Good video, better than most that show how to culture phytoplankton. The way you do it is interesting to me. I would suspect it's the chlorine in your tap water that is the important additive. Of course everyone's tap water is different. I use RO/DI and freshly mixed instant ocean BUT I then bleach it for 12hrs then dechlorinate for 12hrs then use it. That's how I ensure sterile water. Before I started bleaching it I had crashes. The other thing I would recommend is to periodically check your culture under a microscope. You do a good job of mentioning how important it is to culture what you want to vs a bacterial soup which a lot of people end up with if they are sloppy.
The dosage stated on those bottles sold at GA is no where near how much was dosed in this tank. This will be very confusing for people who just started dosing phytoplankton.
Awesome episode Cam. Growing my own Phyto was a huge change in my reef tanks. I will have to try some with tap water VS RODI and might try to add a little nitrate also. I started out slow and now I add 8oz to 10oz per day 7 days a week to my Reefer 300 and 425. Oh and reef roids I never thought about that but that makes sense to get the polyps out and get them a good feeding.
Hey Josh, Ive been bugging Ania with some questions for you and she suggested I add them here. What salinity do you use for your phyto culture (and do you use different salinity for different species?) Also back to adding the nitrate, if I do decide to start adding it, how much do you normally add to the 5ltrs of medium when you make it up? And a question for both you and Cam, is there a follow up video with tips and tricks for raising copepods? I have a few more questions there as well, especially when it comes time to split the culture and using mesh to seperate babies from adults etc, im more than a little confused there. Cheers, Melinda
Hey Cam, I failed my first culture and I believe it was due to it being to diluted to start with. It lost all colour in day 2 and didn't change until day 5 which was when I tipped it. What is your opinion on starting ratios? phyto to medium wise.. (example.. 1 part phyto to 3 parts medium) ect...
Hi Josh, Could you please explain what you mean at 4m30s when you say you leave it for 24/48hrs to stand? What does that do? I’ve just tried to culture my own batch following your instructions and using your phytoplankton. Unfortunately my culture crashed 🤦♂️
Hi, thanks for watching. We are Assuming there was no contaminants (ie. you used sterile clean vessels), because that is the leading cause of a crash. Adding nutrients to the medium and standing for 24 hours has helped in some cases as it prevents fertiliser / nitrogen burn. Cheers! Hope that helps
RODI is better practice than tap water. The phyto likely won't care but if you are dosing this into your reef, tap water will add silicates and unknown bacteria and viruses at a minimum. Possibly could also add excess nitrate/phosphate, copper, aluminum, heavy metals, and even traces of pesticide/herbicide/pharmaceutical waste (depending on your source).
I have tried phytoplankton a couple of times. Anyway, I am not sure how much the corals benefits of the dosing. Have anybody performed a test with a control tank to see how good this dosing works?
@@GalleryAquaticaTV Do you mean that there are two styles of aquarium that are incompatible? I hear you on that, but who else do I need to create a closed loop? I want to create a system that requires as few continuous inputs as possible. Plants require nutrients as well and I have the stratum aqua-soil. The plants being macroscopic means that to support larger animals I must be missing a few key 'actors' in a cyclical system. I have rotifers and other microfauna, but I'm wondering if there's anything smaller, I can grow that they'll feed on. I just thought an autotroph like Chlorella vulgaris would work. Thank you for your time.
@seanrafferty6752 I think you’ll find phytoplankton requires just as much nutrient input at macroscopic plants, but I think I have a better idea of what you’re looking to achieve. It will be a challenge, but certainly an intriguing project. Cam
The chlorine in most residential water supplies leaves it close enough to sterile for the algae culture. The minerals and other impurities can be beneficial to the algae. All this is very dependent on your municipal water supply. Giving it a try has a minimal cost and if it works better great. If not, stick to the RO water.
