Phytoplankton and copepod system

[rhizotron]

Pretty cool.

I like those wrap-around lights.

 

[MNFish]

@MNFish Very cool! I'm going to start culturing phyto and copepods in the next few months. Good luck with your efforts!

Also @BlueFynn_Ian, I like your setup as well! And hello from next door - Vermont.

Thank you!
Are you going diy or a kit or something in between?

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

@MNFish Very cool! I'm going to start culturing phyto and copepods in the next few months. Good luck with your efforts!

Also @BlueFynn_Ian, I like your setup as well! And hello from next door - Vermont.

Cheers! Hope you're staying safe in this weather we are getting up here.

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

Day 3 and a little greener.

Forgot to mention started with saltwater mixed to 35 ppt.

The phyto I am bubbling rapidly the copepods a few bubbles per second.

Ambient temperature is 66-70 degrees.

With the bag inside the tank it is hard to see any increase in copepods, but I am expecting a few weeks before I can harvest any.

Instructions are for new bag every week so I think I will follow as written to start. Eventually I would like to experiment since I have the 3 for phytoplankton but for now want to get some base lines.

Oh, so there are bags inside of the jars that are holding the phyto?

Also, what are you using for your phyto fertilizer? Currently I'm using Mercer of Montana Guillard f/2 formula. Seems to be working pretty well.

 

[MNFish]

Pretty cool.

I like those wrap-around lights.

Thanks, I am really happy with them I think they look really cool with the green glow.

 

[MNFish]

Oh, so there are bags inside of the jars that are holding the phyto?

Also, what are you using for your phyto fertilizer? Currently I'm using Mercer of Montana Guillard f/2 formula. Seems to be working pretty well.

Yes, it comes with bags, and replacable air tubes to go in each time. They recommend sanitizing the lid weekly too. It is very scientific feeling in trying to limit any possible cross contamination.

It came with a 2 part fertilizer that I am starting out with. Too early to tell but so far seems to be working.

The kit also came with 10 bags per container which I plan to use first but not sure if I will keep with them or use another in the future.

 

[MNFish]

Fertilizer Pack (200 ml Part A, 200 ml Part B)

poseidonreefsystems.com

This is the fertilizer that comes with it and I did buy extra.

PhytoTank-L Culture Pack-10 UNIT BULK PACK

poseidonreefsystems.com

This is the replacement bags that come with it.

For the first few months I am going to follow everything step by step...

 

[MNFish]

BRS posted a MACNA talk by Todd Gardner that has lots of great information in it for phyto and copepod growers if you haven't watched it already. One thing that stuck out to me was a study about how multiple species of phytoplankton fed to the copepods greatly increases the numbers of copepods you get (in some cases, 4-5x if my memory is correct). I've been growing the Nanno phyto for about a year and a half, but it crashes periodically. I feed it to multiple batches of Apex pods that I have had good success with. I am hoping to improve my phyto techniques to space the crashes out. I will be following your build to see your progress and pick up tips. Good luck!

That is a very informative video... I definitely plan to add at least one more kind of phyto in the future.

 

[MNFish]

I just ordered a few different bags to try:

These have a flatter bottom which might fill the space a little better:

Heavy Duty Square Bottom Bags 6" x 4" x 18" 100 pack 3GSBW1

Keep your fish safe in our watertight bags. Our 3GSBW1 square bottom bag measures 6" x 4" x 18" and is ideal for transporting and selling tropical or ornamental fish. Expandable sides form a square bottom so your fish won't get stuck in any corners. This 3 mil polyethylene bag is made with...

www.clearbags.com

These seem to be the same dimensions that came with it:

Polyethylene Heavy Duty Flat Bags 10" x 18" 200 pack TFB31018

3 Mil, water tight, ideal as a Tropical Fish Bag. Flat Poly Bags are the most common and economical bags for shipping or bundling products.

www.clearbags.com

I really do like the idea of just pulling out a bag and putting in a new one to start a clean new culture, but not sure I want to pay a dollar a piece forever.

Once I get these in I will update how well they fit for anyone that might want to try them with a DIY set up.

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

I just ordered a few different bags to try:

These have a flatter bottom which might fill the space a little better:

Heavy Duty Square Bottom Bags 6" x 4" x 18" 100 pack 3GSBW1

Keep your fish safe in our watertight bags. Our 3GSBW1 square bottom bag measures 6" x 4" x 18" and is ideal for transporting and selling tropical or ornamental fish. Expandable sides form a square bottom so your fish won't get stuck in any corners. This 3 mil polyethylene bag is made with...

www.clearbags.com

These seem to be the same dimensions that came with it:

Polyethylene Heavy Duty Flat Bags 10" x 18" 200 pack TFB31018

3 Mil, water tight, ideal as a Tropical Fish Bag. Flat Poly Bags are the most common and economical bags for shipping or bundling products.

www.clearbags.com

I really do like the idea of just pulling out a bag and putting in a new one to start a clean new culture, but not sure I want to pay a dollar a piece forever.

Once I get these in I will update how well they fit for anyone that might want to try them with a DIY set up.

That's a great way to keep them clean and avoid contamination.

I just switch to a clean/sanitized jar each week. Harvest one, pour starter into the new one and start it up, then scrub the dirty one. Little time consuming but not too bad. I have been using the same airline tubing every week without swapping or cleaning those. Knock on wood, no issues so far.

 

[MNFish]

That's a great way to keep them clean and avoid contamination.

I just switch to a clean/sanitized jar each week. Harvest one, pour starter into the new one and start it up, then scrub the dirty one. Little time consuming but not too bad. I have been using the same airline tubing every week without swapping or cleaning those. Knock on wood, no issues so far.

The bags are pretty reasonable the ones that appear to be what it come with cost about .11 a piece. The flat bottom bags are about .17 a piece but I wanted to see if it would fit a little better. Either way that seems way easier than scrubbing and sanitizing in between cultures.

What do you sanitize with, the instructions recommend rubbing alcohol but curious what others are doing?

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

The bags are pretty reasonable the ones that appear to be what it come with cost about .11 a piece. The flat bottom bags are about .17 a piece but I wanted to see if it would fit a little better. Either way that seems way easier than scrubbing and sanitizing in between cultures.

What do you sanitize with, the instructions recommend rubbing alcohol but curious what others are doing?

Yeah you won’t go through an insane amount of bags making the cost unbearable. Definitely easier.

Sanitize with RO water and a teaspoon of bleach, let the jar “cook” and kill all the leftover phyto for a day. Then empty, scrub, rinse a couple times and let dry. I used my home-brewing sanitizer for a bit but that’s quadruple the price of bleach and I could not tell you a difference.

 

[MNFish]

Day 4

Also turned light all the way down and took this picture:

Everything seems to be working as it should.

 

[Eric R.]

Cheers! Hope you're staying safe in this weather we are getting up here.

Thanks! So far, nothing out of the ordinary for these parts. Hope things are good there!

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

I think your setup looks awesome!
I have thought about rotifers but they seem to increase the amount of effort needed beyond the weekly effort needed now.
What kind of Phytoplankton are you growing?

If you ever do rotifers I HIGHLY suggest culturing them is a separate part of the room . 1 drop of a rotifer culture can crash a copepod culture in 24hours

 

[QuickrdenU]

Maybe a silly question but, can you only culture one type of phyto or pod in a jar at a time?

 

[BlueFynn_Ian]

Thanks! So far, nothing out of the ordinary for these parts. Hope things are good there!

So far the usual! The three tanks are happy we have a full house generator at the moment though.

If you ever do rotifers I HIGHLY suggest culturing them is a separate part of the room . 1 drop of a rotifer culture can crash a copepod culture in 24hours

Oh man, I never thought of that. Like letting a wolf into the hen house as the saying goes. Those would be some of the fattest rotifers ever though.

Maybe a silly question but, can you only culture one type of phyto or pod in a jar at a time?

My unofficial amateur response is no, at least for phyto. One will always out-compete the other and be the sole culture after a little while. At least that is how my experiments with multi cultures has gone.

For pods I am not sure, I run them separately but I do have an amphipod tank with numerous types of copepods in it. My guess is if its a big enough tank with a healthy amount of phyto for food you should be able to do multiple types of pods together.

 

[MNFish]

As @BlueFynn_Ian states and according to poseidonreefsystems you cannot do multiple phytoplankton species

https://poseidonreefsystems.com/about

I am also not sure about pods...

 

[MNFish]

I have read wildly different dosing suggestions for phytoplankton everything from very little to as much as you have. I know a lot depends on system but what have you all done?

 

[QuickrdenU]

I think I’m going to try the outdoor method once it gets warm! Plastic container in my screened in porch… DONE!