Why do you add phytoplankton?

I wanted to start a thread discussing why we add phytoplankton to our reef tanks. I think some using it really don't need to and could save a lot of money.

I think any reef tank can benefit from its addition, but the benefit may not be worth the cost in some tanks.

First there is the "theraputic effect" of adding greenwater. There are some that say its addition can aid in maintaining fish health. Dont ask me how it works though.

Adding phyto can dramatically increase the pod population in a reef tank which may be very beneficial for picky eaters that will not accept frozen food. Its also a good diet supplement for any other fish that will eat them.

Many tanks have filter feeders which depend on phytoplankton to obtain sufficient nutrition, but many tanks do not have any.  Most corals do not use phytoplankton.  Even some larger clams do not need phytoplankton, but certainly would benefit from its addition.

For anyone involved in rearing fish, phytoplankton is a must for food production (rotifers etc.)

What am I leaving out??

 

 

 

"It is very possible to have a beautiful, healthy reef tank without adding phytoplankton. It is just important to be selective on which animals are added"

I guess the above statement is what im getting at. I think many people have tanks that would thrive even without the addition of phytoplankton, yet they still add it. At $15-30 for a bottle that is only good for a month or two....well, it adds up quick. I think that person would be better off putting that money towards better lighting or more frequent water changes....or something.

Edited by BananaTropics

Transam, interesting avatar and signature.

Please don't take any offense at what I am saying here. I don't mean it in a personal sense, just want to clarify that each of us is looking at this from differing perspectives.

Anyway, from my experience, BananaTropics is mistaken. Most coral DO benefit directly from phytoplankton and the tank in general does benefit from regular feedings. Phyto is the bottom of the food chain. Indeed, it grows naturally in all our tanks, especially those with higher light and refugia.

It is likely that a tank that one thinks is doing well, may actually be producing a portion of the live food that is supporting it's most healthy creaures. In each tank we must look at what organisms are doing "well" and then compare that to what has done "poorly" and perhaps things we haven't even tried, for fear that they will flounder. Also, It is important to know a reference point. For example, the statement "thrive and grow like weeds" actually means a different rate of growth to each person that reads it.

One of the founders of the company that started the manufacture and distribution of Velvet Green and Rotifers, Tim Weidauer, was also the founder of this club. He fed Velvet Green and Rotifers to his 120 regularly. It grew in enormous ways very quickly.

Tim had a Green Slimer Acropora that grew over to the back glass, across the back glass about a foot and out along the surface of the water almost 5 inches in some spots. In the course of about a year it grew at least 50 times the size of the original frag. This was before most people even knew how to frag SPS coral. The tank had only PC lights, no MH. He had a Cladiella/Colt Coral that grew from a baseball into a Basketball size in that same time period. I'm sure he could tell us more of the amazing growth due to plankton feeding.

I hope that my point is clear. If everyone reading this fed a quart or more of phytoplankton to their tank at least twice a week for a year(and avoided an overpopulation of carnivorous fish), they would then come to know what I know about a tank that truly "thrives and grows like a weed."

My 2 cents.

Edited by Mark Peterson

I'm not agreeing nor disagreeing with Adam (bananatropics) on regular feedings of phyto, but here's another quote from Eric Borneman.  Moreover, I don't think we should have growth be the norm.  A very healthy/successful tank can have slow growing corals.

Do We Need to Provide All This Food?

I think we do. There are many ways to do be a successful reefkeeper. I think such a diversity of thought and method should be encouraged. I also think the understanding and provision of proper food sources is an important and relatively recent school of thought in keeping aquaria; one that is just beginning to be realized by many. It is a key aspect of natural communities, and it has provided me with visible and tangible evidence of its importance in aquariums. I have crystal clear water and no problem algae with healthy fish and thriving corals. "So what," the reader may say, "Certainly the same can be said for those keeping stony coral galleries with powerful foam fractionators." Yes, it could. Indeed, I was once one of those people and I considered myself to have a very successful aquarium. But now, I have "reef snow" in my tanks, I have copious natural sponge growth, and I have communities of animals that never existed (or did not thrive) in the absence of these food sources. I also feel it is important to utilize food sources that provide maximal nutrition with minimal volume or unused components. In other words, high protein sources (e.g. "Golden Pearls") live or cultured live sources (e.g. Artemia, Mysis, rotifers), unicellular algal cultures (or live phytoplankton products such as DT's phytoplankton), and fresh whole food products (e.g. blenderized seafoods and algae), along with the intentional growth of a biodiverse community acting together as predators, prey, producers, and decomposers, is vital to success in keep coral reef communities in aquariums.

It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be a thriving community of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely a collection of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae. By intentionally depriving many of these animals of natural food sources, I think we become lax in our responsibility, even if we did not spend money to acquire them. Dinnertime is a happy time for all, and nutrition is a universal requirement for survival. We may never be able to duplicate the coral reef, but we can get closer and closer as we learn more about closed systems and the natural communities.

Adam, I'm glad you started this post.  I was just thinking as I read the post on ordering Phycopure if there was any real reason to be feeding this stuff.  At $21 for 16 oz. I say "ouch".  (No offense to Adam B. )

I know that clams and other such filter feeders, probably including sponge, use this stuff, but I often wondered, as I fed it to my tank, if any of the corals or fish had any use for it.  All of the commercial phyto products seem very expensive.  I know products like Phycopure are very concentrated, but in a 180 gallon aquarium I found that the bag I got at the "Andy Rhyne" meeting "went" in a real hurry.  Basically I fed it twice, half of it each feeding at 1 feeding per week.  Is that overkill?  Keep in mind my tank is packed with Softies, 'Shrooms and LPS.  Obviously I would never feed this much in the 150 at my office that has relatively few corals.

So here are a few more questions that the more phyto-knowledgeable in the club may be able to answer for me.

1) I feed the frozen Tahitian Blend from Brine Shrimp Direct.  Does this count as "phyto" just like say "DT's" or a homegrown culture or is this considered something else?

2) Is the Tahitian Blend from Brine Shrimp Direct "Live"?  I can't understand how it could be after being frozen, but every time I feed it I can be assured of a lush green growth of algae on my aquarium glass.

3) Though I know this is a relative question I'll ask it in simple terms anyway.  Refer to the above info about my tank in reference to this.  How much "phyto" should you feed?  I typically feed a small dollop of Tahitian Blend about once per week. (Dollop = about the amount of hand soap that you get in 1 squirt from a dispenser.)   Is this enough to make a difference in a tank the size of mine or is this like feeding "A" flake of food to my fish?

I appreciate any help I can get on this subject as I really want to understand how my feeding is affecting my tank.  Thanks in advance.

 

I grow green water specifically to feed rotifers, but I have added up to 2 liters of green to my tank without having any problems. (green water growth out paces rotifer growth ) When I add green water, the soft corals polyp out like crazy. They look better and "appear" healthier. The sps don't appear to be affected one way or another.
However, when I add rotifers - I don't see a noticeable difference in leathers, lps, or sps. This being said, I continue to take the time to grow gw and rotifers because it has to be beneficial.
BTW, anyone have rots to spare? I'd like to jump start my culture.

I'm hoping someone answers Will's question.  I feed a ton more Tahaitian Blend than that.  I asked Tim, the owner of BSD, and he said that TB is not live. 

How much Phyto should you feed?  (I'd love to know.) 

When I buy Joe's Mountain mix, it's $7 a box.  I think if I follow the directions that I need about 5 boxes.

1) I feed the frozen Tahitian Blend from Brine Shrimp Direct.  Does this count as "phyto" just like say "DT's" or a homegrown culture or is this considered something else?

It is similar in nutritional value, but effects water quality more. Live phyto, if given sufficient light and nutrients, will continue to reproduce and will not deteriorate water quality. Ive never used it, but think I heard once that the dead cells clump together - not good if a smaller size is needed (1-10 microns).

2) Is the Tahitian Blend from Brine Shrimp Direct "Live"?  I can't understand how it could be after being frozen, but every time I feed it I can be assured of a lush green growth of algae on my aquarium glass.

It is dead. The lush green growth is most likely existing algae in the water getting a boost from the extra nutrients added to the tank (the dead algae)

3) Though I know this is a relative question I'll ask it in simple terms anyway.  Refer to the above info about my tank in reference to this.  How much "phyto" should you feed?  I typically feed a small dollop of Tahitian Blend about once per week. (Dollop = about the amount of hand soap that you get in 1 squirt from a dispenser.)   Is this enough to make a difference in a tank the size of mine or is this like feeding "A" flake of food to my fish?

I add about 300ml of phytoplankton to my 90 gallon  tank daily. It is home-grown and has a density of about 20,000,000 cells/ml. I believe DTs has a density of about 200,000,000 cells/ml and phycopure is about 180,000,000. So I dose the equivalent of 30ml (1 oz) of DTs daily. Does someone know the recommended dosage of DTs? I would say any is better than none. But would also say that you can add too much. Like you said, the amount added depends on a lot of variables. If the live phytoplankton is not eaten and doesn't have what it needs to survive (light, nutrients etc). then it will die and pollute the water.

I think the best way to determine how much to use is to experiment a little and add different amounts over time and closely monitor the tank. For a little while, I replaced all evaporated water with nannochloropsis culture (about 12,000,000 cells/ml) grown in fresh water. That equated to about a gallon a day to my tank. Thats about 46,000,000,000 cells/day or about 8 oz of DTs Phewww..hope my math is right. I had no problems doing this.

 

Edited by BananaTropics

Hey Mark I think the avatar is very fitting for me And I think Marx hits the nail on the head. I like to entertain the crowd though too.

T/A

I add live and paste! I do have a pretty cool population of
sponge growing, and I have the fattest dragonette on this
planet. I'm wondering if I'm feeding TOO much! He's so fat,
when he's sits around the tank, he sits AROUND the tank!

I made the funnest little poem for this thread, but it won't let me
upload pics. I just get this:


This is the Phyto that Suzy grows....

[IMG]../forum/uploads/Suzy/2004-12-22_082544_phyto.JPG[/
IMG]