hi guys ive been using marine snow and phyto feast to feed my soft corals. i have a 55g small reef with no fish. any ways i had a bad case of hair algea and i noticed that ever since i had the plankton in my tank the hair algea is gone. am i goin crazy? i didnt know plankton eats hair algea? and also i really dont c my corals closing ever since i dumped plankton in my tank. i dont really think there eatin it. plankton is just layin around, is that bad??
plankton?
- Thread starter jadakiss
- Start date
wilrock101
Experienced Reefer
- Location
- YONKERS/PA
lets see some pictures of your tank .Theres no way we could tell whats going on with your tank if you don't post pictures you brown tang!
Killerdrgn
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Park Ridge, NJ
If the plankton is actually growing in your tank and not getting skimmed away then yeah you should see a decrease in hair algae. Phytoplankton and other micro algaes are the most prolific growers on the planet so it'll really suck in the nutrients before hair algae even has a chance to get to them.
Though i hear growing plankton is really hard to do in occupied aquariums as the skimmer would just skim it all out. Are you sure it's plankton growing?
Also your coral and other filter feeders are probably eating it, but they're just eating it at a slower rate than the plankton are growing.
Though i hear growing plankton is really hard to do in occupied aquariums as the skimmer would just skim it all out. Are you sure it's plankton growing?
Also your coral and other filter feeders are probably eating it, but they're just eating it at a slower rate than the plankton are growing.
- Location
- Marine Park
It most likely is not plankton growing in your tank, plankton is microscopic. If your water seemed green then perhaps you have live plankton in your tank but that can be a problem in itself. As to it eating your nutrients, that is unlikely for two reasons:
1. Suppose you have high phospahtes. The plankton bind up some of that phosphate, lowering your PO4 levels. Then the plankton dies, releasing the PO4 back into your tank.
2. The plankton bind up nutrients but are then eaten, thereby releasing the nutrients back into the tank.
You don't want to create a nutrient cycle, you want to get the nutrients out. I would be careful dosing phyto and like products as they often contain very high phosphate levels (Kent products come to mind). Which will fuel the pest algaes.
1. Suppose you have high phospahtes. The plankton bind up some of that phosphate, lowering your PO4 levels. Then the plankton dies, releasing the PO4 back into your tank.
2. The plankton bind up nutrients but are then eaten, thereby releasing the nutrients back into the tank.
You don't want to create a nutrient cycle, you want to get the nutrients out. I would be careful dosing phyto and like products as they often contain very high phosphate levels (Kent products come to mind). Which will fuel the pest algaes.
what i was doing is feeding marine snow to my tank. all i did was dump about half of tea spoon into my tank. i started to notice my hair algea goin away. now i have plankton crawing on my rocks and glass. im thinking about getting a green mandrin. the thing thats buggin me is that if my corals are eating eat. every time i c my corals there open not closed.
Killerdrgn
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Park Ridge, NJ
Thats probably not plankton, it may be cyano bacteria. Or a coralline algae. Pictures would help.
that is why your hair algae problem is disappear, by doing water changes your removing the nutrients and with no fish, no nutrients are added besides the marine snow and phyto
- Location
- Marine Park
You're describing pods not plankton. The pods will eat the plankton though.
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