Continuous phytoplankton|rotifers reactor 24h food supply

[sixty_reefer]

Wish I’d read this earlier I would of said try algae eating hermits for your hydroids, they munched there way through a huge patch of colonial hydroids for me, not sure if it was a fluke and there are lots of types of hydroids as well, but I think worth a try.

Thanks mate, I do have about 10 of those hermits around the tank but is good to know as I wasn’t aware of anything that eat the colonial hydroids. Mine were the zanclea specie, very common whith seahorse breeders and normally febenzadole is the choice as it is a strong dewormer. They mainly filter feeders but with all the suspended food they multiply like rats it can go from 3 or 4 to 1000 in under a week.

 

[Mortie31]

Thanks mate, I do have about 10 of those hermits around the tank but is good to know as I wasn’t aware of anything that eat the colonial hydroids. Mine were the zanclea specie, very common whith seahorse breeders and normally febenzadole is the choice as it is a strong dewormer. They mainly filter feeders but with all the suspended food they multiply like rats it can go from 3 or 4 to 1000 in under a week.

It would be interesting to know if anyone else has had similar success, as they went through mine in a few days.

 

[sixty_reefer]

It’s been a wile since my last update, dealing with the zanclea hydroids wasn’t easy. Am still running the phytoplankton reactor but in all honestly I can’t see any difference from wend I didn’t run one except for a number of micro life and some sponges, slowly building back up but not as much as I had previously to the treatment.

That’s how the tank looks today after all the mess caused by the chemicals that I had to dose.

 

[JoshH]

So do you think in the end it wasn't worth it? Or do you feel the added boost in microfauna could have had some real benefits to your overall tank health it just wasn't hugely noticeable to the eye?

 

[sixty_reefer]

So do you think in the end it wasn't worth it? Or do you feel the added boost in microfauna could have had some real benefits to your overall tank health it just wasn't hugely noticeable to the eye?

It’s hard to tell, there’s been to many variables happening till now. Over all am really pleased with the tank, it’s still my best results in reef keeping since I’ve started the hobby. I think I would need a full year without anything to happen to be able to say if there is any real impact.

 

[Subsea]

It’s hard to tell, there’s been to many variables happening till now. Over all am really pleased with the tank, it’s still my best results in reef keeping since I’ve started the hobby. I think I would need a full year without anything to happen to be able to say if there is any real impact.

As you said, their were many changes to isolate a single variable.

As a proponent of natural filtration for recycling organic & inorganic nutrients into live food thru many complex food webs, I applaud your in-system continuous production of live phytoplankton which is at the bottom of the food chain for every other marine organisms. Sponges, tunicates, Flame Scallops & Sea Apple as well as NPS.

KUDOS TO YOU.

 

[sixty_reefer]

As you said, their were many changes to isolate a single variable.

As a proponent of natural filtration for recycling organic & inorganic nutrients into live food thru many complex food webs, I applaud your in-system continuous production of live phytoplankton which is at the bottom of the food chain for every other marine organisms. Sponges, tunicates, Flame Scallops & Sea Apple as well as NPS.

KUDOS TO YOU.

Thanks mate, really appreciate. I recon the only thing I can say for sure for now is that the continuous phyto reactor works, this has been working for a year now without crashing, also for the last month or so it has been fully automated, removing water directly from the tank.

 

[Subsea]

Thanks mate, really appreciate. I recon the only thing I can say for sure for now is that the continuous phyto reactor works, this has been working for a year now without crashing, also for the last month or so it has been fully automated, removing water directly from the tank.

Does the water makeup from display tank gets treated in any way before going into phytoplankton culture?

 

[sixty_reefer]

Does the water makeup from display tank gets treated in any way before going into phytoplankton culture?

No just a basic filter really

 

[sixty_reefer]

I think I am close to a breakthrough on this little experience. For over an year I couldn’t understand why dosing phytoplankton had similar effect to carbon dosing.

The answer is the redfield ratio, some of the phytoplankton will be consumed and some will decay as this happens it will be delivered back into to the aquarium in the perfect form of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (106:16:1) to all the bacteria and inhabitants. Simple answer for something that it has been completely overlooked.

Maybe in a near future we can see phytoplankton being used as a complete new carbon dosing method. Delivering the bacteria and corals in our reefs the perfect ratios of nutrients. Obviously I feel that the fertiliser formula to grow phytoplankton will need improvement and be more reef friendly.

Hopefully will be updating this thread soon with more good news.

 

[sixty_reefer]

@Dana_Riddle maybe you could use some of this information on your paper?

 

[sixty_reefer]

Tonight will be starting a new thread on the phytoplankton bioreactor as a carbon dosing method. This thread will run for the course of the next year with the single purpose to demonstrate a new more natural way to carbon dosing. Full plans for the first fully automated phytoplankton bioreactor will be listed on the new tread and hopefully will be able to keep information more organised in just one place.

 

[Breadman03]

Tonight will be starting a new thread on the phytoplankton bioreactor as a carbon dosing method. This thread will run for the course of the next year with the single purpose to demonstrate a new more natural way to carbon dosing. Full plans for the first fully automated phytoplankton bioreactor will be listed on the new tread and hopefully will be able to keep information more organised in just one place.

Can you tag me in it or hit me with the link when you do? I'm probably going to be pretty busy for the next week and don't want to forget about it. Thanks!

 

[Mortie31]

The answer is the redfield ratio, some of the phytoplankton will be consumed and some will decay as this happens it will be delivered back into to the aquarium in the perfect form of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (106:16:1) to all the bacteria and inhabitants. Simple answer for something that it has been completely overlooked.

This is similar to what Triton claim happens when algae dies back in a triton system, I’ll be interested to see your results. Any thoughts @Lasse @Sallstrom @Scrubber_steve

 

[Sallstrom]

This is similar to what Triton claim happens when algae dies back in a triton system, I’ll be interested to see your results. Any thoughts @Lasse @Sallstrom @Scrubber_steve

I don't have any results, just my observations and guesses so far But corals have evolved in a soup of plankton and particles, so I do believe feeding is beneficial.
I will have to read up on the earlier post in this thread. And I will try to find the new one when it comes up, and following along. Thanks for tagging me!

 

[sixty_reefer]

This is similar to what Triton claim happens when algae dies back in a triton system, I’ll be interested to see your results. Any thoughts @Lasse @Sallstrom @Scrubber_steve

It won’t be easy to explain as the redfield is not easily understood in reef aquaria, redfield has no direct ratio with no3 or po4 as is most commonly believed. am looking at the redfield more as a recipe instead of a ratio. By using redfield recipe as a base, I believe the amount of nitrogen is limited in all carbon dosing methods (not just on the phytoplankton one).

For example you start dosing a carbon source at 50 no3, slowly your nitrates eventually hit one, the most common procedure is to reduce carbon dosing to keep no3 at a desired level. This will create an issue with the recipe as now you have a limitation in nitrogen and eventually po4 will raise as the balance have been lost.

My follow up threat is going to mainly try and prove the following.

Can phytoplankton be an effective carbon dosing method?

Can a phytoplankton reactor run on continuous without additional fertiliser?

Is there a formula that can be made by adding a source of nitrogen to the tank to balance po4?

What effects will a natural carbon source do to coral long therm.

Obviously all my comments will be made on assumption and theoretically, am just a simple hobbiest with no lab skills or knowledge, but I believe there is a good article coming soon from other reefers on here.

 

[Mortie31]

am looking at the redfield more as a recipe instead of a ratio.

To the best of my knowledge the redfield ratio was based on phytoplankton C,N and P so your theory is interesting. I’ll be following along

 

[sixty_reefer]

Looking at this from a completely new angle, 4 days in and it’s looking promising.

 

[Matt Carden]

Thanks mate, really appreciate. I recon the only thing I can say for sure for now is that the continuous phyto reactor works, this has been working for a year now without crashing, also for the last month or so it has been fully automated, removing water directly from the tank.

I am in the process of redesigning my sump to incorporate a drip directly off my return pump header to supply a continuous drip through a Phytoplankton chamber and back into my sump.

 

[Dan buretta]

Awesome start!! I made one a while back but have it shutdown to rebuild it to sterilize the tank water so it will just recycle the tank water, and use it as a co2 scrubber. I was just using a drip system instead of pumps.

Keep up the good work... I will be sticking around to see what you come up with.

I’ve been following this thread and set up my own phyto/roti reactor today. I was going to try using tank water myself but I haven’t gotten around to figuring it out. I was thinking about fabricating a “cup” to catch water exiting my UV sterilizer and draw tank water from the cup. But I’ve been told I still need to filter out organisms that make it through the UV sterilizer. I’m told 1 micron and larger organisms will survive UV. So maybe inside the cup, you run an in-line 1 micron filter and maybe the flow in the cup will keep the filter clean for a while?