Reef By Steele
7500 Club Member
Partner Member 2024
Black Friday Sponsor
Premier Sponsor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
Partner Sponsor 24
R2R Secret Santa 2023
We have made the decision to dose phytoplankton (phyto) in our reef tanks. I have to say I think we have made the right decision. But now we have to determine how and what to dose. What are the options, where can I get it, how long will it last, should I make my own? So many questions, but I bet we can find some answers.
I am going to give answers to these questions based on what I experienced when I started this same journey, and hopefully there will be others who will join in and share their experiences with us as well. Here is how I began.
I wouldn't recommend using oddly shaped vessels as shown. Quickly upgraded to gallon glass jars.
What I think is the most important question to start with is DEAD or LIVE?
Although there are many quality “dead” phytoplankton products on the market, and I have successfully used one such product to culture rotifers when I started. I see some drawbacks from going with these products. The product I used contained an ammonia reducing additive to avoid spikes in the culture. This is especially important if we are adding too much as the remnants are going to deteriorate, and while they rot, they are going to produce ammonia. The same thing will be true in our aquariums. If we add more of a “dead” phyto product than our tank will consume, or it settles into places where it isn’t used, then the left overs are going to decompose adding to the nutrient levels in our aquariums. Although I believe we can add too much live phyto to our tanks, I really don’t see that we would actually do it. This would be us putting the whole gallon in our 40BR at one shot. So whether we dose light or with a heavy hand, the live phytoplankton we add, is going to continue circulating in our tanks consuming nutrients vs creating more. Even with a UV system, unless it is huge and running 100% of our return through it, most all of the live phyto we add to our tanks is going to be used in one manner or another. So from my experience I believe we are better served using live phytoplankton. At this point I determined I needed more and upgraded to larger vessels.
So then for those of us that agree, the next question is how do we get it? Do we purchase or do we culture our own. Here is where we bring in the science. Which strain or strains is best? What strains are in each product? The primary reason we dose phytoplankton to our aquariums is enhanced health and growth of our livestock. Generally every reef tank is going to benefit from the same strains with the exception of highly targeted specific aquariums. Whereas in the aquaculture industry, we would target our specific needs. Certain strains of phytoplankton work better in rearing new born shrimp, while other strains are more beneficial in the culturing of clams, scallops and other bivalves. Here at Reef by Steele we must feed certain species of copepods specific strains of phytoplankton vs the whole 10 strain blend. Do to the density of phyto, using the full blend will kill off our culture; however these pods will thrive in our aquariums where we dose the full blend as it is more diluted.
I upgraded again for even more volume and strains.
So to decide, we either need to know our livestock’s specific needs or provide a blend that covers the entire spectrum. Here is a short description of the nutrition found in phytoplankton.
Nutritional Value of Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton is an abundant source of macro- and micronutrients. You will find protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, lipids, and trace elements. One of the most important nutrients contained within phytoplankton cells are lipids, in particular Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, often referred to as highly unsaturated fats (HUFA), are absolutely essential for the health and coloration of marine invertebrates and fish. Of these fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA (found generally in green-colored phytoplankton species) and docosahexaenoic acid or DHA (found generally in brown-colored phytoplankton species) are of critical importance to marine life, with DHA proving to be the more essential of the two. This is why our phyto buffet incorporates 5 brown strains, 4 green strains, and one red strain added for improved coral coloration.
When dosing phytoplankton in an aquarium, in order to obtain maximum nutrition, dosing multiple species with various nutritional profiles is important. A good dosing regimen for a reef aquarium is a
MINIMUM of one strain of a high-EPA (e.g., Chorella) and one strain of a high-DHA algae (e.g., Thalassiosira wiesflogii) to ensure that the aquarium inhabitants receive proper nutrition.
So now the decision is purchase or DYI. I believe we will have to answer that question for ourselves. It really boils down to a cost/benefit analysis. Looking at the products on the market, most of them are going to consist of a mixture of Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis, Isochrysis, and possibly a Diatom such as Chaetoceros or Thalassiosira, generally at a 50/50 green to gold/brown strain or higher. For me, I was purchasing when I was running my construction business, but when I had to have multiple reconstructive surgeries and an extended recovery down time I decided it would be better for me to do my own, rather than go without. At first I struggled to find everything I needed to create a culturing system locally, and I continued to find items that improved my system multiple times over time, which lead me to offering kits with everything needed to culture minus the air pump and light timer. For others, the convenience of having it ready to go, without the effort to cycle and clean and harvest and repeat outweighs the expense. Chances are fairly good, that you can successfully culture at home, my wife @Ocean_Queenie with very limited experience was able to run a successful culture for several rotations raising apocyclops copepods, and Rhodosomas, and Chlorella phytoplankton in one of our kits following the instructions we supply. (Ok she used the sterilized water I always have prepared). Here is her kit.
But I would expect if you have a tank, you can mix salt water. She just told me she wants her own tank now! (Probably no way I can deny her, since she let me get 5 or so). The biggest downsize to culturing my own turned out to be the space needed to culture that many species. I started with three, and quickly added to five. When we decided to take our hobby into a business, we added the additional 5 so we could offer the best blended live phytoplankton with the broadest nutritional profile vs building volume by duplicating the same strains. We can replicate these practices in our own homes, if we are willing to invest the time and have the space. Final upgrade with larger volume air pump.
If we choose to take on the challenge of culturing our own, then we need to determine which strains we need for our livestock. We shall assume a generic stance rather than a very specific requirement like culturing Maxima Clams. Based on the nutritional profiles mentioned above, I had determined to culture Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis, and Thalassiosira weissflogii when I started. I was fortunate to add Pavlova and Tetraselmis to the mix, as I did experience setbacks and crashed cultures along the way. So I strongly recommend culturing more than one phytoplankton especially if you are culturing pods, as you don’t want to lose your pod culture if your phyto crashes. I think we would love to hear about others efforts in culturing phytoplankton, and if they have a favorite strain that maybe isn’t one of the common strains being sold commercially.
It has been an interesting journey. If you have specific questions feel free to PM me or check us out at www.reefbysteele.com
I am going to give answers to these questions based on what I experienced when I started this same journey, and hopefully there will be others who will join in and share their experiences with us as well. Here is how I began.
I wouldn't recommend using oddly shaped vessels as shown. Quickly upgraded to gallon glass jars.
What I think is the most important question to start with is DEAD or LIVE?
Although there are many quality “dead” phytoplankton products on the market, and I have successfully used one such product to culture rotifers when I started. I see some drawbacks from going with these products. The product I used contained an ammonia reducing additive to avoid spikes in the culture. This is especially important if we are adding too much as the remnants are going to deteriorate, and while they rot, they are going to produce ammonia. The same thing will be true in our aquariums. If we add more of a “dead” phyto product than our tank will consume, or it settles into places where it isn’t used, then the left overs are going to decompose adding to the nutrient levels in our aquariums. Although I believe we can add too much live phyto to our tanks, I really don’t see that we would actually do it. This would be us putting the whole gallon in our 40BR at one shot. So whether we dose light or with a heavy hand, the live phytoplankton we add, is going to continue circulating in our tanks consuming nutrients vs creating more. Even with a UV system, unless it is huge and running 100% of our return through it, most all of the live phyto we add to our tanks is going to be used in one manner or another. So from my experience I believe we are better served using live phytoplankton. At this point I determined I needed more and upgraded to larger vessels.
So then for those of us that agree, the next question is how do we get it? Do we purchase or do we culture our own. Here is where we bring in the science. Which strain or strains is best? What strains are in each product? The primary reason we dose phytoplankton to our aquariums is enhanced health and growth of our livestock. Generally every reef tank is going to benefit from the same strains with the exception of highly targeted specific aquariums. Whereas in the aquaculture industry, we would target our specific needs. Certain strains of phytoplankton work better in rearing new born shrimp, while other strains are more beneficial in the culturing of clams, scallops and other bivalves. Here at Reef by Steele we must feed certain species of copepods specific strains of phytoplankton vs the whole 10 strain blend. Do to the density of phyto, using the full blend will kill off our culture; however these pods will thrive in our aquariums where we dose the full blend as it is more diluted.
I upgraded again for even more volume and strains.
So to decide, we either need to know our livestock’s specific needs or provide a blend that covers the entire spectrum. Here is a short description of the nutrition found in phytoplankton.
Nutritional Value of Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton is an abundant source of macro- and micronutrients. You will find protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, lipids, and trace elements. One of the most important nutrients contained within phytoplankton cells are lipids, in particular Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, often referred to as highly unsaturated fats (HUFA), are absolutely essential for the health and coloration of marine invertebrates and fish. Of these fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA (found generally in green-colored phytoplankton species) and docosahexaenoic acid or DHA (found generally in brown-colored phytoplankton species) are of critical importance to marine life, with DHA proving to be the more essential of the two. This is why our phyto buffet incorporates 5 brown strains, 4 green strains, and one red strain added for improved coral coloration.
When dosing phytoplankton in an aquarium, in order to obtain maximum nutrition, dosing multiple species with various nutritional profiles is important. A good dosing regimen for a reef aquarium is a
MINIMUM of one strain of a high-EPA (e.g., Chorella) and one strain of a high-DHA algae (e.g., Thalassiosira wiesflogii) to ensure that the aquarium inhabitants receive proper nutrition.
So now the decision is purchase or DYI. I believe we will have to answer that question for ourselves. It really boils down to a cost/benefit analysis. Looking at the products on the market, most of them are going to consist of a mixture of Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis, Isochrysis, and possibly a Diatom such as Chaetoceros or Thalassiosira, generally at a 50/50 green to gold/brown strain or higher. For me, I was purchasing when I was running my construction business, but when I had to have multiple reconstructive surgeries and an extended recovery down time I decided it would be better for me to do my own, rather than go without. At first I struggled to find everything I needed to create a culturing system locally, and I continued to find items that improved my system multiple times over time, which lead me to offering kits with everything needed to culture minus the air pump and light timer. For others, the convenience of having it ready to go, without the effort to cycle and clean and harvest and repeat outweighs the expense. Chances are fairly good, that you can successfully culture at home, my wife @Ocean_Queenie with very limited experience was able to run a successful culture for several rotations raising apocyclops copepods, and Rhodosomas, and Chlorella phytoplankton in one of our kits following the instructions we supply. (Ok she used the sterilized water I always have prepared). Here is her kit.
But I would expect if you have a tank, you can mix salt water. She just told me she wants her own tank now! (Probably no way I can deny her, since she let me get 5 or so). The biggest downsize to culturing my own turned out to be the space needed to culture that many species. I started with three, and quickly added to five. When we decided to take our hobby into a business, we added the additional 5 so we could offer the best blended live phytoplankton with the broadest nutritional profile vs building volume by duplicating the same strains. We can replicate these practices in our own homes, if we are willing to invest the time and have the space. Final upgrade with larger volume air pump.
If we choose to take on the challenge of culturing our own, then we need to determine which strains we need for our livestock. We shall assume a generic stance rather than a very specific requirement like culturing Maxima Clams. Based on the nutritional profiles mentioned above, I had determined to culture Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis, and Thalassiosira weissflogii when I started. I was fortunate to add Pavlova and Tetraselmis to the mix, as I did experience setbacks and crashed cultures along the way. So I strongly recommend culturing more than one phytoplankton especially if you are culturing pods, as you don’t want to lose your pod culture if your phyto crashes. I think we would love to hear about others efforts in culturing phytoplankton, and if they have a favorite strain that maybe isn’t one of the common strains being sold commercially.
It has been an interesting journey. If you have specific questions feel free to PM me or check us out at www.reefbysteele.com
Last edited:
