Carbon Dosing And Counting Phytoplankton

Dan_P · 03/13/2018, 02:32 PM

When I started carbon dosing, one of the questions I had was did carbon dosing reduce the number of phytoplankton. Two species that seem to be everywhere include a dinoflagellate and a diatom. Before tracking their numbers, I wondered if time of day for sampling was important. The data below, just one day at this point, suggest time of day could make tracking phytoplankton populations in my aquarium complicated.

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mcgyvr · 03/14/2018, 02:29 PM

A 1 time measurement doesn't suggest anything yet..

HBtank · 03/14/2018, 04:33 PM

Makes sense diatoms would reduce over a day in the water column, as IME they "settle" and are most visible on sand/rock surfaces at lights out, and are least visible in the morning after long periods of darkness.

Never dug into why (is it feeding at night, or some other part of their cycle that sends them back into the water column), but that is what I have observed with diatoms.

My 13 year old silica sand from when it was "OK" creates an interesting dynamic in my tank as I have had 13 years of the "first stage algae problem" and diatoms are my main "bloom"; people have debated if it releases silica... but at this point I would have to say it releases silica... (and frankly I love it)... lol... You should see my sponge growth out competing it right now though in the absence of coral.

Dan_P · 03/14/2018, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

A 1 time measurement doesn't suggest anything yet..

Agreed! More observations planned.

Dan_P · 03/14/2018, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HBtank

My 13 year old silica sand from when it was "OK" creates an interesting dynamic in my tank as I have had 13 years of the "first stage algae problem" and diatoms are my main "bloom"; people have debated if it releases silica... but at this point I would have to say it releases silica... (and frankly I love it)... lol... You should see my sponge growth out competing it right now though in the absence of coral.

Interesting coincidence here, I have a fish only tank with beach sand and granite stones...not a spec of aragonite and no blooms. I have read that diatoms can control their buoyancy. I need more observations before trying to spin a yarn to explain things.

taricha · 03/22/2018, 09:56 PM

This is cool. Where are these samples taken from?

Dan_P · 03/23/2018, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taricha

This is cool. Where are these samples taken from?

Water was sampled from display tank, below the surface, at about 1/3 the depth of the water. I plan on repeating this count again and will report it here.

ramseynb · 03/23/2018, 05:06 PM

On a somewhat related note, is there a reasonably priced microscope that has good enough optics to see various bacteria?

bertoni · 03/23/2018, 11:41 PM

I think most of the student microscopes actually are fairly reasonable at this point. Do you have a price range? I think even a few hundred dollars gets a setup that's interesting for home use.

Dan_P · 03/24/2018, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni

I think most of the student microscopes actually are fairly reasonable at this point. Do you have a price range? I think even a few hundred dollars gets a setup that's interesting for home use.

Agreed, but seeing various bacteria might be a difficult endeavor. I don’t mean to temper any enthusiasm, just wanted to suggest doing a little research before purchasing.

Unless an organism is “large” and distinctively shaped like cyanobacteria, identifying bacteria in a mixture of organisms usually isolated from aquariums could be impossible.

But if you have the money, go for it. You might be successful in your endeavor or make some unintended or unexpected discoveries.

ramseynb · 03/24/2018, 02:47 PM

Yeah, after posting this I did some reading. It seems like it might be a challenge requiring more than just a good microscope.

I'd still like to get one, but I'd probably be happy with something in the $100 range to start. Ideally I'd like to be able to hook it up to my MacBook or have it come with an LCD screen. I don't like looking through a rifle scope for prolonged periods of time so I'd imagine a microscope would cause similar eye fatigue.

EDIT: Thank you both, BTW!

bertoni · 03/24/2018, 03:34 PM

You're welcome!

One of the microscopes that produce digital images could be a lot of fun. We've had other people enjoy using them. They do have significant limitations as far as looking at small organisms, though.

Dan_P · 03/25/2018, 05:36 AM

You’re welcome.

The higher the camera resolution the better the image will look on a computer. Binocular scopes with a video camera attached could be an ideal choice. I found looking through a binocular microscopes easier than the monocular version.

03/13/2018, 02:32 PM	#1
Dan_P Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 1,432	Carbon Dosing And Counting Phytoplankton When I started carbon dosing, one of the questions I had was did carbon dosing reduce the number of phytoplankton. Two species that seem to be everywhere include a dinoflagellate and a diatom. Before tracking their numbers, I wondered if time of day for sampling was important. The data below, just one day at this point, suggest time of day could make tracking phytoplankton populations in my aquarium complicated. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

03/14/2018, 02:29 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	A 1 time measurement doesn't suggest anything yet.. __________________ Who me?

03/14/2018, 04:33 PM	#3
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Makes sense diatoms would reduce over a day in the water column, as IME they "settle" and are most visible on sand/rock surfaces at lights out, and are least visible in the morning after long periods of darkness. Never dug into why (is it feeding at night, or some other part of their cycle that sends them back into the water column), but that is what I have observed with diatoms. My 13 year old silica sand from when it was "OK" creates an interesting dynamic in my tank as I have had 13 years of the "first stage algae problem" and diatoms are my main "bloom"; people have debated if it releases silica... but at this point I would have to say it releases silica... (and frankly I love it)... lol... You should see my sponge growth out competing it right now though in the absence of coral. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

03/23/2018, 11:41 PM	#9
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I think most of the student microscopes actually are fairly reasonable at this point. Do you have a price range? I think even a few hundred dollars gets a setup that's interesting for home use. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

03/24/2018, 03:34 PM	#12
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	You're welcome! One of the microscopes that produce digital images could be a lot of fun. We've had other people enjoy using them. They do have significant limitations as far as looking at small organisms, though. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

03/22/2018, 09:56 PM	#6
taricha Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NE Miss Posts: 608	This is cool. Where are these samples taken from?

03/23/2018, 05:06 PM	#8
ramseynb Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: New Braunfels, TX Posts: 630	On a somewhat related note, is there a reasonably priced microscope that has good enough optics to see various bacteria?

03/24/2018, 02:47 PM	#11
ramseynb Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: New Braunfels, TX Posts: 630	Yeah, after posting this I did some reading. It seems like it might be a challenge requiring more than just a good microscope. I'd still like to get one, but I'd probably be happy with something in the $100 range to start. Ideally I'd like to be able to hook it up to my MacBook or have it come with an LCD screen. I don't like looking through a rifle scope for prolonged periods of time so I'd imagine a microscope would cause similar eye fatigue. EDIT: Thank you both, BTW!

03/25/2018, 05:36 AM	#13
Dan_P Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 1,432	You’re welcome. The higher the camera resolution the better the image will look on a computer. Binocular scopes with a video camera attached could be an ideal choice. I found looking through a binocular microscopes easier than the monocular version.