Matthew5664
Fish Herder
DIY Phytoplankton reactor
What you will need:
2x 2l washed out bottle
New Salt water (1.020 SG will do fine)
Any Plant food (Baby Bio, Miracle Grow something with a bit of colour)
Bucket
Air pump
2m of 6mm air line
Clamp or Gang valve
2x air stones or 40cm of ridged tubing
Any sort of florescent light with timer
100ml of Phytoplakton from a friend or the LFS
With these all collected you are ready to start.
Step 1. Set up a culture station
You’ll need to find an appropriate site for you station, I use the right hand cupboard of my FW fish tank stand. You could use a cupboard in anything as long as it block out most of the light. You will need to sockets one for the light and one for an air pump. As with anything you’ll want the air pump higher that the outlets. I use a gang valve (£2) to distribute the air to two bottles. Depending on the light you have you can mount horizontally or vertically with or without reflector. Some my say you’ll want 24h light but I find that 16 on 8 off produces more growth.
Step 2. Making the cultures
Get your bucket and mix up some new SW two about 1.020 SG,
you can use RO or conditioned tap water for this. Using old tank water will contain zooplakton witch will eat the phyto very quickly! With it made up get you 2l bottle take the label off are give it good rinse out. Add your new SW to the bottle along with 50ml of Phyto and 5ml of Plant food.
Step 3 Final setup
With the cultures made put them in the station and thread the airline with air stone to there bottom or using the ridged air line 20cm for each and turn it on. For the air flow you’ll want a slow ‘boil’ effect happening on the surface as fro the lights put them on the timer and away you go.
Step 4 Feeding and Harvesting.
Some of the online cultures you buy you don’t need to feed because they’ve done there maths but mine will need feeding on days 3 and 7 you’ll need to feed another 5ml of plant food. Then by day nine your culture should be ready. Turn the air pump off and tank the air feed out, then decant half the mixture and add new SW to the culture along with 5ml of plant food and repeat twice more and then it will be ready for feeding to you tank.
I feed my tank 10ml a day; it recommended you use a guide of 50ml/200l. But I only dose lightly to start. Clams, Feather dusters and Gorgonians love the stuff so the more of these you have the more you can use. The culture is best used in 3-4 days but can be stored in the fridge for a week. Please remember, just because you have it doesn’t mean your tank needs it!
Phytoplankton Overview.
I’ll try and best describe the four main type of Phyto.
Nannochloropsis oculata is a fast growing common type you’ll fine in most ‘off-the-shelf’ products. Grows to 2-4 microns and consumed by rotifers, and also good for larval fish.
Chaetocerous gracilis is larger at 6-9 microns and is used in shrimp culturing.
Isochrysis galbana is golden brown in colour and commonly used in clam culture. Usually mixed with other Phyto in cultures and need a constant temperature when being grown.
Tetraselmis sp is good because of it resilience to temperature fluctuations and is mix with out phyto in cultures.
Hope this help anyone to start the own ‘free food’ and if anyone wants some Phyto to start them off please PM me and I’ll do my best to get some to you.
What you will need:
2x 2l washed out bottle
New Salt water (1.020 SG will do fine)
Any Plant food (Baby Bio, Miracle Grow something with a bit of colour)
Bucket
Air pump
2m of 6mm air line
Clamp or Gang valve
2x air stones or 40cm of ridged tubing
Any sort of florescent light with timer
100ml of Phytoplakton from a friend or the LFS
With these all collected you are ready to start.
Step 1. Set up a culture station
You’ll need to find an appropriate site for you station, I use the right hand cupboard of my FW fish tank stand. You could use a cupboard in anything as long as it block out most of the light. You will need to sockets one for the light and one for an air pump. As with anything you’ll want the air pump higher that the outlets. I use a gang valve (£2) to distribute the air to two bottles. Depending on the light you have you can mount horizontally or vertically with or without reflector. Some my say you’ll want 24h light but I find that 16 on 8 off produces more growth.
Step 2. Making the cultures
Get your bucket and mix up some new SW two about 1.020 SG,
you can use RO or conditioned tap water for this. Using old tank water will contain zooplakton witch will eat the phyto very quickly! With it made up get you 2l bottle take the label off are give it good rinse out. Add your new SW to the bottle along with 50ml of Phyto and 5ml of Plant food.
Step 3 Final setup
With the cultures made put them in the station and thread the airline with air stone to there bottom or using the ridged air line 20cm for each and turn it on. For the air flow you’ll want a slow ‘boil’ effect happening on the surface as fro the lights put them on the timer and away you go.
Step 4 Feeding and Harvesting.
Some of the online cultures you buy you don’t need to feed because they’ve done there maths but mine will need feeding on days 3 and 7 you’ll need to feed another 5ml of plant food. Then by day nine your culture should be ready. Turn the air pump off and tank the air feed out, then decant half the mixture and add new SW to the culture along with 5ml of plant food and repeat twice more and then it will be ready for feeding to you tank.
I feed my tank 10ml a day; it recommended you use a guide of 50ml/200l. But I only dose lightly to start. Clams, Feather dusters and Gorgonians love the stuff so the more of these you have the more you can use. The culture is best used in 3-4 days but can be stored in the fridge for a week. Please remember, just because you have it doesn’t mean your tank needs it!
Phytoplankton Overview.
I’ll try and best describe the four main type of Phyto.
Nannochloropsis oculata is a fast growing common type you’ll fine in most ‘off-the-shelf’ products. Grows to 2-4 microns and consumed by rotifers, and also good for larval fish.
Chaetocerous gracilis is larger at 6-9 microns and is used in shrimp culturing.
Isochrysis galbana is golden brown in colour and commonly used in clam culture. Usually mixed with other Phyto in cultures and need a constant temperature when being grown.
Tetraselmis sp is good because of it resilience to temperature fluctuations and is mix with out phyto in cultures.
Hope this help anyone to start the own ‘free food’ and if anyone wants some Phyto to start them off please PM me and I’ll do my best to get some to you.
