Tank Journal Archive

[Mr.Reeefer]

I am looking to start a phyto culture, it is a first time, i know some people say it's easy and some just can't seem to keep it going, so i am nervous as to which side of the fence i will be on, I know which side i'd like to be on....lol

So i need some help/reassurance from people with successful practical experience.

What i have/know so far.

4x 1L bottles - not all are for phyto, baby brine and rotifers also, but that will come later
Salinity 1.019 - is it better to use NSW or ASW?
Top up - RO water
Lighting - I was thinking of two of these?
http://www.bunnings.com.au/crompton-18w-bare-fluorescent-batten-light_p4376748
Air pump - Aqua one precision, up to 800L/ph - 4 outlet
soft tubing and rigid tubing - check
Food - i know i need an F2 fertilizer, can anyone recommend me a brand and where to get it from (i could find it myself but a recommendation will save me heaps of time)

I am planning on making a little cabinet for the cultures that will be fully closeable, the lights will sit inside, i plan on layering a high reflective material on the entire inside of the cabinet also to not waste any light. thoughts?

Also i was planning on buying some live phyto from my LFS to start the culture, is this a good/bad idea?

TIA

P.S, if you have a nice set up and would like to share pics i would like to see them.

 

[MagicJ]

Personally, I think 1 litre bottles are too small - 1 litre doesn't go far when you are trying to feed a bucket full of rotifers.

I used the 3 litre fruit juice bottles - the flat sides make it easier to get lots of light penetration into the bottle.

Around 1.019 is fine - the water needs to be close to sterile so ASW is best. Some people will actually chlorinate/de-chlorinate the water to prevent contamination. NSW could contain naturally occurring plankton which could outgrow your target species.

The lights should be fine - you really want the light shining through the side of the bottles rather than overhead, if possible.

I used black rigid tubes (Bunnings garden/watering section) in the bottles connected to standard silicon airline.

While an F2 fertiliser is ideal, many, including myself, have had good success with Aquasol.

The phyto from the LFS should be fine - check where it comes from and what species it is - I assume nanno.

This is my setup - with a DIY LED light frame to ensure lots of light is available to the nanno.

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

Thanks for your reply @MagicJ.

Ok so I will ditch the 1L, I was only using them as I liked the look of the bottles and wanted to start small, I have just purchased 2x 4L water bottles with flat sides.

So ASW it is. Don't know if I'm going to go through the chlorinate/dechlorinate process unless it's totally necessary?

Yes the plan is light shining through the sides, one on each side, high reflective covering to spread whatever light that missus the bottle.

Thanks for the tip, I though I had the rigid tubing, but I checked last night and I don't.

So F2 fertiliser is ideal but you use aquasol, can we not get the ideal stuff in oz? Is this the right one
http://m.yates.com.au/products/fertilising/water-soluble/aquasol/

How did you start your culture?

Nice set up mate!!!!

 

[MagicJ]

So ASW it is. Don't know if I'm going to go through the chlorinate/dechlorinate process unless it's totally necessary?

I don't, and haven't had any problems. Some people use the tank water from water changes which does need to be sterilised somehow.

I have heard of F2 being available in Australia but not readily accessible, especially if you live in Hobart !!. The Aquasol you linked to is the one I use - 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon per 3 litres is about right.

I received my original culture from a fellow member but I am pretty sure he doesn't have any at the moment. I would send you some but I am winding down for the 'winter recess' and also don't have any.

I run 20 litres in this setup when the fish/shrimp are breeding - and that is often not enough :)

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

Culture update, still working on the cabinet

Front shot


Top power and tube holes


Inside left side


Back cables


Power board


Inside right side


Power is there, just need to add more lights to expand culture volumes in the future

 

[gtrxu1]

Looking good, love the cabinet will look nice and neat.

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

Another update, not culturing yet lol, but not far now, should maybe start phyto culture within the week, brine shrimp eggs should be in my possession in about a week, so probably won't have brine shrimp happening for 2-3 weeks, I will be feeding the brine shrimp phyto to grow them and also too enrich the freshly hatched brine before feeding the tank, so I need the phyto culture to mature before brine and rotifer cultures start, anyway now for some photos

FRONT


DIY POWER


INSIDE LIGHTS OFF


INSIDE LIGHTS ON


TOP VIEW - holes are for air tubing


BACK VIEW


I'm going to make a stand for the cabinet, I wasn't planning too but I think it will be better, might put it on wheels also

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

I also have some highly reflective hydroponic material coming from China which I will lay all over the inside of the cabinet to utilize all light

 

[gtrxu1]

This has inspired me to get going again with culturing, going to setup in a nice cabinet like yours.

Awesome stuff

 

[MagicJ]

Very professional looking :worship

I wouldn't worry try too much about trying to grow out the Brine Shrimp - they are fairly messy/dirty and are not easy to keep alive in large numbers. You are better off just feeding the newly hatched ones (< 12 hours) to your tank.

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

This has inspired me to get going again with culturing, going to setup in a nice cabinet like yours.

Awesome stuff

you have just made my day...thank you:D

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

Very professional looking :worship

I wouldn't worry try too much about trying to grow out the Brine Shrimp - they are fairly messy/dirty and are not easy to keep alive in large numbers. You are better off just feeding the newly hatched ones (< 12 hours) to your tank.

Thanks magic, i hope to be doing it for a long time so i thought i would make something that will last a while and is also portable.

I will give it a go as im sure the larger fish would enjoy them, if i can't do it or it gets too difficult i'll stop, i plan to completely switch to only live foods, i am interested to see the benefits, i predict big big changes, especially since I will be feeding the tank freshly hatched and enriched brine with their yolks still attached, and also adult brine fed a variety of foods, main food will be live phyto but i will add some selco if i can get my hands on it, im expecting good fish response and coral response and good system response since no frozen foods will be added to the system, so no nasties and also as long as live foods are fed properly, no decaying missed food.

I have a whole bunch of mixed emotions, i have been planning to do this for over a year now, and now the time is near, im excited and nervous lol

 

[MagicJ]

... i plan to completely switch to only live foods ...

I applaud your enthusiasm, but please think very carefully about this plan.

First off, most of your fish will find newly hatched brine shrimp way too small - keep in mind that this is a common second food for clownfish larvae - they are only around 10 mm long when they move onto NHBBS.

Secondly, what will happen if your fish get used to only eating live foods but, for whatever reason, you are unable to supply it - your culture crashes; you loose power for a few days; you are sick etc etc

The products you are planning to culture will be great for your corals but you will still need to provide other foods for your fish.

 

[gtrxu1]

I applaud your enthusiasm, but please think very carefully about this plan.

Secondly, what will happen if your fish get used to only eating live foods but, for whatever reason, you are unable to supply it - your culture crashes; you loose power for a few days; you are sick etc etc

The products you are planning to culture will be great for your corals but you will still need to provide other foods for your fish.

I feared this might happen as well with some of the different feeding strategies I have tried over the years, It's definitely a good point.
I guess an easy fix is to use pellets a couple of times a week or once daily say in the mornings and feed the DIY feeds in the evening.

 

[MagicJ]

I guess an easy fix is to use pellets a couple of times a week or once daily say in the mornings and feed the DIY feeds in the evening.

Now that sounds like a plan ;)

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

I applaud your enthusiasm, but please think very carefully about this plan.

First off, most of your fish will find newly hatched brine shrimp way too small - keep in mind that this is a common second food for clownfish larvae - they are only around 10 mm long when they move onto NHBBS.

Secondly, what will happen if your fish get used to only eating live foods but, for whatever reason, you are unable to supply it - your culture crashes; you loose power for a few days; you are sick etc etc

The products you are planning to culture will be great for your corals but you will still need to provide other foods for your fish.

Hi magic,

And thank you again for all your input and advices.

ok that's interesting as I thought the same as you however, I have watched YouTube vids and done heaps of reading, and reefers out there seem to think the fish are eating the freshly hatched brine?? one guy dumps some into his system and half an hour later the water went from having thousands to very very little??
If the fish don't eat them that small I will just have to grow them a little first I guess.

I have an auto fish feeder that dumps some pellets in at 12pm daily, this will stay as you are definitely right.

And for culture crashes as I'm sure this will happen, I'm planing of having 2 or more cultures of everything, hopefully this will keep things going if one crashes