Amphipods, Copepods and Phytoplankton

JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
I'm excited... I have Amphipods and Copepods!!! I just really started seeing them yesterday and they have definitely taken up residence in my sand bed - at least that portion right behind the glass. Woohoo!

Question about those guys. I was going to clean my glass with my magnets today, but those Copepods are on the glass, about an inch up. My gut reaction is that I should clean the glass as always and that by the end of the day any pods I have killed or displaced will be replaced by others, but I didn't want to do anything before posting.

OK... now on to Phyto. A new friend of mine from my local aquarium club is brewing his own Phytoplankton based on the instructions found on the Melev's Reef / Reefcasts Website. He gave me a 2 liter jug, and said it is really good for my polyps and mushrooms. So, I added a cup to the tank... and now I have a HUGE diatom/algae bloom underway. I haven't checked my phosphates, but after reading the instructions for making this stuff my guess is they are high, and this is what is causing my problems.

My guess is also that I should do a 10% water change and not use this stuff anymore. But again, I want more experienced opinions to weigh in.

Tanks...
 
L

little urchin

New Member
erm...i'm no expert, but i would clean the glass as usual

as for the algae....i know with marine snow which is pre-prepared Phytoplankton you must add no more than i little capful per 20gal....so i reckon you have overdosed on nutrients.....it is a big pollutant, and should be used sparely....i'd consider a decent water change myself
 
JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
Yeah... I have prepped some water... I am just gonna do my 10% change a little early. It won't hurt anything either way.
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
Well :roll: ... about the pods dont worry about them just clean glass as normal you gonna be fine and since you dosing Phyto they will multiply easier... and about the stuff that your friend gave you a think a cup was an over killed you experimenting the algae bloom cause thats alot of nutrients on water and thats like a trigger to make bad algae to grow... so try dosing just some drop of it lets say mmm 2-3 drops everyother day or less all depends how tank reacts... im not sure how strong is this stuff but the one i use is DT's Phyto and i dose 2-3 drops to my 12g NC once a week... and if i do more ill get alot of algea in my glass... and well water change not needed really corals will take care of the phyto just that you'll have to clean glass more frequently :lol:... but for now dont add phyto for 1 week then add just alittle bit ok... :mrgreen:

Best luck with it!!... and well send me some if you wish ;-) im running out of phyto :mrgreen: :lol:
 
JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
After talking to another club member who makes his own phyto, looks like I did overdose it. But not by much. He simply said because it is a new tank, I need to move into it a bit more gradually and give the pods a chance to catch up. FWIW, this stuff they brew is apparently much more diluted than what you would purchase.

But one thing is for certain, every time I dose, the pods come out of the woodwork. So they are definitely loving it.

So for now I am going to back off and just work my way into it, probably starting with 1/4 cup and get that pod population on the rise!
 
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