Phytoplankton Nutrition during storage.

Subsea

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@Reef Nutrition

Do you have data of nutritional value of fresh harvested phytoplankton compared to bottled & stored at room temperature and/or refrigerate?

A friend is designing an automatic continuous drip/dose of live phytoplankton from bottled live culture. Assuming max 80 degree ambient temperatur, what max usage time would you suggest.. As an alternate to live phytoplankton, he asked about nutritional value of non living phytoplankton.

Chad,
i use phytoplankton for biomediation in my mixed garden of softies, sponges, feathers, tunicates, bryozoan, clams, flame scallops & sea apples. The tank is 25 years mature with a newly transformed Cryptic refugium from Ecosystem mud/macro refugium. I can not show lab results. After 50 yrs of Reefing, I have unopened test kits 10 yrs old.

On your bio mediation thread, a constant theme was “where does phyto waste go to in our reef tanks”. Instead of nutrients in and nutrients out, let’s focus on nutrient recycling. I don’t protein skim for the same reason, I want multiple food webs to process inorganic & organic nutrients into live food for hungry mouths. Then again, I operate high nutrient invertebrate filter feeder systems.
 

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Do you have data of nutritional value of fresh harvested phytoplankton compared to bottled & stored at room temperature and/or refrigerate?

A friend is designing an automatic continuous drip/dose of live phytoplankton from bottled live culture. Assuming max 80 degree ambient temperatur, what max usage time would you suggest.. As an alternate to live phytoplankton, he asked about nutritional value of non living phytoplankton.

Chad,
i use phytoplankton for biomediation in my mixed garden of softies, sponges, feathers, tunicates, bryozoan, clams, flame scallops & sea apples. The tank is 25 years mature with a newly transformed Cryptic refugium from Ecosystem mud/macro refugium. I can not show lab results. After 50 yrs of Reefing, I have unopened test kits 10 yrs old.

On your bio mediation thread, a constant theme was “where does phyto waste go to in our reef tanks”. Instead of nutrients in and nutrients out, let’s focus on nutrient recycling. I don’t protein skim for the same reason, I want multiple food webs to process inorganic & organic nutrients into live food for hungry mouths. Then again, I operate high nutrient invertebrate filter feeder systems.

Hi @Subsea,

While I don't have any comparison data, I can tell you that we harvest our algae at its peak growing phase when it has the best nutritional profile. Referring to our non-viable concentrates, once harvested, the nutritional profile doesn't change like with live algae. Live algal cells are in constant flux. Our algae blends are also diverse, concentrated and incredibly economical. No need to culture 6 species of phytoplankton, or worry about culture space, equipment needs and contamination. These are some of the reasons people prefer to buy our algae rather than grow it themselves.

If you're just looking to feed algae to your animals, they don't mind that the algae is not alive.

Regarding the bioremediation. I agree that if your system can recycle the components of a live algal cell that has died or digested algae cell, then it's all good. Since your tank has the animals to handle that load, it sounds like it works out for you. I try to caution people that this method won't work for everyone since, biologically, every tank is different. Live phyto is a great food source, but if you're (any hobbyist) looking to bioremediate an aquarium, it may do more harm than good. With that being said, most people that are dosing live algae from a culture aren't adding a whole lot of algal biomass since cultures can only get so dense, so they aren't adding much excess nutrient to the tank.

I hope this information is in the ball park of what you were looking for. Sorry for the lack of detailed nutritional data.

Chad
 
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Subsea

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Hi @Subsea,

While I don't have any comparison data, I can tell you that we harvest our algae at its peak growing phase when it has the best nutritional profile. Referring to our non-viable concentrates, once harvested, the nutritional profile doesn't change like with live algae. Live algal cells are in constant flux. Our algae blends are also diverse, concentrated and incredibly economical. No need to culture 6 species of phytoplankton, or worry about culture space, equipment needs and contamination. These are some of the reasons people prefer to buy our algae rather than grow it themselves.

If you're just looking to feed algae to your animals, they don't mind that the algae is not alive.

Regarding the bioremediation. I agree that if your system can recycle the components of a live algal cell that has died or digested algae cell, then it's all good. Since your tank has the animals to handle that load, it sounds like it works out for you. I try to caution people that this method won't work for everyone since, biologically, every tank is different. Live phyto is a great food source, but if you're (any hobbyist) looking to bioremediate an aquarium, it may do more harm than good. With that being said, most people that are dosing live algae from a culture aren't adding a whole lot of algal biomass since cultures can only get so dense, so they aren't adding much excess nutrient to the tank.

I hope this information is in the ball park of what you were looking for. Sorry for the lack of detailed nutritional data.

Chad

Thank you. I value your knowledge & insight on micro fauna & fana. Your product description of non-viable algae concentrates is exactly what my friend wants to automate. Does it have to be refrigerated?o
 

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Thank you. I value your knowledge & insight on micro fauna & fana. Your product description of non-viable algae concentrates is exactly what my friend wants to automate. Does it have to be refrigerated?o
Yes. Our phytoplankton, whether viable or non-viable, needs to be refrigerated. We rely on cold temperatures to keep the cells stable as opposed to using strong preservatives.

Have a great weekend. It's be been nice chatting with you.

Chad
 
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Yes. Our phytoplankton, whether viable or non-viable, needs to be refrigerated. We rely on cold temperatures to keep the cells stable as opposed to using strong preservatives.

Have a great weekend. It's be been nice chatting with you.

Chad


I just did stumble on a thread by Dana Riddle with respect to heavy phytoplankton dosing in 120G reef tank. He is using micro algae and diver collected live rock to build the microbial loop in his 120G reef. Just as on the Natural Reef, inorganic nutrients show close to zero, yet live micro fauna & fana feeds the reef inhabitants. Because of the complexity of the
“coral holobiont“, to isolate one component such as phytoplankton dosing as being bio mediation is an oversimplification of a complex interconnected & interdependent ecosystem where bacteria in biofilm on coral surface crosstalk with internal bacteria in biomass of coral.
 

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Yes. Our phytoplankton, whether viable or non-viable, needs to be refrigerated. We rely on cold temperatures to keep the cells stable as opposed to using strong preservatives.

Have a great weekend. It's be been nice chatting with you.

Chad
Side note.... I am fast approaching 2 months with a bottle of your live Phyto, Chad, are we ok another month or so refrigerated? Still smells ok, colouration is good.....or don't risk it in your opinion. Thanks.
 

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Side note.... I am fast approaching 2 months with a bottle of your live Phyto, Chad, are we ok another month or so refrigerated? Still smells ok, colouration is good.....or don't risk it in your opinion. Thanks.
Sounds like you are still good to go. Viability is good for 3 months. After that, the cells stop replicating themselves but can still be used as food for your animals. As long as smell and color are consistent, it's all good. Thanks so much for asking here!

Chad
 
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Yes. Our phytoplankton, whether viable or non-viable, needs to be refrigerated. We rely on cold temperatures to keep the cells stable as opposed to using strong preservatives.

Have a great weekend. It's be been nice chatting with you.

Chad

Chad,
Considering refrigeration required for peak nutrition of phytoplankton, are there any automated compact systems available to your knowledge?
 

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Chad,
Considering refrigeration required for peak nutrition of phytoplankton, are there any automated compact systems available to your knowledge?
Nothing that I'm aware of. Most people are doing a DIY mini fridge with dosers inside.
 

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