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Phytoplankton

3K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Whatever 
#1 ·
Hi am looking for starter culture of some phytoplankton anyone have or know where I can my hands on?

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#4 ·
How much did you pay?
Night owls up it's great. :p

Glad you asked about price. Initially when I contacted reef crew they stated $15 for ready to culture bottle (phyto + fertilizer solution) and $15 for Guillards F/2 fertilizer. I couldn't buy direct even though I was willing to make the drive so they recommended pick a Big Al's and they'll drop off my order during their deliveries with my name on it I just go and pick it up and pay for it then.

Got to Big Al's and price went up, a lot. I referred to the emails and how Reef Crew stated such and such price and they adjusted it no problem. Without saying anything it would have been nearly double the price. Yes it had my name on it and everything so it was left there specifically for me.
 
#5 ·
Lol yup sounds like big Al's do you know Carl he post's a lot on kijiji he has the same thing for $15 for starter culture and $15 for fertilizer I don't mind paying for the culture but the fertilizer seems much if am not mistaken any 10-10-10 fertilizer would work but I could be wrong

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#6 ·
Yes I'm aware of Carl over at Carls Aquarium. Great guy runs his fish stuff from a funeral home I believe.

Yes he does have the same thing he sells Reef Crew stuff. If you're planning on culturing phytoplankton long term then I suggest Guillards F/2 algae growth fertilizer because it's the standard used in labs to fuel algae growth and honestly it's the only thing I trust to pour into my tank once culture is grown out.

I know you can get away with a bunch of other home made concoctions such as miracle grow (lawn fertilizer found at Canadian tire) mixed in ratio solutions but I've read there is excessive phosphate issues with it as some people have reported on other forums.

I figure every book or journal I've read dating back years and years has always mentioned Guillards F/2 formula so I know that as sort of industry standard in terms of fuelling phytoplankton growth. I'll just use that and not have to worry about mixing fertilizer in the correct ratio since it's already done for me one less thing to think about.
 
#9 ·
You can use DT's as a starter culture. SUM and NAFB carries these.
You can also use Phytofeast as a starter (so I was told) - Can Corals & Hubert at Reef Aquatica has these.

Hubert at Reef Aquatica has a special concentrated blend for starting rotifer cultures - I think this is probably the best starter culture around.

Can I just ask what you plan to do in culturing your own phyto? Phyto is fairly cheap retail these days and you don't use that much unless you have a specialized reef.
 
#12 ·
What I did was I bought some phyto from another hobbyist that makes it for sale, I bought the fertilizer from some one else and used 2 liters of phyto mixed with 2 liters of fresh saltwater at 1.025 added 1ml of fertilizer. I bubbled it with air using a small air pump and a par38 bulb for 10 days.
When done I drain off 2 liters to use for my next batch and use the remainder to add to my tank at 3/4 a cup per day, when I'm down to approx 700 ml I make another batch and repeat the process. Initial start up was 20 for the phyto and 20 for a bottle of the fertilizer, a large glass container with a spigot that I bought at Walmart for 10 bucks and a small air pump and light I had kicking around. HTH
 
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