DT live phytoplankton

[vhotank]

Hey all, I was wondering what the current thinking was on the use of DT live phytoplankton. It is clearly beneficial to micro fauna and copepods, their numbers multiply, which to my thinking can only be helpful to corals. But would you say that the use of this product should be dependent on the type of corals in the tank , or is it of no benefit at all, or of benefit enough to justify the high cost of the product? :?:

 

[Will C1]

any filter feeders will benifit from this product from pink/green cuces. to featherdusters big and small. i have had great success with this product.

 

[vhotank]

Hey , thanks for response, how do you dose? With skimmer on? What amount of the product do you use at each feeding? Feed once daily or more or less? :?:

 

[Will C1]

i feed every 2 or 3 days depending on what everything looks like. i target feed with a pipette 2 or 3 squeezez total at the feathers and the clams and the cuc.

 

[bigmac]

Is there a huge difference between Dts Live and Esv spray dried. Ive been using the spray dried and had success. wanted to try the live but no lfs carry it local. I asked my somewhat trusted LFS guy why he didnt. According to him and the studys that he says have been done, there just really isnt that big a difference and it really does not justify the price difference. I personally would think that live is always better, but for the price- is it?

 

[Will C1]

i have never tried the dry stuff. DT's isnt very expensize anyway i pay $7 for a big bottle of it.

 

[vhotank]

Hey ,I pay $ 14.00 for 8 ounces here in Va. There was a study done in one of the fish mags comparing all forms of phytoplankton , the results came to the conclusion that live was best, will find article and post its location later today.

 

[vhotank]

Hey, found article, its a pretty thorough study. Marine Fish and Reef 2002 annual. If you are interested in this subject it would be worth the time to hunt a copy down. My original question was asked in the hopes of getting some real world usage opinions. 213 385 2222 for back issues.

 

[bigmac]

I havent come across that article, but I did find a couple of interesting facts. On the DTs homepage, under "Feeding Trials" http://www.dtplankton.com/feeding%20trials.htm
they plainly state
"There is also ample evidence that drying adversely affects at least some of the nutrients in algae."
The rest of the site had quite abit of information.
The second set of articles I found were by Rob Toonen and the tests he did using various types of phyto vs his own homegrown. He basically states that ESV spray dried is useful if thats all you got, but that DTs Live is by far a better product-if you cant grow your own.
http://www.reefs.org/library/article/r_toonen22.html

 

[bigmac]

Sorry, didnt mean to get off your topic. but as far as real world usefulness, even the spray dried has made big differences in my tank. It seems as though my whole tank has benefited from it. Most of all my buttons and acros. Whether directly or inderictly I cant really say, but I know it is definatly making a difference. Also my pod and feather duster populations have literally exploded. Its amazing to watch the filter feeders spring to life whenever I feed. So, my vote is that it is definatly useful to your tank overall no matter what type of corals you have.