sixty_reefer
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This thread is aimed at recording my personal system Carbon dosing method utilising live phytoplankton as a source of CNP.
To accomplish my goals I will be implementing the automated continuous phytoplankton generator that I have developed in the past, this photoreactor allows me to add multiple doses of live phytoplankton through out the day and artificially introducing the lowest trophic level in the ocean to my home reef aquarium.
once this trophic level is successfully introduced heterotrophic bacteria and zooplankton will start to prey on phytoplankton.
The phytoplankton should be adding natural carbon sources to my system trough two different ways.
1. Trough the zooplankton preying on phytoplankton, it’s believed that 90% of mass is lost trough waste as something moves up the trophic level.
This should add back to the water column the nutrients from the phytoplankton that gets consumed by all different zooplankton that lives in my system and further more as fish preys in the zooplankton.
2. Through a process of demineralisation that happens as phytoplankton that is not consumed decomposes in my system.
Once all the nutrients from the phytoplankton are released into the water column, heterotrophic bacteria will start assimilating CNP from the water column and be removed from my system via protein skimmer or eaten by other organisms that live in my system.
To accomplish the above I had to do a lot of research into the fertiliser used to keep the phytoplankton culture alive, I am now using a much lower NPK ratio fertiliser in comparison to the most common fertilisers used at the moment to grow phytoplankton, this new fertiliser is perfect to keep the culture alive wile at the same time only a small amount of P should enter the system from the culture water.
The goal of the thread is to register the development of the addition of phytoplankton to a reef aquaria focusing on residual nutrient concentration and coral observations in a system that gets live phytoplankton on regular 24 additions daily.
To accomplish my goals I will be implementing the automated continuous phytoplankton generator that I have developed in the past, this photoreactor allows me to add multiple doses of live phytoplankton through out the day and artificially introducing the lowest trophic level in the ocean to my home reef aquarium.
once this trophic level is successfully introduced heterotrophic bacteria and zooplankton will start to prey on phytoplankton.
The phytoplankton should be adding natural carbon sources to my system trough two different ways.
1. Trough the zooplankton preying on phytoplankton, it’s believed that 90% of mass is lost trough waste as something moves up the trophic level.
This should add back to the water column the nutrients from the phytoplankton that gets consumed by all different zooplankton that lives in my system and further more as fish preys in the zooplankton.
2. Through a process of demineralisation that happens as phytoplankton that is not consumed decomposes in my system.
Once all the nutrients from the phytoplankton are released into the water column, heterotrophic bacteria will start assimilating CNP from the water column and be removed from my system via protein skimmer or eaten by other organisms that live in my system.
To accomplish the above I had to do a lot of research into the fertiliser used to keep the phytoplankton culture alive, I am now using a much lower NPK ratio fertiliser in comparison to the most common fertilisers used at the moment to grow phytoplankton, this new fertiliser is perfect to keep the culture alive wile at the same time only a small amount of P should enter the system from the culture water.
The goal of the thread is to register the development of the addition of phytoplankton to a reef aquaria focusing on residual nutrient concentration and coral observations in a system that gets live phytoplankton on regular 24 additions daily.