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Unread 06/17/2015, 11:22 AM   #1
Xxero
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Question Phytoplankton?

An LFS was stressing to me the importance of dosing my tank with Phytoplankton this morning. I have had successful reef aquariums in the past, and my current 40 is doing very well at it's 3 month mark.

With the absence of any corals (past or present), I have never dosed my water with Phytoplankton, nor have I read/heard anything about the need to do so.

Is there a need to do so?


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Unread 06/17/2015, 11:36 AM   #2
3dees
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your lfs is trying to sell you something. he is wrong. you don't need to dose phyto even with coral. find another lfs.


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Unread 06/17/2015, 11:45 AM   #3
MondoBongo
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there's not really a need to do so even with most photosynthetic corals in my opinion.

myself, and i imagine many others, dose phyto more for the supplemental feeding of zooplankton like copepods, than for the coral benefit.

and i don't really even bother to dose it that often. most of the time it goes in to my pod cultures, not directly in to the tank.

so while it won't hurt, i would consider it far from a necessity, and if you do decide to dose it, i would buy some to use for starting cultures. buying it from the store by the bottle to dose would get real pricey real fast, and it is super duper easy to culture.


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Unread 06/17/2015, 12:01 PM   #4
Xxero
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Thanks for the replies!

I didn't think so, and it really didn't even make sense to me at the time. They said that if you didn't introduce Phytoplankton and continue to supplement it (specifically 2 capfuls per week), that my system would eventually starve. They said that even the water feeds off of Phyto??? lol

I didn't look at the bottle they were holding or the price sticker on it, but it did feel like they were trying to make a sale. Thanks again!


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Unread 06/17/2015, 01:39 PM   #5
MondoBongo
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all the stuff i've seen come in bottles is super weak sauce.

i used it to start my cultures, and usually don't bother harvesting them for 3 - 4 weeks, until they're so thick green you can't even see through them.

so two capfuls per week of the store bought brew isn't even going to be helpful.

i'd keep an eye on these folks, they sound like shady hucksters.


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