Phyto gone bad

[SumpinFishy]

I am currious to how you all test phyto and when to know good or bad.
I have been cultivating my own and the output has had good success after a couple early failures. Dark green. Tons of phyto under the microscope (when fresh)
However, I smell the bottle everytime before I use it.
Generally no smell is good.
But my current batch is about 5 week old it has been refrigerated.
There is a slight odor... that ocean sort of smell, a little stinky.
I put it under the microscope, there is still some movement but can't say every little critter is active.
How much movement should I see fresh out of cold storage? Should I warm it, mix it with aquarium water?
I'm apprehensive to use any phyto that has any smell.
How damaging is it to use phyto if say half the culture is not live.
Can I use this to make more? Or will dead phyto pollute and eventually kill all?

Wonder what your experiences are and open to any advice.
Also, is there

 

[bradreef]

Phyto only stays alive so long when stored and refrigerated. You said green so I would assume nanno?

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

I am currious to how you all test phyto and when to know good or bad.
I have been cultivating my own and the output has had good success after a couple early failures. Dark green. Tons of phyto under the microscope (when fresh)
However, I smell the bottle everytime before I use it.
Generally no smell is good.
But my current batch is about 5 week old it has been refrigerated.
There is a slight odor... that ocean sort of smell, a little stinky.
I put it under the microscope, there is still some movement but can't say every little critter is active.
How much movement should I see fresh out of cold storage? Should I warm it, mix it with aquarium water?
I'm apprehensive to use any phyto that has any smell.
How damaging is it to use phyto if say half the culture is not live.
Can I use this to make more? Or will dead phyto pollute and eventually kill all?

Wonder what your experiences are and open to any advice.
Also, is there

if it smells like the ocean with a mild stinky smell, or earthy, its 100%. I had some that went bad due to hot weather and it was horrible smelling. It happens.

 

[SumpinFishy]

Phyto only stays alive so long when stored and refrigerated. You said green so I would assume nanno?

Yes??? Not sure what all the phytos are and how to distinguish.
Do different ones effect specific corals or fish? Love any guidance

 

[SumpinFishy]

if it smells like the ocean with a mild stinky smell, or earthy, its 100%. I had some that went bad due to hot weather and it was horrible smelling. It happens.

Thanks

Yeah ocean earthy not make you want to toss your cookies. Under the microscope there was still movement.

 

[bradreef]

If it smells, might be time for a new order.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Yes??? Not sure what all the phytos are and how to distinguish.
Do different ones effect specific corals or fish? Love any guidance

that question is above my pay grade, lol. I would ask ReefbySteele or Ashley and David Dinkins that question. Both are incredibly helpful. I use phyto to nourish my tanks biome inside effort to control nitrate and feed the pods, and some corals from my understanding. But, I really use it to feed the pods to be honest.

 

[afboundguy]

I do 6-7 strands and some strand smell worse than others. I only ever toss it if it smells like nasty low tide/sulfur.

OP are you shaking refrigerated bottles daily?

Yes??? Not sure what all the phytos are and how to distinguish.
Do different ones effect specific corals or fish? Love any guidance

Different phyto strands fulfill different nutritional needs of your tank. Brown strands provide different nutrients than green strands and red strand. I try for a mix of green and browns and I have been trying to get a red strand going but it's been a pain in the you-know-what for me and I am about to give it my 4th or 5th try to get a culture going.

I mix my 6-7 strands when I harvest and dose my tank with them. I have a 1/2 gallon mason jar on a magnetic stirrer that doses three times a day into the sump while at the same time taking out the same amount of tank water to keep salinity stable.

Easiest way I look at it is Nanno isn't the most nutritional strand of phyto. It's not bad but by itself it is lacking nutrition. If you are just a hamburger (Nanno) everyday for the rest of your life you'd survive but how nutritional is that? Hamburger might not be best example but there is nutritional value in them just not the best.

Think of the different strands being like eating a salad, roasted chicken, salmon, turkey, carrots and green beans everyday. Much more nutritional compared to just a hamburger everyday! Hope my dumbed down explanation helps but as @ChrisfromBrick said one of the sponsors that sell phyto for a living could probably do a much better job explaining it especially in a more technical way!

 

[Reef By Steele]

Hey thanks for the shout out @ChrisfromBrick. As stated above live phyto need to be agitated at least every 3 days to keep it from
Smothering as it settles on the bottom. If you are culturing Nanno there should not be any movement as it is not motile. Tetraselmis suecica comes from fjords in northern Europe and can be quite active even when refrigerated.

Leaving the cap loose when storing allows air exchange and will lessen any stored odors. Someone mentioned sulphur smell, IMO bad Phyto will cause a gag reflex response. I would avoid any that smells super strong, but depending on what strains are in a mix, there are many strains that release sulphides as they reproduce so they will smell of sulphur.

Basically the nutritional profiles are different for every strain, and color is a fair indicator.

Greens high in fat
Golds far more nutritional value
Browns (diatoms) similar to the golds (cell walls harder due to silicate uptake
Reds similar to golds but also contain elements that can brighten coloration in fish, inverts and corals.

Each and every strain is different from motility, cell size, light and nutrient requirements for growing and nutritional value. This is why we cultivate the number of strains we do (currently 16). Some have very specific niches in the aquaculture field. We raise strains required to grow clams for example due to the cell composition, nutrition it lacks and cell size and shape, this same strain is readily consumed in our aquariums but others we culture would be too large for baby clams even though it has similar nutrition.