green water? phyto?

dive girl

Member
I trimmed some of my macro algae and was going to share it with a friend. I put it into a container with an airline, some salt water, and a piece of live rock where it could wait for him to come get it.
Anyway, he came and got it. After I bagged it up for him, I left the container in my laundry room which gets plenty of light (I hadn't the time to break it all down and put it away). After a couple of days, I went to do laundry and remembered the jar. The water in it was light green. I took out the live rock, but kept the airline in. It has gotten darker.
Did I just culture phytoplankton? Is it safe to use in any of my tanks?
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Dive Girl
http:///forum/post/3127065
I trimmed some of my macro algae and was going to share it with a friend. I put it into a container with an airline, some salt water, and a piece of live rock where it could wait for him to come get it.
Anyway, he came and got it. After I bagged it up for him, I left the container in my laundry room which gets plenty of light (I hadn't the time to break it all down and put it away). After a couple of days, I went to do laundry and remembered the jar. The water in it was light green. I took out the live rock, but kept the airline in. It has gotten darker.
Did I just culture phytoplankton? Is it safe to use in any of my tanks?

No answer for you yet I noticed...I am posting so it gets bumped up to the top again...I'm curious myself...
 

dive girl

Member
Thanks. I read an article once on starting a culture of phyto from actual ocean water. I guess I could test the water and see what the parameters are before I add it to any tank.
 

cranberry

Active Member
Yes, it's phyto but you won't be able to start a culture with it because of where the original water came from. Just like there was little hidden phyto cells in the water to bloom.... there's also little rotifers and other critters in there that will crash a culture in the future. You'll need to start with nice clean water to keep a sustainable culture going.
There wouldn't be anything wrong with putting that water in your tank. But not knowing the volume you are talking about or the colour of it, use it sparingly and be watchful of it crashing. Crashing phyto is a source of ammonia.
 

dive girl

Member
Thanks so much Cranberry! I posted on another forum too, and Saxman answered there.

I had some other questions but left them on that seahorse forum since some of the questions came from an article there.
 

dive girl

Member
No wonder my ears are ringing.

Do you recommend getting a starter culture from Florida Aqua Farms? I was thinking about getting one of the culture kits.
(I'm going to try and take apart my reef tank this weekend to see if I can find that Bobbitt worm. Still interested if I can find and capture it without harming it?)
 

cranberry

Active Member
Yes, that's a good source for starter culture.
*shivers* Yes, I'm totally up for the worm!!!!!! *squeals*
(I answered)
 

dive girl

Member
Okay, I'll probably buy one of the starter culture kits, that way I have the culture, fertilizer, and (probably most importantly) the culture manual.
Do you feed your tanks some of the phyto each day? I really only have corals in my reef tank (one softy in a seahorse tank) but like the idea of the pods eating the phyto in my seahorse tanks.
When I was searching for some answers I saw in a post that you don't have your cultures anywhere near your tanks. That's to keep cross-contamination to a minimum correct?
Do you use the 2L bottles for your cultures?
I hope you don't mind the questions; I appreciate the responses.
 

cranberry

Active Member
2-liter bottles are easier than the others IMO, but any bottle size will do.
I do Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Corals eat pods too :)
If the culture is near your tank, there is a big risk of contamination. Rotifers WILL find their way. But as long as you have a bottle in the fridge to restart the culture, all should be good. You'll find you have ample amounts of phyto in no time.
 
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