DT's Phytoplankton and Purple Coralline growth (revised)!   2/17/08
Hello everyone! Thanks to all for everything you do for us :) I have a quick question. I'm sorry if it has been answered already, but I cannot seem to find anything that relates to my specific question.
I started my tank 2 months ago. I have a 65 gallon with wet/dry filter, protein skimmer, UV sterilizer, and total 288 watts of lighting. A combination of 1/2 blue actinic and 1/2 10000k daylight. 75 lbs of live rock. I also have (2) 300 gph circulation pumps along with my return pump for circulation. Fully cycled with 0 readings on ammonia and nitrites. 5-10 ppm on nitrates.
My tank is currently housing:
(1) Dwarf Coral Beauty
(1) Six Line Wrasse
(1) Lawnmower Blenny
(3) Green Chromis
(1) Red algae eating starfish They told me a Red thoned Starfish
<Do you have a scientific name for this asteroid?>
(1) Green Serpent Starfish
<Mmm, Ophiarachna? Watch out with this predator>
(1) Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
about (10) zoanthid polyps
(1) green feather duster
(3) green mushroom polyps
(1) Rose Coral attached to a Turkey Wing Oyster? That what the LFS told me it was . It is alive, I know that!
<Not uncommon attachments...>
I feed Spectrum granules in the a.m. and frozen cube mixes at night. I only shave of about and 1/8 to 1/4 of the cube and thaw it it tank water. I hand feed my Green Serpent in the evening with a few small pinches of scallops or shrimp. I also purchased some DT's. My questions are, how much DT's should I feed to the small amount of corals and Feather duster I have?
<Mmm, not really a source of nutrition here, for this life, but of value nonetheless...>
I was told to draw up 1cc in a syringe and add 2cc of tank water to that and target feed about every third day. Is that right?
<Okay>
Should I turn off all of my pumps, skimmer, and UV? Also, how much should I feed my fish and others during the day? Is this too much food or not enough???
<What you list is fine. I would leave your gear on... more likely more trouble that you'll forget to turn it back on... though timers can be a real asset here>
Oh one more quick question! I have a small amount of purple coralline on some of my live rock. I want to have it spread. I was told not to use Purple Up because it will raise my alkalinity and calcium too high. What can I do to encourage more purple coralline??
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/corallinealg.htm
and the linked files above>
Thank you in advance for your help!!
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Walnes or Guillard fertilizer (Phytoplankton)  8/4/07
Hi Cam here. Which phytoplankton fertilizer would you recommend for culturing Nanochloropsis: Walnes or Guillard F/2 fertilizer, for a reef aquarium.
<Mmm, both would/will work... if using much and having concerns re nutrient transfer, a filtering of the culture media can/could be done>
I would like to add the phytoplankton once a week and I am a bit worried as to what effect the different fertilizers will have, when some of the fertilizer ends up in the tank and accumulates over the course of a couple of weeks (If I only do water changes once a month). How does the culture maturation period the time that it takes so that the culture reaches maximum density ) differ between the addition of the two fertilizers. I am currently doing water changes once or twice a week. I have read that the Walne's solution is a much more "potent" form than the Guillards F/2 fertilizer. For what species of phytoplankton is each fertilizer normally used for (Nanochloropsis, Tetraselmis, Isochrysis)?
<Most culturists use Guillard's...>
Is it possible to dilute the Walne's solution to that of the same strength of the Guillards F/2 fertilizer?
<Yes...>
Lighting: Normal fluorescent tubes
Container: 1,25L to 2L (Glass or Plastic bottles).
(1ml of fertilizer added per 2L?)
PS: How long can the phytoplankton stay alive for in darkness, no aeration and if shaken once a day to keep the phytoplankton from settling/smothering each other on the bottom)?
Thank you.
<Depending on temperature mostly, a few days to weeks if refrigerated. Bob Fenner>

Phytoplankton questions/care  6/3/07
Cam speaking.
Hello,
<Howdy>
I am interested in culturing phytoplankton (e.g., Nanochloropsis (EPA), Isochrysis (DHA)), because I want to culture/keep featherduster, rotifers and mysids. The reason why I chose this combination of phytoplankton is because of the balance of EFA (EPA and DHA) in the micro-algae. I have read that culturing Isochrysis can be quite difficult, because it needs a relatively constant temperature.
<Mmm, not a difficult genus to produce, and/but most all single celled cultures require this et al. stability>
I thought that I could try to keep the phytoplankton in 2 liter bottles (Rounded bottom) and store it in a filled tank with a heater. The tank must be stored in a cool room, so that the culture does not overheat. My only concern with this idea is that the saltwater/water in the tank could be filled with phytoplankton predators.
<Is a good idea to occasionally "filter"/screen the culture to re-make... through material (a filter sock of determinate porosity... a few tens of microns...) to remove ciliates... Again, there are other means of providing steady-enough temperature... I don't like the floated culture vessel in that this retards the amount of light getting into/through the culture vessel (the plastic jug...) I am more a fan of glass jars... like the one gallon "pickle" ones... from Costco, Wal-Mart... and fluorescent lighting...>
Maybe I could make a hypersaline, acid or alkaline solution that would not harbor these predators. What are the most common reason for the culture crashing?
<Nutrient deprivation, metabolism accumulation, over-driven photosynthetic effects, predation...>
Will the Guillard F/2 Fertilizer be sufficient for both these species of phytoplankton i.e. 1 ml per 2 liter of culture medium?
<Yes>
Is it true that if the culture is kept for a week to mature/multiply that almost all of the Guillard Fertilizer will be utilized?
<Often the case... depending on light quantity/quality, the starting culture density...>
Will it be possible to separate the phytoplankton from the Guillard's fertilizer?
<Mmm, yes... concentrating, rinsing the culture... through filters...>
I would also like to know what sort of lights will be needed for both species of phytoplankton (Watt, Kelvin, lumen/lux), because I will be culturing them both in the same culturing station.
<Please see Frank Hoff's works re...>
I have thought of a few ways to separate the phytoplankton from the fertilizer I do not no how practical they are though?):
Nanochloropsis (non-motile green algae)
1) Turn the aeration off, allow the phytoplankton to settle (not for long, else they will die) and siphon the phytoplankton out.
Isochrysis (motile brown algae)
1) Will this algae swim towards a light source?
<They are slightly positively phototropic, yes... but it is better to avail oneself of a filtration rig here, or alternatively test the water for nutrient value and not worry re the introduction of such...>
If so, you can turn all the lights off and lure them into a corner with a flashlight and siphon them out.
<Not practically>
2) Use centrifugal forces to force the phytoplankton to the rim, stop machine and siphon them out. Extreme forces will kill the plankton or stop them from reproducing (I believe this info is from reedmariculture.com).
<Again... not practical... Oh, and was just chatting with Randy (Reed) yesterday out here at the present IMAC>
I could also feed the phytoplankton to, for example, rotifers. The are plankton collectors available that can catch the rotifers (approx. 60 micrometers). One could use this to do water changes. This way you minimize Guillard's fertilizer exposure in the main tank. High concentrations of this fertilizer may contribute to a algae bloom. I do not think that is likely to occur, but I would like to not add the formula to my display tank.
<Okay...>
I wish to use the phytoplankton as a feed for Mysid/Mysis/copepods (fish food) and rotifers(coral food) and featherduster worms/ soft corals, tridacnid clams.
Thank you.
<Worth experimenting... you may find it is easier/simpler to just purchase this quantity of culture/food pre-made by others. Bob Fenner>

Guillard's F/2 Phytoplankton Fertilizer  2/19/07
Hello Cam here. I would like to know if the Guillard's F/2 Formula is toxic for Marine Fish/ Invertebrates. In case I accidentally add Guillard's F/2 Formula to my main tank.
<Mmm, not likely so... is used extensively in aquaculture: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&rlz=1I7PCTA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Guillard%27s+F/2+Phytoplankton+Fertilizer&spell=1>
I have read that this fertilizer contains many different types of molecules like, for example,   FeCl3 · 6H2 O, CuSO4 · 5H2O ect.
<No such word as ect... It's etc... an abbreviation for et cetera res... Lingua Latina for "and other things"... learn it, love it, live it>
This worries me because it contains Iron (Fe) and (Cu)
<As do a number of other pet-fish products, even human foods... in small quantities... BTW, these are essential (micro) nutrients>
that can be very detrimental to all invertebrate life.
<You could choke on white bread...>
Is there a way that I can filter the fertilizer from the solution?
<Mmm... yes... could seek out other formulations, utilize a bit of inorganic chemistry... but I wouldn't>
If this fertilizer is indeed harmful to corals, shrimp and other invertebrates what do you propose that I do, because I want to feed the phytoplankton to rotifers and then feed my rotifers to my Hards (SPS) corals? Thank you for your time and patience.
<I would not be concerned here... is my/a real answer... If the amount of any of the constituents, their mix, were toxic, the phytoplankton would be poisoned... first. Not to worry. Bob Fenner>

Amphipods, Copepods, and  Zooplankton oh my! - 8/19/03
I have had my marine tank up and running for about 2 months now. It is a Juwel Vision 180 bow front running the standard internal filter, a BakPak 2 skimmer <Underskimmed me thinks, but I noticed your from Scotland, and you might be talking about litres in which case you are skimming nicely. =)> and filter, and a Fluval 3 that is packed with Rowaphos. There is also a Microjet in there to create flow in the lower levels of the tank. Lighting is one Marine glow and 2 PowerGlos.  Stock is very low just now, consisting of 4 Green Chromis (which have spawned!), <Awesome!> 6 turbo snails and a few lumps of live rock with lovely Coralline algae on it and some macro algae. <Very nice!> The rest of the tank is made up of live sand (not critters, but bacteria) and Ocean Rock. <Cool>
I had the normal Diatom problem, and now have nice green algae growing, hence the snails. My problem is this... Last night I was looking at the tank when I realized that the "bubbles" on the front glass were not in fact bubbles, but 1-2mm round "things" with what looks like 8 feather like legs that wave about a bit. I can't find any reference to these in any books. They seem to have appeared over night and are concentrated in the heavier flow. The fish are "possibly" taking the odd one or two, but I don't know if I should be worried or not! <No worries mate. These are likely a type of juvenile copepod or amphipod. Very beneficial creatures to have. Likely breeding in your crop of green alga. Consider yourself lucky. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pods.htm and utilize your favorite search engine for copepods or amphipods for morphological ID>
Any help would be greatly appreciated <Thanks for your inquiry. -Paul out!>
Rob - Aberdeen, Scotland

Bottled Phytoplankton - 8/17/03
> How about feeding it with commercial products such as: PhytoPlex, ZooPlex etc. by Kent Marine?
<<A complete waste of money in my opinion. The particle size is too big for most phytoplankton feeders. DTs is a better choice if you must use a bottled supplement>>
What is DT?:-) Luke
<DT's is a brand of bottled phytoplankton... one of the very few that is actually remotely worthy of living up to the claims and marketing for such products (small particle size, shipped and sold refrigerated, etc). Still... even DT's is not going to keep this gorgonian alive as a staple. If you had a mature refugium, it would assist as fodder for increasing bacteria, copepods and perhaps colloidal matter in decay. Also... when the name or address of a product you are looking for is not handy (as DT's isn't coming to me at present <G>), do be sure to be resourceful with a keyword search on a good search engine like google.com   Simply type in variations of what info you do know (name combinations) and then navigate the results. You will find many references to this product on our website and abroad. We have a google search tool at the bottom of our index page at www.wetwebmedia.com
Best regards, Anthony>

Phyto Reactors - 8/13/03
Where can I find some decent plans for a phyto reactor?
<have seen some great pics and plans on the big message boards like reefcentral.com also try ozreef.org (click DIY link) and find like DIY aquarium project lists. Ciao, bub. Anthony>

-Murdering phytoplankton-
If a person had a UV sterilizer AND protein skimmer running 24/7, would attempting phytoplankton additions for corals, zoanthids, bivalves. etc. be a big waste of time? <Running a UV sterilizer 24/7 is much more of a big waste of time.> Seems like what the UV sterilizer doesn't zap, the skimmer is removing. And if so, is it necessary for both pieces of equipment to be running? <I'd kill the UV for now unless problems develop. Only very powerful protein skimmers will remove phyto, and if you notice it foaming excessively after dosing, simply shut it off for an hour or two.> The reason I ask is because I was considering getting some Butterflies, maybe a Copperband or something similar. I've been told by many reef keepers that butterflies are difficult to keep without extremely excellent water quality. <Some butterflies are bulletproof, while others (like Copperbands) are difficult to feed or are obligate corallivores. If you can find a Copperband that is eating frozen foods, I'd go for it. -Kevin> What do you think? Jason

Bioluminescent dinoflagellates & free indiglo!
I recently had the thought that while many find dinoflagellates and diatoms a visual irritant in their tank, why not culture a bioluminescent species? I've only made a cursory pass at reading the related materials, but the particular species 'Pyrocystis fusiformis' seems to be beneficial in its contribution to a marine tank.
<A neat idea>
I've exhausted most web materials on the subject, and while they confirm that Pyrocystis fusiformis is a non-toxic species (to humans at least), it leaves me wondering if there might be any adverse effects in a reef (or FOWLR) tank?
<Might be... I would actually not "trust" the scientific literature here, but culture, try to toxify some test settings>
Would love to see what these little guys would do at night in a fairly brisk moving tank.
<Me too, Bob Fenner>
Much thanks as always,  - Chris

Greenwater- phytoplankton
I would like to culture my own Phytoplex.  How do I do it?
Alex Reynaud
<do an Internet search for Florida Aqua Farms... they sell complete kits and individual starter components and cultures for Nanochloropsis and Isochrysis to get you on your way. Best regards, Anthony>

Re: phyto bloom problems
Hi there.  I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how I could improve the setup of my tank?  I have had this tank running for 8 months.  I have a 35 gallon tank.  I had just started using a small protein skimmer 2 months ago and at Christmas I just set up a trickle system.  There is a sponge that catches debris as the water leaves the overflow to the small sump tank below and a sponge to catch any debris before the water gets pumped back into the tank.  With this system, does my tank require an air stone or will oxygen build up in the sump from the water flowing down on the bio balls and aerate my tank when the water gets pumped back into it?
<No, but a larger, more efficient protein skimmer would be a good addition. Cleaning these sponges weekly would also be advised as they produce nitrates, food for algae.>
I have one yellow tang, a false clown, 2 red hermits, 1 hermit, 5 snails, and 1 fire scallop.  I also have silicon sand on the bottom, 1 green star polyps which seams to be dying.  I noticed I have accumulated live brine shrimp and tiny little white specks that swim and attach themselves to the glass of the tank.  Do you know what those little white specks would be?
<I would advise testing pH, alkalinity, calcium, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates to see what ails the star polyps. Perhaps light or current? The "live brine shrimp" are not brine shrimp at all, but amphipods which come in with live rock and the rock some corals are mounted to, live sand in some cases. The tiny white specks are one variety or another of tube worm, barnacle, encrusting critter that also comes with the live rock, etc. They will limit themselves over time. Don't worry, it's all good.>
For the last 3 months I have been getting phyto blooms.  The water in my tank becomes green.  You can't see the other side and it will last until I constantly do water changes.   I have been putting a few drops of phytoplankton drops into the tank to feed my coral, but I was told this product was tested and will not cause phyto blooms (says on bottle).  I believe my problem happened before this.  I have even added phosphate tablets that go into a mesh stocking to soak up phosphate, but it doesn't
work fantastic.  Do you know why this problem keeps occurring?
<Overfeeding, inadequate nutrient export (too small/inefficient skimmer/filtration) inadequate filter maintenance/improper water chemistry/pH, alkalinity.  While it is unlikely the phyto product caused this, it could contribute or actually be the seed (if alive) to start this reproduction where the conditions favor it. The nutrients below (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) would feed the bloom, the visible indication of your nutrient problem.>  
One last question, I test for Ammonia and Nitrate in my tank.  I have to do a water change every 2 weeks.  This was the weekend to change the water and when I tested for Ammonia my Ammonia was close to .10 or a light green. Isn't my trickle system suppose to cut my Nitrate and Ammonia down with the live bacteria that builds up over the bio balls?  Does the water have to be flowing over the bio balls a certain way?
<No. It should process ammonia unless it is coming in with your source water unbeknownst to you, you are overfeeding, have something decaying in your system/filter, filter hasn't cycled or are being killed by improper maintenance or the bio-balls are submerged or getting inadequate oxygenation. It will process nitrite to nitrate, but will not process nitrate, and in fact will contribute to it's production. Live rock and deep sand beds (best if of aragonite) do this quite well.>
I'm sorry for all the questions.  I have trying to research my tank
problems, but I'm not getting far with the fish stores back home and having a hard time find answers on the internet.
Thank you. Cindy
<Not a problem Cindy, I would test all water parameters, including source water, maintain proper water parameters, get a better/bigger skimmer if possible, feed sparingly a low ash/phosphate diet, clean sponges/filters at least weekly rinsing them carefully with de-chlorinator or aging them if your water is chlorinated (this could wash through and kill your bio-balls). I like to use Kalkwasser to replenish calcium, support alkalinity, buffer pH in the early AM, and for it's ability to precipitate phosphates. You can find more on it's use at WetWebMedia.com. I would stop the phyto until the bloom/nutrient is under control. I think this a combination of things, not just the phyto.  Let us know if you need more assistance!  Craig>

Phytoplankton feeding - Perspectives on Rob Toonen's articles
<Henry... thank you kindly for you efforts and research shared. We will post this promptly (below) for  daily FAQ readers. I must add though that Dr Toonen hasn't actually been misquoted. Part of the incongruity is that Dr Toonen's work has evolved in the many(!) months (more than a year) since writing the article and presenting the work 18 months ago at MACNA Baltimore 2001. My shared opinion/advice was not only from communication with Rob, but actually more from from several other researchers and biologists that have spent years culturing phytoplankton in various applications. The bottom line is that no dead, semi-live or bottled live product can come close to the useful longevity of fresh refrigerated live cultures (regarding particle size in particular)... and since fresh live cultures kept refrigerated degrade markedly on a daily basis (clumping/clotting) until around 6 months (at best), we cannot expect these older, less fresh, commercially processed products to fair much better no matter how much money in marketing the manufacturers spend. And for the sake of the argument, even if I/we admit that any real or wishful claims on viability are correct about bottled phyto... it doesn't change the fact that it has a very limited application in aquariums. Very few corals do or can eat phyto (Gorgonids and some Nephtheids... extremely limited on Alcyoniids). It honestly does more harm than good in my opinion for many tanks. Healthy tanks usually just sustain the hit on nutrients from added liquid phyto and skim it out. Most of our corals are overwhelmingly zooplankton feeders! The argument by phyto mfgs that the dissolved dead phyto is still useful is about as accurate as a dissolved hamburger is useful (both actually are in some ways... increasing microbial populations/nanoplankton... but at what cost?). And the additional proposal that supplemental phyto is needed for copepods is bunk IMO... there is more than enough epiphytic matter shed from the shear surface are of the aquarium interior (scraped and shed algae from glass and rocks, refugium with macros/plants, etc). Experienced and responsible aquarists may very well benefit from it (I suspect that you fall into that category)... but most of the folks we have are new and in need of more fundamental information. And it would be irresponsible for us to agree with anyone that tells a novice to pour liquid phyto in by the gallon when they do not even have a mature established aquarium and protocol yet. Whew! That said... I truly appreciate your input. Quite grateful and non-combative at all. I just witness so many people getting misguided by advertising claims and most liquid supplements which are mostly high-profit "pollution in a bottle". Let as all keep learning, challenging and growing. For every day, a better way... Kind regards, Anthony>
>I once asked about DT's Phytoplankton and even a couple of days ago I saw
>another question concerning the use of live phytoplankton. The response was
>something about having to liquefy the solution before feeding and too large
>particle sizes. Anthony Calfo mentions Rob Toonen for his work in this area.
>This is actually a misquote and after looking around the net for a while I
>finally found Rob Toonen's article where he talks about this. Finding it
>wasn't as easy as I thought and I actually ran across it looking for other
>things. It would have been helpful to me to read the actual article directly
>so perhaps you could add a link to it in your standard answers and FAQ's and
>let people know when they ask about phytoplankton. The link is:
>http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_toonen_102500.html.
>The article is very informative, and provides an overview of the various
>products on the market, along with their benefits and drawbacks. It also
>briefly discusses if phytoplankton is good or not: "But, is phytoplankton
>feeding right for your aquarium? If your answer to my question about your
>goals in keeping a reef aquarium was along the lines of maximizing diversity
>or recreating a particular reef habitat type, then there are volumes of
>research showing that phytoplankton plays an important role in supporting
>natural reef ecosystems. If your answer was more along the lines of
>minimizing potential problems with nutrient export and maximizing growth of
>Acropora, however, you're unlikely to see much visible benefit (and
>potentially cause yourself more problems) by adding phytoplankton to your
>aquarium."
>The concern about particle sizes is NOT for all phytoplankton products.
>Actually most products, in particular DT's and other live phytoplankton,
>are OK. To quote the article: "Live phytoplankton is obviously the best
>option in terms of nutritional value and low risk of over-feeding. Live
>cultures are the standard by which all other products are judged, and the
>others can be "as good as live" but no one has ever discovered a
>phytoplankton supplement that performs better than live." However, live
>phytoplankton is perhaps the most expensive option to provide phytoplankton
>to a tank and "Storage in the refrigerator may or may not lead to problems
>in the home (such as the complaining spouse syndrome, or house-guests
>thinking it's Wheat grass or some other nasty 'health food' concoction and
>guzzling some )... "  :)
>Dr. Toonen only mentions the inappropriate particle size with respect to
>spray dried marine phytoplankton (SDMP) with ESV as the primary choice.
>There he does say: "the major drawbacks with this product are that it does
>not generally provide particles of the size range of the majority of
>phytoplankton, and that it requires mixing in a blender prior to feeding in
>order to get any particles of the correct size range. ", even though the
>nutrition profile of the product is actually very good.
>I recommend the article to anyone interested in feeding phytoplankton to
>their marine tank. I thought your readers might benefit from this
>information as much as I did.
>Henry Muyshondt

Flower Pot Coral II
Dear Crew,
As you remember, I wrote concerning my G. Stokesi (thanks for the correction). I wrote Kent and awaited a response. The response is in and I value your opinion as much and possibly more (your helping the amateurs, he is selling a product). Please do not take offense to my quotation of expert as I am unfamiliar with your staffs qualifications.
<No problem. If you are interested, there is a page on the crew, who we are, what we look like, what we do, etc. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/wwmcrew.htm>
I simply didn't want some smug response from them saying "who this guy, we are the pro's"
<No, I am the Pro, Steven Pro to be exact. :)>
You seem to overqualified to say the least and I am interested in your response. By the way, they asked If I am skimming. I said yes 4 hours per day venturi style. Effective today I have 3 inches of aragonite live sand and the stokesii are on the bottom. Thanks Steve-
HERE IS THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM KENT
Hello,
Thanks very much for your inquiry; I'll do my best to try and clear up some confusion. Goniopora, in general, has a poor track record for survival in captivity, and the reasons for this aren't very clear to even the most experienced hobbyists and professionals in the industry. There are many factors, however, that are often observed and/or theorized to have an influence on the survival rate. Certainly, water temperature, nitrogenous waste concentrations, light characteristics, water flow, dissolved oxygen concentration, nutrient input, and presence of toxins excreted by nearby corals and other cnidarians play roles in the relative survival rate of Goniopora. I will, at this point, say that I am not aware that any specific studies have been performed on "bottled phytoplankton" and the size of the species included as they pertain to the feeding habits of Goniopora. Our product, Phytoplex, contains three species of phytoplankton in a size range of 2-15 microns, and our ChromaPlex contains two species with a size range of 5-25 microns. The recognized lower limit on size of phytoplankton as noted by Marine Biologists and Oceanographers is 2 microns; therefore I find it difficult to believe that Goniopora, which feed not only on phytoplankton (all 2 microns and larger), but also on zooplankton (also 2 microns and larger) are not able to feed on organisms present in our products. In other words, the insinuation or claim that the phytoplankton in Phytoplex are too large for Goniopora doesn't hold water. Corals and other organisms that feed on the smallest classes of plankton, femto- and picoplankton, at 0.02-0.2 microns and 0.2-2.0 microns, respectively, often use a visible mucous to aid in the capture of such small particles; Goniopora do not display that characteristic. Note that the femtoplankton class is composed wholly of virioplankton (virus'), and picoplankton is composed of bacterioplankton. Again, I believe that an individual would be hard-pressed to locate a study performed on Goniopora citing their feeding schemes, but perhaps I'm just not reading enough these days. Now, allow me to say that if the coral isn't getting the amount of nutrients it needs (i.e. the coral is simply not capturing enough of the plankton to meet its nutritional requirements) in order to survive and thrive, that's another matter, more easily solved. You didn't mention that you have a protein skimmer on this aquarium, did you omit that information or is the tank skimmer-less?
Kindest regards,
Cris Brightwell
Marine Scientist
Kent Marine, Inc.
www.kentmarine.com
<While I know of no studies involving Phytoplankton and Goniopora, Dr. Rob Toonen did perform a study on bottled Phytoplankton products. You should be able to easily find this on the net. The basics are what Anthony gave you in the last email. To be useful, it must be fresh, refrigerated, and whisked to ensure proper particle size. While their live Phytoplankton is probably of the sizes he quoted, Dr. Toonen's study showed that all of these products have a tendency to clump, making them worthless. They must be used up in less than six months, refrigerated the entire time (wholesale, retail, and your home), and need to be blended for a few minutes to minimize clumping. Do read the article for yourself, though. -Steven Pro>

Phytoplankton... Not a food for everyone
Hi Steven Pro,
Just for your information, I do feed my corals phytoplankton. That includes my sponge, sea squirt, clam, and of course I use syringe squirt some at the elegance too,. I don't know if it need/eat it or not.
<Please search www.WetWebMedia.com for phytoplankton. Anthony has detailed its benefits and drawbacks (namely in dosing procedures) many times. Your clam, sea squirt, and sponge maybe able to eat phytoplankton, but it must be blended or whisked every time to reduce particle size. Your Elegance will not eat any phytoplankton. Zooplankton for it.>
As for the cleaner shrimp sticking their pinchers between the meat and the skeleton of the elegance, this does not bother me too much, because they are not attacking the coral. What I mean is they are not doing that all the time, only when necessary. Don't know if that's the most correct way to describe what they do.
<Ok, but I would watch it.>
Glad to hear that you pretty much have the same type of animals variety as me.
<You will see a full and complete description with pictures once our online magazine comes out.>
I have few fish, mostly corals (soft and hard). As for cleaning my skimmer, I don't feed my fish as much as most people do. So stuff that comes out isn't as much.
<But your corals are constantly producing wastes that your skimmer could be removing.>
Most of the liquid that is in the collection cup is drained into a container.
<Ok, you have an overflow on the collection cup. These are both good and bad. They make life easier, but negatively impact performance. The neck of the collection cup needs a bit buildup to skim, but after a day or two the buildup gets os thick that skimmate cannot rise, hence the need to clean a well working skimmer every couple of days.>
But you are right, I should probably clean them more often. BUT every other day, that's way too often for me, like I said, I don't get that much "stuff" in the collection cup.
<But you should be.>
Normally I go by how dirty the collection cup looks. And you are right, for the past few years in the hobby. One of the things I learn is that there is really no one tank is the same. Each one is unique. As for the brown and green algae growth, I do realize that it is a new tank's cycle thing it goes through. But I also believe that there must be something that is fueling it's growth. The bottom line is that the system is not balanced out yet. As fast as the coralline algae is growing, I hope it can be faster. Right now still kind have that newly setup tank look without them cover the rock. Thanks again for all your help and patience. As far as I can tell, my elegance is doing better now.
<I am glad to hear it.>
I hope it pull through this. Have a nice Thanksgiving.
<You too!>
Sincerely, George
<Kind regards. -Steven Pro>

DIY DT's
I want to make my own DT's. From what I have found, all it is saltwater in a jar that sits under light and kept warm for a week or two. The water will turn green and then you have DT's. Is this true?
<Not exactly.>
If so how can they sell it for $16.00? There has to be more to this.
<Please take a look at the following articles:
http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_toonen_102500.html
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/ds/index.htm>
Thanks so much for your time!
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

Phytoplankton
I was reading the Q/A's last night on the site regarding environmental disease. One of the Q/A's was from someone who had been told that the proper dosage of DT's Phytoplankton for a reef system was 1 cup per 50 gallons. The person was having fits with getting the water cleared. I use this product--the filter-feeders (including the flame scallops) seem to love it. The flame scallops are constantly excreting waste so they are feeding on it well. However, the proper dosage is actually one ounce (or 1 tablespoon) per 50 gallons every other day, and perhaps a bit more if the system is heavy on filter feeders. One cup per 50 gallons is 16 times the recommended dosage! I've been using it according to the directions, and have never had any problems with my water becoming cloudy as a result. Also, according to the label directions, live phytoplankton is not removed from the system by a protein skimmer--so powering off of the pump after adding it should not be necessary. Anyone who uses this product also should smell it every time before using it--if it smells like anything but salt water, it's no good and should be discarded. Pass this on so that the misinformation will stop!
<Will post, and I thank you. Bob Fenner>

Phytoplankton
In my prior message, my math was wrong. The proper dosage is 1 Tablespoon per 50 gallons, or one ounce per 100 gallons. So one cup per 50 gallons is sixteen times the dosage--but the proper dosage, in ounces, is 1 oz per 100 gallons, not 1 oz per 50, as I stated before (and these things are all very fluid, anyway, based on the load of filter feeders in the tank. . .)
<Understood, and agreed. Will post your follow-up to the previous posting.... Bob Fenner>