Test for phytoplankton?

GT3 · 07/18/2011, 09:51 PM

Hi,

How do you guys test for the existence of phytoplankton? I'd like to know if I have these in my tank, any suggestion?

Thanks

disc1 · 07/18/2011, 09:52 PM

A microscope with a few thousand X objective.

disc1 · 07/18/2011, 09:58 PM

I hit this feeling lucky on google. http://www.field-microscope.com/type...amination.html

papagimp · 07/18/2011, 10:07 PM

fwiw, your NOT going to have enough phyto in a tank naturally to really be of any benefit. If you did the water would probably start to turn green if it cultured like that. This is something that if you want your corals/livestock to benefit from, you'd have to dose.

also might add that it's uber-easy to culture your own. This thread is a tad old and possibly even outdated, but http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...=phytoplankton here it is nonetheless, I"m sure their still some relavant information in their.

GT3 · 07/18/2011, 10:19 PM

Thanks. If I want to start growing phyto, can I just buy the Kent PhytoPlex and some fertilizer to start?

papagimp · 07/18/2011, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GT3

Thanks. If I want to start growing phyto, can I just buy the Kent PhytoPlex and some fertilizer to start?

I never used Kents phytoplex so I can't say for sure. I either went with DT's and more often than not, obtained a live culture from florida aqua farms as they carried all the neccessary equipment for testing as well as phyto specific fertilizer. it allowed me to get a specific strain of phyto i wanted but any LIVE phyto can start a culture. I've heard some using miracle grow fertilizer, but I never took the chance with it.

07/18/2011, 09:51 PM	#1
GT3 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 294	Test for phytoplankton? Hi, How do you guys test for the existence of phytoplankton? I'd like to know if I have these in my tank, any suggestion? Thanks __________________ 20G Reef Tank, DSB, 25lbs of live rocks. Spec: Ph 8.2, >520 cal and 8 kh, Temp 77F, SG 1.026 Equip: Coralife 24x2 T5HO, 2x Koralia 425 powerheads, no skimmer. 2L HOB Sump: Cheato, feather dusters, copepods, bristleworms Livestock: 4 blue-legged hermits, 2 nassarius snails, 1 astra snail, 1 Argent Mono, 1 FireGoby Corals: Mushrooms, yellow polyps, zoanthids

07/18/2011, 09:52 PM	#2
disc1 -RT * ln(k) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Little Rock Posts: 9,705	A microscope with a few thousand X objective. __________________ David Current Tank: Undergoing reconstruction...

07/18/2011, 09:58 PM	#3
disc1 -RT * ln(k) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Little Rock Posts: 9,705	I hit this feeling lucky on google. http://www.field-microscope.com/type...amination.html __________________ David Current Tank: Undergoing reconstruction...

07/18/2011, 10:07 PM	#4
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	fwiw, your NOT going to have enough phyto in a tank naturally to really be of any benefit. If you did the water would probably start to turn green if it cultured like that. This is something that if you want your corals/livestock to benefit from, you'd have to dose. also might add that it's uber-easy to culture your own. This thread is a tad old and possibly even outdated, but http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...=phytoplankton here it is nonetheless, I"m sure their still some relavant information in their. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

07/18/2011, 10:19 PM	#5
GT3 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 294	Thanks. If I want to start growing phyto, can I just buy the Kent PhytoPlex and some fertilizer to start? __________________ 20G Reef Tank, DSB, 25lbs of live rocks. Spec: Ph 8.2, >520 cal and 8 kh, Temp 77F, SG 1.026 Equip: Coralife 24x2 T5HO, 2x Koralia 425 powerheads, no skimmer. 2L HOB Sump: Cheato, feather dusters, copepods, bristleworms Livestock: 4 blue-legged hermits, 2 nassarius snails, 1 astra snail, 1 Argent Mono, 1 FireGoby Corals: Mushrooms, yellow polyps, zoanthids

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