Reculturing DT's Phytoplankton ?????

[MATTT]

Has any one ever done this ? Many moons ago, there was a post on this topic. Where would you get the source to reculturing DT's Phytoplankton ? Does it come from a small bottle that you would buy at any lfs. I remember the process was topping off with regular tap water and place it in the sun. If any one has any info of how to do this, please let it flow.

Mattt.

 

[Mustang]

I have done this many times.
You use a diluted solution of salt water. I didnt check the salinity just mixed it up to 1.023 then added some more R/O
water. the only thing you will need is fertilizer
I purchased some at florida aqua farms 352-567-0226
They have a web site I just don't know it. You can also buy the Mirco algea disks it is a dry starter culture. The only thing to watch is a batch takes about 7 days to max out after that they will crash on you. I used 2 liter bottels and an air pump to bubble it. In 7 days put it in the fridge.
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BMW 3200 CS

 

[scooterr]

http://www.florida-aqua-farms.com/

he nailed it on the head. If you need to find more info see if you can find a copy of Joyce wilkerson's Clownfishes book. In the chapter on breeding clowns it has a lot of useful info. I have a setup just like the one in the book and it works well. 2 liter pop bottles with an air pump on a gang valve and a dual NO stip from walmart.
The phytoplankton will stay nutrient rich in the frigde for up to 6 months IME.
HTH

 

[wdt2000]

Are there any possible side effects from the unused fertilizer in your tank?

 

[S]

wdt2000,
I think it could be a problem on the long term.Actually thats one of the reasons one should add phytoplankton progressively so to get the biotope use to it. One way of controlling this is with a microalgae density stick.With this stick your are able to maximize on the culture count of the algal cells,therfore eating up as much of the fertilizer as possible without jeopardizing your culture.You can get this stick at Aquaculture Florida Farms.Good Luck!

 

[MATTT]

Mustang,

What kind of fertilizer should I look for from that dealer in florida ? Where do I buy the Micro algea disks and how much of it do I use each time ?

Scooterr,

What is a dual NO stip ?

And thanks every one for all the good informations.

Mattt.

 

[wdt2000]

NO ligtings are like your basic shop lights. And for the fertilizer I think you would use Micro Algea grow Guillard f/2 Formulation. You can get the disk and everything else you need from place listed at the bottom on the link below.

http://www.reefcentral.com/diy/culture_station.htm

 

[afss]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Mustang:
<strong>
You use a diluted solution of salt water. I didnt check the salinity just mixed it up to 1.023 then added some more R/O
water. the only thing you will need is fertilizer
.</strong><hr></blockquote>


OK, I have never done this before, but am interested in trying it. Do you need phytoplankton to begin with, or can you just use some tank water?

Thanks

scott
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us recessions

 

[rayjay]

I bought a bottle of DT's to try and because it worked too good, the bottle was disappearing in a hurry. I started a culture in a two litre pop bottle with a tablespoon of DT's as a starter culture and just used one drop of 15-30-15 liquid fertilizer (for my wifes house plants)and in a week, I was able to feed this to my brine shrimp. Now I'm using a 2 litre, a 1 gallon, and a 5 gallon container to raise it for myself. I use about 80% of each container and use the remaining 20% for the next culture.

 

[MATTT]

rayjay, What do you mean by using house plant fertilizer? Are you sure that is safe ? You also using DT's from a bottle ? Would that work the same as the mirco algea disks ? Please let me know. I pretty much have a general idea of setting up a system, but the solution is what I am confuse with. Please get back to me with more info.

Thanks,

Mattt.

 

[Mustang]

Ok I looked up the salinity in my Plankton Culture manual. It says the best range is 1.0069-1.0145
But thet Nannochloropisis (DT's) grow well in a wide range of salinities.

I purchased the manual from the same place.
I can't say one way or another about the house plant food for the $5 it cost me for the bottle I ordered the stuff I know for sure is safe

Ken

BTW If you have any specifics I can look them up in the manual
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Honda SL90

 

[rayjay]

Mattt, yes I used DT's from the bottle to start the first culture and yes, I use one drop of liquid fertilizer meant for plants for 2 litres of water. I don't know how the discs work as I've never had one.
The only reason for doing things this way is that in Canada here, I don't know of sources for the culture starters or food and to get from the US is not always possible as many companies don't ship to Canada and the cost is prohibitive taking into account buying shipping and conversion from US funds to Canadian Funds.
Buying DT's was more than 4 times as expensive, plus shipping, compared to someone buying it in the US.
The fertilizer better be safe as people use it on food plants as well and we eat the produce without harm to us. (at least none that we know of)
At the moment, I feed the cultures to my brine shrimp which in turn feed my tanks.

 

[afss]

Do you need a starter?
Can you just use tank water and assume that there will be some phytoplankton in it?
Thanks

Scott
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Dilaudid Rehab Forum

 

[danmhippo]

To sterilize it, either microwave it or boil it at least 5 minutes for a complete sterilization.

 

[rayjay]

No, you can't use just tank water. First of all, the water isn't sterile and can have organisms in it that will eat the phytoplankton as it grows, if there was any.
I would like to find a easy way to sterilize large quantities of salt water to use as culture water but the only way I have now is to use the microwave, and that takes a long time to do 5g I need twice a week.
I'm also looking for a way to filter the phyto out of the culture water to just add to my tank or the brine shrimp containers.