Phyto

[carman9941]

I started to grow some phyto the other day and my question is how often do you fertilize. I bought all the stuff from fmf. Thanks

[mwp]

FWIW I add 20 drops of Guliard F/2 (aka. FAF's Micro Algae Grow) to 2 L of saltwater before sterilizing. That's enough media to grow the culture to the max, at which point you harvest 50-75% and then refill the culture vessel with fertilized/sterilized water again. In other words, I do not fertilize the cultures while they're just sitting there (and you shouldn't have to). Running a total of 4 species, 6 Liters (3 2 Liter Bottles) per species, I produce roughly 3 gallons of phytoplankton per week.

MP

[FMarini]

ditto...what matt says.
Unless your using Co2 you don't need to fertilize beyond the initial innoculation. Assuming your not doing anything out of the ordinary.
Hopefully you had a chance to read this article on growing your own phytos
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=135137

[carman9941]

yes thanks I wasent sure if you added more fertilizer after awhile or just @ start-up

[Luis A M]

Since many years I use FAF microgrow at F concentration,1ml/L,and it worked fine.May be I was overdoing it but it is a cheap stuff anyway.I am now trying Kent 2 parts,for a change.

[spk]

Hi there,

I am interested in finding out how long it takes you all to grow the phyto. I suppose that a lot depends on the spliut ratio that you use.

I feed Cell-hi F2P, and feed about 4ml per 2l. When I split bottles, I use either 1/3 nanno with 2/3 fresh water. With the heat that we have had over the last couple of week, it takes on average about 14 days for the bottle to reach max strength again.

Steve

[Kathy55g]

Steve, that's exactly what I am doing and using. Mine have been greening up to the max at about 7 days, but my basement doesn't get over 75 degrees F.
K

[spk]

Kathy,

It is as I feared, our temperatures have been reaching well over 80F. I am getting some clumping, but have turned up the bubble rate in an attempt to keep suspension going.

Steve

[mwp]

FWIW I'm grow all my cultures at room temp, 72F. There is a LOT of light on my algae cultures (2 40 watts directly up against the sides + 4 more 40 watts about 1.5 feet overhead), they actually seem to peak more around the 4 day mark and then just stay there until I harvest around a week or so...perhaps not ideal but it's what I do.

MP