Migraines… from Phytoplankton

[Chikpeas]

Should I add Phytoplankton to an empty tank? I was wondering if they could possibly prevent any ugly stages that might happen once the light is on in a young tank, and if they would be stable enough by the time corals are added? Or should I just dose them in when I get corals?

i AM worried they would cause my tank to bottom out, since it’s literally 12 days old and there’s not much going on. so if they’re added, and they’re going to be by themselves for a hot minute, do you only have to throw a light on them? Do I need to be feeding my bacteria more? What parameters would they affect, and would I need to dose back- or would a water change fix it?

I want to be prepared so I’m not freaking out in the future…

 

[iceman14555]

What kind of cycle are you doing? If you're going for a microbiome cycle then phyto should be fine with all the other life going on microscopically. If you're doing a fishless dry rock cycle, then you're going to add phyto for it to just die off and add excess nutrients to an unstable system.

I recommend you take a look into the BRS videos about biome cycling. Pretty intriguing. If you haven't already, I also highly recommend Turbo Start 900 (very concentrated live marine bacteria). If you have the time, money, and patience, check out a package from Tampa Bay Saltwater. If you get a treasure chest, it'll come right to your door.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

If you add live Phyto to an empty tank and have light on it, you will create a large Phyto culture for a bit then die. If there is no light it will die. Think of Phyto as a plant. The reason you would add Phyto to a tank is because it is food. That food can be for pods, rotifers, corals, fish etc. While Phyto is alive in your tank they will feed on Po4 and No3.
I personally feed Tet, Nano and Iso a couple times a day in my systems.

 

[Chikpeas]

What kind of cycle are you doing? If you're going for a microbiome cycle then phyto should be fine with all the other life going on microscopically. If you're doing a fishless dry rock cycle, then you're going to add phyto for it to just die off and add excess nutrients to an unstable system.

I recommend you take a look into the BRS videos about biome cycling. Pretty intriguing. If you haven't already, I also highly recommend Turbo Start 900 (very concentrated live marine bacteria). If you have the time, money, and patience, check out a package from Tampa Bay Saltwater. If you get a treasure chest, it'll come right to your door.

Currently it’s a dry rock and live sand—- but it’s also about to be a bit of all of the above. I’m going to throw in a little bit of marine bacteria (a smidge to make sure my tests are reading right.)
and then I actually have rock from TBS coming on the 16th, so that’s when I was thinking of adding them! Funny that you should mention it. I just won’t have any fish or anything to add waste to the column. /:

So that’s where I’m wondering if I have to manually replace what a fish would do.

 

[iceman14555]

Currently it’s a dry rock and live sand—- but it’s also about to be a bit of all of the above. I’m going to throw in a little bit of marine bacteria (a smidge to make sure my tests are reading right.)
and then I actually have rock from TBS coming on the 16th, so that’s when I was thinking of adding them! Funny that you should mention it. I just won’t have any fish or anything to add waste to the column. /:

So that’s where I’m wondering if I have to manually replace what a fish would do.

You are correct, if you don't have a fish, you can add the waste that they would create manually. I really doesn't take much and it can "kickstart" your nitro cycle quickly. Here is one such product that can help do that. I used it in my cycle; it works well. https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/aquarium-supplies/chemicals-and-additives/nitrocycle/

A word of warning though, if you have live animals in the tank already, don't use this or anything similar.