PHYTO?

[clintos09]

I know the basic regarding phyto:

I'm hoping to really get into learnng about phyto regarding fact's and it's potential using a drip anyone know about phyto?

 

[clintos09]

I'm considering on having a mrc,algea turg scrubber,u.v,refuge etc and dripping fresh phyto is this a crazy idea to just play with?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm considering on having a mrc,algea turg scrubber,u.v,refuge etc and dripping fresh phyto is this a crazy idea to just play with?

:welcome:

Well, it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Give us some details as to the setup and what corals you are thinking about keeping

 

[clintos09]

Hi

I'll be keeping mostly acan's,duncan's,sunpolyp's,chalice,zoo's,paly's,ric's,monti cap's/digi's

wouldn't mind trying gorgonian's,dandro's or some colourful filter feeding coral's

I have a 90G with 8-t5's and individual reflector's I really like the blue look 4-20 000k/2-half blue and attinic/2-12000k
carbon in a phosban reactor
mrc
25G sump
90 lbs live rock
3"dsb
daily kalk drip
10% weekly water change

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I'll be keeping mostly acan's,duncan's,sunpolyp's,chalice,zoo's,paly's,ric's,monti cap's/digi's

Okay, none of these really use phyto, only filter feeders utilize it and having a UV filter kinda defeats the purpose of having lots of small live food in the tank so I'd skip that at least. Search this forum for various arguments on turf scrubbers, personally IMO they are not a requirement and in some cases are detrimental.

wouldn't mind trying gorgonian's,dandro's or some colourful filter feeding coral's

You should pick either the stoneys or the filter feeders, to keep both in the tank is nearly impossible due to the diverse needs of each group. There have been some successes with those types of (dendros and filter feeder) corals, however they are usually in a dedicated tank especially for them due to the huge amount of nutrients necessary to keep them alive. The fact that most filter feeders are not dependent on light makes a difference. The stoneys are, and if you try to keep enough nutrients in the water to keep the filter feeders happy+enough light for the stoneys=one big mess. Here's a link to a very successful tank that shows just how much is involved with keeping strict filter feeding corals alive:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/feature/index.php

I have a 90G with 8-t5's and individual reflector's I really like the blue look 4-20 000k/2-half blue and attinic/2-12000k
carbon in a phosban reactor
mrc
25G sump
90 lbs live rock
3"dsb
daily kalk drip
10% weekly water change

I know the basic regarding phyto: I'm hoping to really get into learnng about phyto regarding fact's and it's potential using a drip anyone know about phyto?

Sorry, whats an "MRC"? Oh, I also don't see a protein skimmer on the list and IME it's a necessary piece of equipment. To get back to your original question phyto adds a great deal of nutrients to a tank and unless the tank is strictly filter feeders a drip system is quite unnecessary. I have grown my own and used it, but you really have to be careful as the fertilizer that you use to grow the cultures will grow nuisance algae in your display tank if you aren't careful!

If you go to this site's Advanced Aquarist Online magazine and search out 'phytoplankton' you'll find tons of good info.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/3/

 

[Anonymous]

The MRC is the skimmer. It's a Beckett style skimmer. I agree with Lawdawg, no need to dose the phytoplankton unless you are really interested in the benthic filter feeding crittersd it would mostly benefit. With the algae scrubber you would get a good amount of planktonic food for your tank.

 

[kevindub]

For what you are trying to do, I would use cyclopeeze. My acans and micros love it. Phyto is too small for them to eat. For bigger polyps like duncans and sun polyps and paly, you need stuff like mysis.

 

[Len]

If they still sell Golden Pearls, try it. I've found corals respond very well to it. Personally though, I don't feed corals much because most of the food isn't captured and just causes nutrients to go up.

 

[Anonymous]

If they still sell Golden Pearls, try it. I've found corals respond very well to it. Personally though, I don't feed corals much because most of the food isn't captured and just causes nutrients to go up.

Man your stuck in 1999. We've come a long way with coral feeds since GP, why, one such company is a sponsor of this very forum . FWIW they still do sell them (www.brineshrimpdirect.com)

 

[Len]

LOL. Well, I am old school. But yeah, I forgot about Reef Nutrition Lots of coral food there (Phyto too if you want it ... but not the best choice for the corals mentioned). My micromussas loved the Arctipods.