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http://www.melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html i was reading this and debating it myself. reefdrumz where do you get DT and how much does it cost? what are somethings you have to worry about with feeding your tank phyto?
I get mine from Aquatic Obsessions...which is pretty far from you. I think that Trop and ILC carry it.
I'm not sure of all the ill effects of feeding it too often. I think it's like overfeeding anything though. I believe it was the cause of a cyano breakout I had with one of my older tanks. I was feeding it every other day for a few weeks...had an outbreak, stopped using it so frequently and the algae went away. I'm not sure if it was coincedence or not.
I think DT's recommends 30ml/100 gallons. I have about 350 gallons total water volume and I feed approx. 90ml every 3 or 4 days.
I sort of have a 'Phyto Gone Wild' experiment going.
I have (what was supposed to be) a frag tank. The short version is that the water is green and I can't seem to get it back to clear. On the positive side, I started placing (approx) 2 gallons of the green water into my display tank (150 gallons total volume) every few days. After a 'feeding', my frogspawn, leathers, etc. seem fuller. Although I've only been doing this for about two months, my corals seem to be growing much faster.
I did the Melev thing and started the culture with DT's. Kept it up for a few months. I got behind keeping up with it, so I stopped. Matt, (PanMatt) says that eventually one strain, the least beneficial, takes over the culture.
I feed real irregular, not sure I see much difference in the corals. My intention is to keep the pods growing.
I was planning on giving it another shot, now that I'm pretty much in maintenance mode. Both reefs are full and only minor equipment projects planned. Got to fill ALL my free time with something or I wouldn't be a reefer!
so would you say that it is best to periodically start over from scratch to prevent the least beneficial strand from taking over? if so how often should you start over from scratch?
i did culture my own, it got old for me (I got busy in life too)... you have no choice when doing cultures, that you must split it on the day its ready... here is a link to my culture thread..
Was wondering if anyone in SJ area that culture phytoplankton that has extras and want to sell. I would buy from you, I don't think it's wise for me to do it on my own as I don't really need alot for my setup.
Almost any LFS or online retailer has it. I personally found the frozen sticks a little bit more messy. Whereas the freeze dried stuff just needs to soak a bit in water first and then dose (or use a turkey baster for more direct feeding).
Thanks for the offer Laura, but you're too far for me. Been looking around for the cyclop-eeze from couple places(Hidden Reef, ECA and Aquarium Center) but finally found and pick up the cyclop-eeze (stick) from Allquatics today comming back from GB. Haven't tried it out yet.