turn off their returns and allow the animals to consume the algae in just the display for up to 30 minutes. So just counting the display volume applies. If you have a refugium, you can add that into the total volume.

I appreciate your time. Hit me up any time if you want to know more.

Chad

Thanks so much

 

[Lionfish hunter]

The phytoplankton in our Phyto-Feast is the same as what we feed our copepods. The species of algae in our product are not likely to colonize in a reef tank. This blend of algae is ideal for zooplankton and filter-feeding inverts. I recommend you start off with 1/2 TSP per 100 gallons. You can increase the dose as your animals get larger and as you add more corals/inverts to the tank. We don't use Spirulina on our copepods at our farm, only the species you see in the bottle. I also recommend our Oyster-Feast for your corals. Check out our website for more information: www.reefnutrition.com.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

Is that per day? And if i can only do weekly, will that still maintain the pods?

 

[Garf]

Is that per day? And if i can only do weekly, will that still maintain the pods?

An old thread but you’ll find pods sustain there selves on bacterial and algal films in the aquarium, not waterborne foods.

 

[damsels are not mean]

An old thread but you’ll find pods sustain there selves on bacterial and algal films in the aquarium, not waterborne foods.

I agree, I almost always see copeods congregating on the same places the first patched of algae grow on the glass. Pelagic ones obviously eat phytoplankton but I don't think those exist in any tank in enough quantity to matter.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

I agree, I almost always see copeods congregating on the same places the first patched of algae grow on the glass. Pelagic ones obviously eat phytoplankton but I don't think those exist in any tank in enough quantity to matter.

They definitely eat the phyto. when you culture pods, you feed them only photo and the water turns green to clear because they will eat all the phyto.

 

[damsels are not mean]

They definitely eat the phyto. when you culture pods, you feed them only photo and the water turns green to clear because they will eat all the phyto.

They can but I don't think food is limiting them in a display tank. Unsure how much phyto even gets to the copepods or if they bother when algae on surfaces is abundant. A culture tank is totally full of the stuff meanwhile a display dilutes it by a lot and it probably doesn't last long in the water.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Is that per day? And if i can only do weekly, will that still maintain the pods?

1 TSP per 100 gallons per day is lowest recommended dose. Zooplankton, corals and other filter feeders will benefit from this kind of food. It's very hard to say which feeding frequency is best for your tank. You could start with once a week and increase over time.

-Chad