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I do once a week and have no problem with my pods multiplying. They are all over my sump.
I add about 1 ounce using algae barn phytoplankton. I met the guys who sell it at RAP NY and bought it from them and they advise it would be good enough on a single dose. I just do it once a week as it seems to work for me. I have a 75 gal tank with a 30 gal sump.What phytoplankton ratio to tank gallons do you put in?
is this necessary?
No.
All commonly available corals in the hobby do not eat phytoplankton. Zooplankton eats phytoplankton, but you don’t have any zooplankton in your tank because it would all get filtered out or eaten before you could maintain a sustainable population. This is why people have to raise things like phytoplankton, rotifers, brine shrimp, and planktonic copepods in a separate system. True, most tanks have copepods and amphipods, but these are benthic (live on the locks/sand), not planktonic, and the algae they eat is likely benthic too.
Coral reefs are largely devoid of phytoplankton - that is why the water is so clear. There are plenty of things that eat phytoplankton in the ocean, but most don’t live on reefs, and they would require constant dosing to stay alive in an aquarium.
Filter feeders could benefit. If you, for example, have a small enough clam that can't get enough from just light because the mantel isn't big enough yet, phyto is necessary. I've had to keep one in a glass bowl in the display tank, and daily pull the bowl out of the water, and dose straight into the bowl and let the clam filter for awhile. It was a lot of work...
SpongeBob and Patrick have to eat somethingNo not a scam phytoplankton creates oxygen in the water column along with lowering nutrients and yes your corals do eat it. Just incase someone stumbles upon this page on a Google search and gets discouraged
How much ?I feed phyto daily in my 30g
I have read similar am I correct they act like a mini refuge in the tank absorbing pest nutrientsNo not a scam phytoplankton creates oxygen in the water column along with lowering nutrients and yes your corals do eat it. Just incase someone stumbles upon this page on a Google search and gets discouraged