Phytoplankton culture and feeding questions?

[keh9qd]

Im deciding whether or not I am going to start culturing my own phytoplankton to feed my saltwater aquarium. I have a couple of questions I cant seem to find the answer to. I was hoping I could get some advice.

1. I have a local fish store that sells live phyto that is refrigerated and he is who got me thinking. He told me I could use some of the culture that I bought to start culturing. The process is simple but Im concerned with how long it lasts. So my question is

-why do shops refrigerate, is there something different the companies do to keep phyto alive longer?

- if I start a culture how do I preserve it the longest?

-how long will a culture live if I follow best practices?

2. I have a 150 gallon system heavily loaded with LPS, SPS, 2 small clams, zoanthids etc. the display is 80 gallons, it plumbed to by basement where 3 tanks are connected. 20 gallon refugium, 20 gallon frag tank and 40 gallon sump with skimmer. Can you give me some proper feeding advice on how often and how much the average phyto feedings would be? I have been doing 3-4 capfuls mixed with mysis, brine, and reefroids to spotfeed every other day.
Thanks!

 

[sde1500]

Refrigerating it preserves them by slowing things down, lets the culture live longer.

If you start a culture, you split it weekly, dump half out into another container or your tank, then add new salt water and a little bit of f/2 fertilizer. It should live forever that way really. Just split every 1-2 weeks and feed and you should be fine.

My 65 gallon take gets ~.5 gallons of nano per week. There really is no rule of thumb, its based on what your tank can handle. Start small with doses and work your way up, don't let the water get cloudy, and make sure the increase in nutrients from the phyto can be handled by the tank.

 

[RioReefr]

When I see questions I kind of think of all the time, energy (electricity), setup costs, space used, etc. when some things in life are just easier/better/cheaper to buy it already made....

I am no salesperson (nor even consumer) of Algae Barn, but they sell 1 gallon of phytoplankton for $80....which is almost 4,000 mL. Personally, I throw in 5 mL of PP for my clam every couple of day (just because).
I think unless you are supporting some huge fish-store, I don't see the value of cultivating something that can be bought cheaply for a mass-quantity IMHO.

https://www.algaebarn.com/product/oceanmagik-live-phytoplankton/

 

[sde1500]

When I see questions I kind of think of all the time, energy (electricity), setup costs, space used, etc. when some things in life are just easier/better/cheaper to buy it already made....



I am no salesperson (nor even consumer) of Algae Barn, but they sell 1 gallon of phytoplankton for $80....which is almost 4,000 mL. Personally, I throw in 5 mL of PP for my clam every couple of day (just because).

I think unless you are supporting some huge fish-store, I don't see the value of cultivating something that can be bought cheaply for a mass-quantity IMHO.



https://www.algaebarn.com/product/oceanmagik-live-phytoplankton/

I didn't spend all that much on my set up that runs 4 2 liter bottles each for two different phytoplankton. So with splitting I produce a gallon of each type weekly, and use it. So comparatively that's $160 a week I'd spend buying it. Not remotely close to my costs after a year.