phyto smell very foul- safe?

[BillFish Coral Lover]

Nothing in a reef tank should smell like rotten eggs. The dark, concentrated stuff does smell bad, but if you’ve smelled it before and this was worse, definitely toss.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Nothing in a reef tank should smell like rotten eggs. The dark, concentrated stuff does smell bad, but if you’ve smelled it before and this was worse, definitely toss.

i wish i could send the smell over to you to check

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

A company (that I will not name) that is well regarded and has been great so far has had to send me 2 or possibly 3 replacements for phyto. I want to make sure that I am not missing anything here.

When I opened the bottle today it smells like rotten eggs and/or sulfur. The phyto was 2 day shipped and yes, it’s been extremely hot.

Is it normal for phyto to smell so foul? I’ve had other bottles received that didn’t smell horrible. Is this safe to add to my aquarium? I feel bad because this was very well packaged and shipped fast.

No matter who i use, I will probably never order these items in such brutal heat again.

Did you buy a "live" culture phyto? As in meant to be kept in a container with a light source and air. Or is it a mix, that is meant to be kept in the fridge? ( You can also keep a live culture in the fridge BTW).
Depending on the supplier, you can salvage any phyto, it just takes a couple weeks. If it is a mix, the dominant strain will come back.
I mean there may be dead phyto in there (smell) but most likely there is some live. The live will get some nutrients from the dead and the cycle starts over again.
Put it in a jar with some air and light. You should get something that comes back. Probably Tet.

 

[Lowsingle]

Nothing in a reef tank should smell like rotten eggs. The dark, concentrated stuff does smell bad, but if you’ve smelled it before and this was worse, definitely toss.

You have never smelled a protein skimmer cup

Darren

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Did you buy a "live" culture phyto? As in meant to be kept in a container with a light source and air. Or is it a mix, that is meant to be kept in the fridge? ( You can also keep a live culture in the fridge BTW).
Depending on the supplier, you can salvage any phyto, it just takes a couple weeks. If it is a mix, the dominant strain will come back.
I mean there may be dead phyto in there (smell) but most likely there is some live. The live will get some nutrients from the dead and the cycle starts over again.
Put it in a jar with some air and light. You should get something that comes back. Probably Tet.

it’s a mix to be refrigerated Thank you for the info. If you want I can PM you the details if you are not sure if i have it right. I don’t want to put the company name on here out of respect.

 

[Lowsingle]

The rotten eggs smell is the sulfur from bacteria, which means it is likely feeding off of dead phyto

Darren

 

[Reef By Steele]

I would love to jump in on this conversation. There is a compound in various strains called dimethylsulfide which releases a type of sulfide therefore the sulphuric odor or rotten egg smell. This is not due to bacteria eating the phytoplankton, or dead phytoplankton. This is actually a sign that it is alive and growing. This is one reason that we store phyto plankton with the cap loose so the odor dissipates instead of concentrating during storage. This happens at lower and higher temperatures. The best shipping ice packs available last 24 hours at most. For copepods this allows them to go into an inactive stasis so they do not use up all the oxygen when temps are hot, for phyto it helps extend its viability. However it will keep the phyto at a low temperature until it has exhausted itself. This cold spell also increases the extraction of the sulfide. With full confidence I can say that a sulfurous odor is quite natural. Now it would obviously be lower in lower concentration phytoplankton or those with strains that do not contain the strains which give off these sulfides.

I first encountered this when I forgot a 2.5 gallon container that I harvested in my culture room. When I opened it a few days later I was sure it was destroyed, and I. Reese’s it to feed our pods. A very quick google search brought up an article with the above information. I did as someone has mentioned of putting it in one of my culture vessels and ran air through it, a couple of hours later it was odor free and I used it for our pods. Here is a link to an website.

Phytoplankton Storage - Sustainable Aquatics

Phytoplankton Storage - Sustainable Aquatics

sustainableaquatics.com

Also a screen shot from google AI

And so you don’t have to read the whole article, here is the section most relevant.

 

[Preston's_Waters]

Are you buying live fresh phyto or the dead off the shelf stuff. Live phyto should never smell bad but kind of like the ocean. Agreed not a good couple of weeks to be shipping stuff in the heat

I am buying live chilled phyto from Dinkins aquatic gardens, and it says live mix on the bottle, but after reading this thread I am starting to second guess that

 

[Preston's_Waters]

it’s a Nyos “69 gallon” (though i bet it’s really about 60-65 gallons. Let’s see if i have a decent pic.

nice tank for a 60 gallon btw, I am considering a 60 gallon 24" by 24" by 24" cube

 

[Reef By Steele]

I am buying live chilled phyto from Dinkins aquatic gardens, and it says live mix on the bottle, but after reading this thread I am starting to second guess that

Mixing and even chilling phytoplankton does not kill it. A multi-strain mix is virtually impossible to culture as the dominant strain will out compete the lesser strains for nutrients and the lighter colored strains will not get the lumens necessary to propagate. I have pulled samples from left over phyto that we store in the fridge for feeding our pod cultures and there is still a vast array of different sizes and colors of cells. And motile strains still moving. In the past when I was doing this only as a hobby for my own use and just learning, I would crash a culture and order a new start. When it arrived I would throw it in the fridge sometimes for 3-4 days to start it with the next batch to get them all on the same schedule. I have since learned that Isochrysis doesn’t take well to the cold, but even ISO seemed to survive a few days of cold.

For our commercial operation, we do harvest a portion on Friday and refrigerate while it settles to concentrate our extreme, the regular blend is harvested either late Sunday night or very early Monday morning, blended via air in a set of 5 gallon vessels and bottles at room temp. I cannot speak to Dinkins practices, other than he told me at RAP that they harvest on shipping day, I do not know if the refrigerate prior to packaging, but I would actually think it would not be a bad idea at least during the summer as it would help the ice packs last a little while longer. But from the comments I have seen here on R2R I would be inclined to say that Dinkins does a good job, and if you have gotten good results from their product, you shouldn’t have any reason to assume that it isn’t good.

The one thing I can say, is without a microscope I don’t know any method of evaluating the life of the phytoplankton. With a microscope a person would be able to see if cells are burst, zero movement if the strains are motile, or cells that are white around the edges. One of the most challenging parts from a growers stand point is shipping. For us, we look at a national map and try to prepare for the temperatures in the arrival location. That being said, we don’t have 100% success, but well over 90%. Even successfully delivering amphipods via 2 day to New Mexico where the local temp was over 110 this week. That was packaged in styrofoam box with ice and was a replacement for ground the week before.

One thing that I can assure you of, is any business that sells these products, and has been in business for any time at all, must be doing a good job. At least for us, any order we replace results in a loss for that transaction as shipping costs are a very high expense. So any business still going is either doing a great job of packing or not standing behind their product. For us, when are disheartened when a delivery isn’t successful, but mostly because we feel we have let that customer down. @Ocean_Queenie and in both feel that it is like Christmas morning as a child and your toy either needed batteries that your parents didn’t get, or the toy was broken and had to be replaced. We strive for every customer getting the happy experience B’s the broken toy.

 

[Nano_Man]

I do my own plankton and there’s not a smell but old stuff smells and gets thrown away

 

[AquaLogic]

A company (that I will not name) that is well regarded and has been great so far has had to send me 2 or possibly 3 replacements for phyto. I want to make sure that I am not missing anything here.

When I opened the bottle today it smells like rotten eggs and/or sulfur. The phyto was 2 day shipped and yes, it’s been extremely hot.

Is it normal for phyto to smell so foul? I’ve had other bottles received that didn’t smell horrible. Is this safe to add to my aquarium? I feel bad because this was very well packaged and shipped fast.

No matter who i use, I will probably never order these items in such brutal heat again.

I’ve gotten phyto from many vendors and never had it stink. I wonder if a lot of people are used to using dead and rotting phyto….

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

It doesn't smell as bad when refrigerated for a few days but it is still a little smelly. I do have a good microscope just have to see if I have some slides laying around.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

nice tank for a 60 gallon btw, I am considering a 60 gallon 24" by 24" by 24" cube

Thanks! Its just short of 36" and 21 and change wide. 21 inches tall. I dont know how they get 69g from that, lol.
I was always more of a fan of having more length than a square shape in case I get a wrasse or small angel that likes to be on the move, but cubes are hot and lighting them is super easy, especially that 2 foot footprint.

 

[vespertineblue]

Had the same issue, smell was horrible compared to what I usually get. They reluctantly replaced it and the new bottle smelled fine. I find the smell earthy but not unpleasant. So anything other than that I wouldn’t use.

 

[jimk60]

I am buying live chilled phyto from Dinkins aquatic gardens, and it says live mix on the bottle, but after reading this thread I am starting to second guess that

I've only bought from Dinkins once and was very happy. Phyto and pods and no bad smell. Eldridge is a member on this site that I've brought high quality phyto from numerous times. He harvests and ships the next day. Check him out if your looking for a change

 

[AquaLogic]

I've only bought from Dinkins once and was very happy. Phyto and pods and no bad smell. Eldridge is a member on this site that I've brought high quality phyto from numerous times. He harvests and ships the next day. Check him out if your looking for a change

Out of the phyto so far Dinkins has been my favorite. For pods, I like reef genetics or reef nutrition. I was underwhelmed by Dinkins pods personally, but their phyto was great.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

I’ve gotten phyto from many vendors and never had it stink. I wonder if a lot of people are used to using dead and rotting phyto….

I think it’s honestly just out of the control of anyone when the weather gets to a certain point unless you overnight it, which would probably result in near100% guaranteed.

It seems to be smelling a little better as it airs with loose cap i give it a twice a day. it’s probably fine

 

[BristleWormHater]

I think it’s honestly just out of the control of anyone when the weather gets to a certain point unless you overnight it, which would probably result in near100% guaranteed.

It seems to be smelling a little better as it airs with loose cap i give it a twice a day. it’s probably fine

even if it is dead everything will still eat it, it just won't be as helpful

 

[AquaLogic]

I think it’s honestly just out of the control of anyone when the weather gets to a certain point unless you overnight it, which would probably result in near100% guaranteed.

It seems to be smelling a little better as it airs with loose cap i give it a twice a day. it’s probably fine

I have to admit I have never ordered live phyto when temperatures are very high.