Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[jonelder68]

Haha. That’s creative.

My grandfather is ticked because the squirrels knock down most of the mangos from his tree. He’s tried everything, even electrical wires, to no avail.

I started growing some vegetables, and I noticed CHUNKS of leaves gone in a span of days…it took me months of trying to find the culprit because people kept saying it was caterpillars…but I never saw no stinkin’ caterpillar.

I planted a butternut squash, put it under my outdoor camera, and after a week an iguana jumped and demolished it. Mystery solved!

I’m growing eggplants in little fences which is working wonders. The cactus behind it is a dragon fruit. Love the tree design I made.

What else you growing to warrant a K9 squad car at your house

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley you would probably know better than me. It’s 90s-100ish degrees here through summer. Wouldn’t that be too high of temperatures for pods? That’s why I was thinking of trying it inside with a grow light. But people claimed it wasn’t really working indoors. Why not? I would think indoors would be a more controlled environment.

I expect inside with a light will work. I’m doing another batch inside with phyto and a slow bubbler. No peel. It will get phyto each time the color clears.

It’s not going to get too hot here in the long range forecast. More likely too cool (high was 60 yesterday). But too hot is a concern.

 

[Subsea]

Cool. Then why not stick with the live version? If I had the choice between preserved or live, I’d choose the latter, but the effort is not worth it for me.

It is more expensive and has a much shorter shelf life, but I think it’s better for filter feeders — it’s more natural like what they’re used to in the wild.

My favorite phyto is isochrysis galbana.

For the longest, I never dosed phyto. I had plenty of pods in cryptic refugiums with mud filters, so why bother. As you pointed out, it’s for the diverse filter feeders. Blending different phytoplankton species provides different particle sizes for various filter feeders.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Haha. That’s creative.

My grandfather is ticked because the squirrels knock down most of the mangos from his tree. He’s tried everything, even electrical wires, to no avail.

I started growing some vegetables, and I noticed CHUNKS of leaves gone in a span of days…it took me months of trying to find the culprit because people kept saying it was caterpillars…but I never saw no stinkin’ caterpillar.

I planted a butternut squash, put it under my outdoor camera, and after a week an iguana jumped and demolished it. Mystery solved!

I’m growing eggplants in little fences which is working wonders. The cactus behind it is a dragon fruit. Love the tree design I made.

lol.

I had to put it under the table to also keep mulberries out. You can see then on the ground around it. The tree drops them like crazy for a few weeks. lol

 

[twentyleagues]

@Randy Holmes-Farley you would probably know better than me. It’s 90s-100ish degrees here through summer. Wouldn’t that be too high of temperatures for pods? That’s why I was thinking of trying it inside with a grow light. But people claimed it wasn’t really working indoors. Why not? I would think indoors would be a more controlled environment.

I dont know I had a pod culture in a 10g in my fish room that was doing great until I ran out of phyto. I started trying to feed crushed up algae based flake food and it started to crash so I got all the living ones I could out and put them in the reef. I kept the tank going for a couple weeks like that but saw no life after 2 weeks so I broke it down. I think they were Tisbe pods btw.

 

[jonelder68]

I dont know I had a pod culture in a 10g in my fish room that was doing great until I ran out of phyto. I started trying to feed crushed up algae based flake food and it started to crash so I got all the living ones I could out and put them in the reef. I kept the tank going for a couple weeks like that but saw no life after 2 weeks so I broke it down. I think they were Tisbe pods btw.

That’s what I’ve heard with everyone trying the banana pod culture indoors. It seems to crash not far after. The author of it feeds spirulina powder. No phyto I believe. Maybe just natural sun light grows algae so well for the pods vs indoors with a light?

 

[twentyleagues]

That’s what I’ve heard with everyone trying the banana pod culture indoors. It seems to crash not far after. The author of it feeds spirulina powder. No phyto I believe. Maybe just natural sun light grows algae so well for the pods vs indoors with a light?

Mine was just phyto. No crash until I started the flake food. So maybe a combo of light source and added waste from something not alive? I didnt try spirulina powder, maybe that would have less of effect on water quality than the flake?

 

[Reefering1]

The whole “dose live phyto only” is a waste of money and marketing ploy from Big Phyto.

Big phyto..
Lol

 

[jonelder68]

Mine was just phyto. No crash until I started the flake food. So maybe a combo of light source and added waste from something not alive? I didnt try spirulina powder, maybe that would have less of effect on water quality than the flake?

We’ll find out soon. I’m going to set up a 10 gallon tank and try. I have everything needed already so it won’t cost anything. Scoop some pods from the fuge and see how it goes.

 

[X-37B]

Haha. That’s creative.

My grandfather is ticked because the squirrels knock down most of the mangos from his tree. He’s tried everything, even electrical wires, to no avail.

I started growing some vegetables, and I noticed CHUNKS of leaves gone in a span of days…it took me months of trying to find the culprit because people kept saying it was caterpillars…but I never saw no stinkin’ caterpillar.

I planted a butternut squash, put it under my outdoor camera, and after a week an iguana jumped and demolished it. Mystery solved!

I’m growing eggplants in little fences which is working wonders. The cactus behind it is a dragon fruit. Love the tree design I made.

Funny! The squirrels in my yard knock down my plums and eat them from green to ripe.
I thought it was the Jay's but saw the squirrel chewing on them.
They also dig acorns all over the ground and I get oak trees popping up everywhere in the spring.

 

[twentyleagues]

We’ll find out soon. I’m going to set up a 10 gallon tank and try. I have everything needed already so it won’t cost anything. Scoop some pods from the fuge and see how it goes.

I would guess mixing pods will not be great in the confined space. Larger species will prey on the smaller ones. It would be better to get a single strain for an experiment. Even without purposefully putting only one type in you will eventually get 1 type in the tank whichever is stronger/bigger. So either way.

 

[X-37B]

For the longest, I never dosed phyto. I had plenty of pods in cryptic refugiums with mud filters, so why bother. As you pointed out, it’s for the diverse filter feeders. Blending different phytoplankton species provides different particle sizes for various filter feeders.

Have you ever dosed dried phyto?
I use esv dried and have never tried live.
Just curious as most here dose live.

 

[Miami Reef]

Here’s the iguana footage.

 

[twentyleagues]

Funny! The squirrels in my yard knock down my plums and eat them from green to ripe.
I thought it was the Jay's but saw the squirrel chewing on them.
They also dig acorns all over the ground and I get oak trees popping up everywhere in the spring.

Yup I have blackberries and strawberries and the squirrels love me for it. Its nice they let me have a few. Tomatoes too.

 

[twentyleagues]

Here’s the iguana footage.

Nom Nom nom.

 

[jonelder68]

I would guess mixing pods will not be great in the confined space. Larger species will prey on the smaller ones. It would be better to get a single strain for an experiment. Even without purposefully putting only one type in you will eventually get 1 type in the tank whichever is stronger/bigger. So either way.

I only dosed the tank at start up with apocalypse pods. So should only be them. Though I’m sure some came in with the TBS rock and sand. Either way they’ve swarmed the remote fuge tank enough that I’ve been collecting and feeding the DT for the Anthias to munch.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Alk and pH

pH 8.04 at 10 AM
Alk 11.5 dKH

I think my last alk measurement of about 7 dKH was 7 days ago and I’ve been dosing about 0.5 dKH per day. With the alk where it is now, the AFR may have been significantly more than needed to get to 9 dKH and stabilize.

I’m dropping the dose to about 6 mL per day (from 91) so we will see where that stabilizes. :)

 

[Reefering1]

Alk and pH

pH 8.04 at 10 AM
Alk 11.5 dKH

I think my last alk measurement of about 7 dKH was 7 days ago and I’ve been dosing about 0.5 dKH per day. With the alk where it is now, the AFR may have been significantly more than needed to get to 9 dKH and stabilize.

I’m dropping the dose to about 6 mL per day (from 91) so we will see where that stabilizes. :)

Why not stop the dose and measure consumption, on the way down, so you know the rate? You seem to be the type that would want to know...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Why not stop the dose and measure consumption, on the way down, so you know the rate? You seem to be the type that would want to know...

That’s a reasonable idea, but the tank demand has been changing a lot, and my schedule complicates doing that right now.

 

[Subsea]

Have you ever dosed dried phyto?
I use esv dried and have never tried live.
Just curious as most here dose live.

When I dose phytoplankton, I grow my own.