Shall i build a Phytoplankton "Farm" at home?

[dmsc2fs]

I’m not sure the Poseidon system is going to be a good financial option. It’s great system and I use it. The problem is scale. Dosing 3l a day moves you into much larger volumes. You would need a dozen Poseidon jars to keep up. I believe a better option is going to be looking into how to repurpose wine making plastic carboy into growout tanks.

 

[Subsea]

Two hours ago, dosed 2 liters of live phytoplankton into each of 75G system and 55G display. Water was tainted green but is clearing up fast. To the point about adding nutrients in display, I strive for that as I dose 10ml of ammonia twice a day when photosynthesis is active.

 

[Dave-T]

It wouldn't take to see on the phyto culture if too much fertilizer are added, I think, and yes too little and the culture would slowely die out. It is possible that a little amount of fertilizer get into the tank, but I know that several people run a continous culture, so I don't think that is a big problem

Sorry, I'm not sure what you meant to say. It wouldn't take a long time to see if too much fertilizer was added? Is that what you mean? I don't get how you could tell by looking at it.

In any case, how is your algae? That would be my concern, that the fertilizer is causing unwanted algae in your tank.

 

[Dave-T]

Two hours ago, dosed 2 liters of live phytoplankton into each of 75G system and 55G display. Water was tainted green but is clearing up fast. To the point about adding nutrients in display, I strive for that as I dose 10ml of ammonia twice a day when photosynthesis is active.

Interesting! What's the ammonia for? And it looks like you have a ton of macroalgae in your system, that would certainly consume excess phyto fertilizer before nuisance algae could take over. At least I think it's macroalgae, what is all that green? Is some of it GSP? And two carpet nems?

 

[MBruun]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you meant to say. It wouldn't take a long time to see if too much fertilizer was added? Is that what you mean? I don't get how you could tell by looking at it.

In any case, how is your algae? That would be my concern, that the fertilizer is causing unwanted algae in your tank.

Yes I mean "wouldn't take long time"
Foam on the surface or colour change is sings of something is wrong
Algaes doesn't just show up if a little more nutrients are available, assuming your system already have a little available/measurable, since they super good at getting the required nutrients

 

[Subsea]

Interesting! What's the ammonia for? And it looks like you have a ton of macroalgae in your system, that would certainly consume excess phyto fertilizer before nuisance algae could take over. At least I think it's macroalgae, what is all that green? Is some of it GSP? And two carpet nems?

Back glass is GSP. Due to appetite of hippo tang, there is little macroalgae in this tank, only some Gracilaria Hayi which is lightly calcified. The tank is 25 years mature and heavy on filter feeders with numerous ornamental & cryptic sponges.

PS: Even though I feed heavy, the corals & filter feeders suck up all nutrients into their biomass, requiring more nitrogen. When I dose ammonia, I see feeding response in flower anemonea

 

[Subsea]

Hi Gents!
I`ve been thinking about building a small farm to grow Phytoplankton for our Reeftanks at home.
We`ve got quiet some volume of saltwater here, 3000 Liters of Saltwater: Over the thumb. (Its a bit more)

Why: We want to support the smallest lifeforms in our reeftanks with proper food: namely phytoplankton.
All those tiny critters that live in the sand and rockwork.
And of course: we probably all try to mimic the oceans as good as possible and i believe that plankton is a big part of it.

My problem with buying plankton off the shelf is: the amount we require isn't affordable any more.
We require about 3L of plankton every day, and 1 liter is around 11 Bucks here.
Do the math: we are looking at 30 Bucks per day! Thats roughly 12k a year.

Note: When I say we require X Liters a day, this is just me following product instructions printed on some website.
Those instructions vary from vendor to vendor, but they are all in the ballpark of 70-100 ml per 100 Liter a day and thats how i came up with that number.

Sooo looking at the numbers this lead my to the conclusion: I need to do something different.
Either grow my own Plankton or find a affordable replacement Product. I don't know, maybe some concentrate or something.

Ultimatively: I don't want to spend more than 100 bucks on plankton a month. Either bought or self grown.
Is that realistic to achieve? I dont know. Thats just what i'd like things to be

Is anybody here that grows plancton like that?

I mean, i believe its really a challenge to grow plancton on your own and do it right:
- No contamination, i believe i read about some disease that can spread through plankton. (vibrio?)
- proper "sterilization" ... or probably more likely: pasteurization techniques.
- Get the right "strains"
- get the dosing of fertilizer right so i don't pollute our tanks
- keep a constant production
- when to harvest

So, i think its not a project that is done once one gets a reactor and some starter cultures.
Its about having/ establishing the right procedures and using the stuff right.
This starts when sizing the reactor, whether to have multiple reactors, having "primary cultures" that are known good in the fridge.

So, i am looking for people who have done that successfully and are willing to give me tips and advice on that journey.
And of course, if you can: Please help me decide whether its worth going down that road.

As always: Happy reefing everybody!

Where are you living with so many systems in-house?

Because I use water from established reef tank to run my phytoplankton cultures, I boil water for 20 minutes to sterilize. At that point I don’t fret on sanitation. Redundancy is important: I use multiple 1G jars at $4ea with a common air supply and a common light source at 6K color rendition. I use my eye to decide density and when to harvest. I experience doubling phytoplankton density every 7 days. Keeping density high assist in preventing contamination.