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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / April 2004My efforts at growing phytoplankton
Well I have been trying for quite some time in growing phytoplankton and all I end up with is bright green seaweed and green alge, but no water born phytoplankton. Is there someone here that is growing the stuff that can give me a run down on what you do. | Well I have been trying for quite some time in growing phytoplankton and all | I end up with is bright green seaweed and green alge, but no water born | phytoplankton. | | Is there someone here that is growing the stuff that can give me a run down | on what you do. Skozzy, that sounds like phyto with no circulation. Are you bubbling air through your culture container? Kev Heaps, thats where all the seaweed is growing, stacks of it. I am using an air stone because of the size of the container. > | Well I have been trying for quite some time in growing phytoplankton and > all [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Kev > Well I have been trying for quite some time in growing phytoplankton and all > I end up with is bright green seaweed and green alge, but no water born > phytoplankton. > > Is there someone here that is growing the stuff that can give me a run down > on what you do. as phyto is simple and very well documented. why dont you start by telling us exactly and completely what you have done to grow phyto, and how much you really need. then someone can either fix the missing link or give you better instructions.  SignatureRichard Reynolds Richard.Reynolds@usa.net This is my setup. 50 litre esky, full of salt water, air stone with a high rate of bubbles, just this on it's own ram for a month sitting out the house for the sunlight, green alge grew very fast, then someone sugessted to put a few grains of fertilizer in for extra nitrogen, I done this then seaweed started to grow off the air stone, within weeks there was so much it covered the top of the container, so i removed most of it and left it alone again, a few weeks later the container had a 3mm thick film of green alge on the top 1/2 of the container and dark seaweed on the bottom, from the air stone and filling most of the space in the container was a lush green seaweed (wrinkly and bubbley shape). At one stage the water started to get a green tint to it, but that only lasted for a few days. Now, what are the blank to fill in here ? > > Well I have been trying for quite some time in growing phytoplankton and all > > I end up with is bright green seaweed and green alge, but no water born [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > completely what you have done to grow phyto, and how much you really need. then someone > can either fix the missing link or give you better instructions. > Now, what are the blank to fill in here ? what are you doing to prevent contamination (I know not euough but what are you doing)? is your esky an open top or a closed top? did you chlorinate your culture water and esky prior to seeding? what kinda chlorine how much? did you test for levels or just WAG? how did you remove the chlorine? how often did you collect algae? how much algae do you collect? what salinity is your salt water? where did the salt water come from (newly mixed ASW, the ocean, a reef tank, a FO ??) what kind of "fertilizer"? what were the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/phosphate readings when you started what are they now? how far is it from your air pump to the culture? is there a filter on the air line? whats "a high rate of bubbles"? are your bubbles creating foam? how much more air do you have to add to get foam? what kind of airstone? why didnt you restart the culture the instant you noticed contamination? where are you getting your algae starter from ? what kinda starter is it? how many days did the green tint last? how green was it? how evenly does the sun light your container, does it seem that the sunlight is strong everywhere? or more simply does the shape block the light? is it in an area that gets lots of sun or does a building/tree/bush .... block some of the morning/evning/day sun? is there anything else I need to know? Im not there I didnt watch you, you have to give lots of info or I have to guess that you got everything close enough, IF you had you would have had algae. SignatureRichard Reynolds Richard.Reynolds@usa.net just thought I would reply to my reply these would be the best case answers they are not the only answers > what are you doing to prevent contamination (I know not euough but what are you doing)? <<<shoulda been enough not euough :) >>> all source water is microwaved all tools used are microwaved, the airlines get cleaned monthly in chlorine followed by microwaving or replaced as needed. carbon & filter floss replaced monthly culture top is secure with 1 inlet and 1 outlet both 3/8" one connected to air filter and pump other filled with filter floss to prevent contamination, which is replaced monthly. > is your esky an open top or a closed top? closed > did you chlorinate your culture water and esky prior to seeding? yes > what kinda chlorine powdered pool chlorine > how much? higher than 8ppm > did you test for levels or just WAG? using plastic strip pool test kit > how did you remove the chlorine? aquarium pharm. dechlor (its the cheapo one) 18X normal dose. > how often did you collect algae? no collection until day 8 then every day > how much algae do you collect? 10% allowed further growout for 1 day > what salinity is your salt water? 1.014 > where did the salt water come from (newly mixed ASW, the ocean, a reef tank, a FO ??) newly mixed ASW microwaved for 7 minutes / liter > what kind of "fertilizer"? guillard @ F/4 > what were the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/phosphate readings when you started 0/1ppm/5ppm/3ppm > what are they now? .5/.5ppm/2.5ppm/1.5ppm <<<<< WAG as it would be a crashed culture :D > how far is it from your air pump to the culture? 20 feet > is there a filter on the air line? yes DIY carbon & filter floss followed by store bought .37 micron > whats "a high rate of bubbles"? 6l / min turned down with chepo needle valve > are your bubbles creating foam? no > how much more air do you have to add to get foam? not much > what kind of airstone? Lee discard-a-stone ( it handles chlorine nicely for pre use decontamination) > why didnt you restart the culture the instant you noticed contamination? ?? was outa town ??? <<< its happened to me before, though no sea weeds :D > where are you getting your algae starter from ? FAF => aquatic eco > what kinda starter is it? nano disc > how evenly does the sun light your container, does it seem that the sunlight is strong > everywhere? yes > or more simply does the shape block the light? no > is it in an area that gets lots of sun or does a building/tree/bush .... block some of > the morning/evning/day sun? morning winter blocked by building > is there anything else I need to know? IF i dont get my 15gallons / day of algae my rotifers and pods and brine shrimp are going to starve :D > Im not there I didnt watch you, you have to give lots of info or I have to guess that you > got everything close enough, IF you had you would have had algae. WOW. Heaps of questions, I will fill in what I can. > what are you doing to prevent contamination (I know not euough but what are you doing)? Contamination from what ? (Nothing) Do you mean the seaweed ? > is your esky an open top or a closed top? Open Top. (Open to the outside air like nature) > did you chlorinate your culture water and esky prior to seeding? I havn't cultured anything yet, so it is now as it was when i started it off 2 or so months back. > what kinda chlorine N/A > how much? N/A > did you test for levels or just WAG? It was perfect on the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate but at the low end of my test kit for phosphates. > how did you remove the chlorine? It was NSW collected 3 weeks prior and used in the tank before hand. > how often did you collect algae? Never. ?? Umm this sounds like a key to what might be missing !! > how much algae do you collect? Zero > what salinity is your salt water? Aprox 1.022 > where did the salt water come from (newly mixed ASW, the ocean, a reef tank, a FO ??) Sunshine Coast Queensland. > what kind of "fertilizer"? The garden fertilizer was called "Thrive", basic component was Nitrogen. > what were the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/phosphate readings when you started 0, 0, 0, 0.025 > what are they now? Good question, I didn't even bother about checking. I will try to remember this arvo when I get home. > how far is it from your air pump to the culture? About 5 foot. > is there a filter on the air line? The air pump has a built in filter, but thats it. > whats "a high rate of bubbles"? Ummm, enough that I can't make out whats in the water from the top ??. > are your bubbles creating foam? Yeah, some times a lot, other times not much. (This also sounds like a way for the possible culture to be removed from the water. > how much more air do you have to add to get foam? None. > what kind of airstone? 4 inch long type that is used mostly on fresh water tanks (big bubbles) > why didnt you restart the culture the instant you noticed contamination? I was more curoius to see what happened next. > where are you getting your algae starter from ? So far no where, I have been searching for months and months to find some around my area, but the best I could do was find a source in the UK or US, but I do admit that 2 weeks ago I found someone selling something that might be what your asking about. > what kinda starter is it? None. > how many days did the green tint last? 2-3 max. > how green was it? Light to a very transparent green. > how evenly does the sun light your container, does it seem that the sunlight is strong > everywhere? Well it lights one wall of the esky and there is a shaddow cast across most of it. (40%) > or more simply does the shape block the light? No, it's placed where it get sunlight from 9am to 2pm. > is it in an area that gets lots of sun or does a building/tree/bush .... block some of > the morning/evning/day sun? > is there anything else I need to know? Ummm, Don't know doctor, I do have this itch down there!!. umm Maybe not, but 2 of your questions make me think, and I think i should do a water quality test. > Im not there I didnt watch you, you have to give lots of info or I have to guess that you > got everything close enough, IF you had you would have had algae. Well I havn't seen any guide anywhere to help start off, so I just asked around and got a whole range of ideas but no real fool proof way of doing it. I even called the primary industries for the marine reasearch and they just said to use ferilizer for the nitrogen. I did look on the Flame angel site to see the coke bottle setup, but it talked about buying some products which I just can't find in any local shop here. Good range of questions. Enought to make me think. > WOW. Heaps of questions, I will fill in what I can. > > > what are you doing to prevent contamination (I know not euough but what > are you doing)? > > Contamination from what ? (Nothing) Do you mean the seaweed ? Contamination is anything living other then the specific variety of green water that your seed culture was intended to start. Bacteria, macroalgae, seaweed, all are contamination. > It was NSW collected 3 weeks prior and used in the tank before hand. Um. Phytoplankton cultures can start from collected seawater, but are higher risk and more prone to contamination than a sterilized culture. Mixing the phyto with your tank water before starting the culture would definitely force a sterilization step. I expect a phyto culture to start from newly mixed seawater or sterilized tank water (UV is good enough) and then seeded with a population of the desired culture creature (nanno, etc.). The other approach I've heard of is the more random: take some carefully gathered sea water (all gathering tools/containers should be sterilized before gathering), let it sit with bubbles and light, see what grows. After several small samples fail, your first one should take off. This is now a starter culture for the "normal" phyto culture method. Good luck, Ross -- Ross Bagley http://rossbagley.com/rba "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller Today I am going to be setting up a system like on Flame Angels site, simple stuff, well I hope so anyhow. > > WOW. Heaps of questions, I will fill in what I can. > > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... > Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller ment to post this link earlier forgot still recomend the PCM (plankton culture manual) but this is good also http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/W3732E/w3732e00.htm SignatureRichard Reynolds Richard.Reynolds@usa.net Thanks to Marc and all his help, along with Flame Angel, I have been succefully growing phytoplankton for a few months now... Here is a link with the directions that I followed. http://www.sjwilson.net/reef/phytosteps.html good luck! ~Mort > Well I have been trying for quite some time in growing phytoplankton and all > I end up with is bright green seaweed and green alge, but no water born > phytoplankton. > > Is there someone here that is growing the stuff that can give me a run down > on what you do. I just noticed that Marc has a set of instructions on his page as well... http://www.melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html > Thanks to Marc and all his help, along with Flame Angel, I have been > succefully growing phytoplankton for a few months now... [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > down > > on what you do. >Thanks to Marc and all his help, along with Flame Angel, I have been >succefully growing phytoplankton for a few months now... [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >~Mort On a related note: Is anyone else having trouble getting to the FAF Website?: http://www.florida-aqua-farms.com/ I have been trying for a while. (at least a week) I always get redirected to: https://3kserver7.com/~frank/secure/agora.cgi And eventually it comes back wiht "cannont find server" . The k3server7.com system is in the DNS, but... I seem to remember this happening before, but that does not really mean much. Thanks! -Mike > On a related note: Is anyone else having trouble getting to the FAF > Website?: [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > -Mike I see no problem with FAF and FAFUSA site. You may have DNS problem with your ISP. They may have reset it and need time to proprogate [WAG]. Try using another ISP or dialup from a different network and see if same problem happening again. Check if you have a filter set to block these two site by accident prior like a Pop-up Block or some kind of spam tools.. ... etc... I have seen this kind of problem too many time from some user. CapFusion,... |
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