Phyto?
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Forum Name: General Discussion
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47368
Printed Date: July 12 2025 at 11:25pm
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Topic: Phyto?
Posted By: acromacromontipora
Subject: Phyto?
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 11:16pm
| Is it really needed? |
Replies:
Posted By: acromacromontipora
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 12:04am
| hah nevermind i just learned how to make my own on a video :) love google |
Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 12:41am
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Is phyto needed? Well it depends on what you are keeping in your tank as to how useful it is. I have found that my gorgonians love it. Also for corals and sponges it is a great food source. However, I don't have much room in my stand to culture it and although it is not to hard to culture I find it is more convenient to use reed's phyto feast or the algae pastes from bsd. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 1:04pm
Is it needed No.Does it make a difference Yes, most definitely. Phytoplankton is the bottom of the food chain. I feed both Phyto and Larval size Golden Pearls to all my tanks
nightly(after dark). It helps all the microscopic animals grow which in
turn feeds the larger animals and so on and so on. 
Most hobbyists have never tried feeding Phyto, much less growing it. Some of us here have grown it. We have a member here, sterling18, currently growing phytoplankton. I have grown 100's of gallons of Phyto cultures. It's a royal PITA. It crashes too easily. It's much easier to buy Phyto. I recently bought some Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast to feed the Rotifers for the baby clownfish, but when I had the opportunity to get Phyto Paste from BSD, I jumped on it because it's even cheaper from BSD. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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acromacromontipora wrote:Posted By: jpiotrowski
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 5:31pm
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Mark,
I'm realy suprised your bagging on growing phyto...Mr. Green-water!
Actually, it depends on the phyto culture you grow....
nano is very easy and resilient.
tetraselmis is very tough and will crash before you get to a concentration that is significant.
T. iso grows like a weed.
Things I have found...
use f/2 and not miracle grow, there is a huge difference and liquid fertilizer goes bad in a year.
4 mls fert. per gallon
Some inverts and other marine animals may be negatively affected by fertilizer.
Air lines are for agitation...a stir plate or plate rotator work.
Let me know if you buy pure plates...I am in the process of making petri plates for longer term storage.
Good luck and have fun
John
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 9:06am
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Hey John, I didn't know you were around here much. These days, I would rather buy it than grow it. But then I wouldn't be growing Berghia either. I leave that for dedicated hobbyists like you. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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