Phytoplankton culture

[rcmania]

Here is my single bottle, maybe you can tell me how it looks Nirvana

[NirvanaFan]

Looks good. It may be able to go another day to reach peak density, but it really doesn't matter. They sell sticks to measure the density if you really want to know how dense it is.

[rcmania]

I'll split it tomorrow then. Looks like my first batch is a winner. So excited I can start feeding it to my corals.

[rcmania]

Well, I split the first batch. Gonna take some tomorrow to my lfs to compare it to his.

[mudcat1]

Originally Posted by NirvanaFan

Nannochloropsis will turn from a shade of green (from forest to lime, depending on the phyto density) to basically clear. There will also be a layer of crud on the bottom, or floating around the culture container.

Thanks for the description NirvanaFan. Now I can officially say that my phyto culture has crashed.

Lessons learned: Don't use a bubble stone, it does make the setup much quieter but it does not keep the liquid as cool. My culture reached 100'F which I believe caused the crash. My culture went from dark green to the color of lemonade. I now have the temperature under control it fluctuates between 58'F and 76'F. I will try again.

[rocking]

Cool i hope you get what you want !

[mudcat1]

Thanks for the photo NirvanaFan. I can see from your photo that I need to adjust my setup. I need to use the rigid pipe in the bottle and connect the flexible airline to it. I was using only flex airline and with all of the vibration of the bubbles it would work its way from the bottom of the bottle moving up toward the top so I did not get a good mix over time.

[rocking]

WELL IF IT WAS NOT FOR BAD LUCK I WOULD NOT HAVE ANY ON THIS !
i lost my air pump tonight and had to order a new one it will not be here tell friday of this week coming up
does anyone thank it will hurt anything to have a power head moving the water and putting air into it i have 15 gl's of it going so had to put it into 5 gl buckets

[rcmania]

Well, the lfs likes it. Compared to phyto feast, its not near as thick. So I'm gonna play around with a smaller batch to see if I can get it thicker.

[rocking]

just leave it going longer and it will get thicker. rc
oh rc do you thank mine will be ok tell this friday with a power head in it ?

[rcmania]

I don't know, maybe but you really should use a air pump.

[rocking]

i orderd it from dr foster
it just takes time to get it here i orderd a 7 psi air pump !

[rcmania]

Well, so far so good. No crashes as of yet. I just wish i could get it darker like some of the name brand stuff. Now im wondering what they do to get it like that.

[rocking]

you need more light i have mine almost forst green
and turn ur air up going to it

[rocking]

i have 5 gal going out side and i have 10 gal going inside
my stuf inside is light up by 160 watts

[rocking]

cant get the red phytoplankton culture to take off good !
thank i might do that one outside and see how it go's

[rocking]

cant get the red phytoplankton culture to take off good !
thank i might do that one outside and see how it go's
what do you all thank about that ?

[NirvanaFan]

They may centrifuge it to get it really dense. I've never actually seen the name brand stuff though.

[rcmania]

Its really thick. Talking with a guy that uses it, he says you cant use it to target feed due to it being concentrated. So I'm not to worried about it. Mine is a dark forest green but can be used to target feed. I have been using it to feed my copepod culture also and they are thriving. My corals have been responding well to it also. I'm meeting a local feeder tomorrow to give him some to try.

[antbreon]

i pulled a stupid the other day ..started a new culture ..after a few days it died...then i realized i never added the salt...not like i didnt know to ..so fyi it wont work in fresh water..duh! felt really stupid..could be worse it was just a phyto culture not the tank..

[rocking]

there are 3 kinds that grow in fresh water
but there not very conman tipe according to what i have reed in 4 different articals
and there cust as benfishel to what is called titel pool inhabents but they only live for a short time when they hit salt water

[rcmania]

Just wondering how everyone is making out on the phyto. For the most part mine is doing great. using both 3liter and 2liter bottles. Some reason i have a crash every once in a while but other than that, they have been good.

[rocking]

i am doing mine in 10 gal tanks and am having relay good luck doing it that way i have 6 of them going with a air pump made for ponds over 1000 gal's

[NirvanaFan]

Originally Posted by rcmania

Just wondering how everyone is making out on the phyto. For the most part mine is doing great. using both 3liter and 2liter bottles. Some reason i have a crash every once in a while but other than that, they have been good.

I've been culturing for a couple years and still get the occasional bottle that will just die. Maybe every 20 or 25 bottles. If you can, filter the water through a coffee filter or rotifer sieve if you have one. backwash the sediment into a clear shallow container (I use an old Florida Aqua Farms algae disk). Look at it with a magnifying glass. See anything out of the ordinary?

I've had rotifers get into the bottle and cause a crash. Some people have had ciliates crash the culture too I think. Or, it could just die from shock of new water.

[rcmania]

Thank you Nirvana, I read last night that the rotifers do get in the bottles if they are close to your phyto culture. This may be my cause. I attempted to culture rotifers and still have in case i get some babies. I think i may have to move my rotifer culture. If i filter it through a coffee filter, what am i looking for? lol i need a magnifying glass, i do not have one.