How to culture Phytoplankton

[@gauradas108]

Hello, thank you for this interesting video. I have never heard of culturing Phytoplankton. I use spirulina and chlorella everyday. I also started to use a phtyoplankton by the name of Nannochloropsis Gaditana. All of these are expensive for me. Do you mean that I could start with any of these and expand my quantity of them by culturing them?

[@ReefBreeders]

For this particular culture, my salinity is actually about 1.025 sg. I find that tank salinity makes the transfer to corals much easier.Thank you for providing a link to my eBay page, and you definitely did a good job on this video. -ReefBreeders

[@jtjc4912]

Great job on the video, thanks for the information. Much easier to follow and understand than the others I've seen so far!

[@MadHattersReef]

Thank for watching!

[@addictivereefkeeping]

thanks for getting back to me so soon. well ive been trying to figure it out. i ended up not losing this batch now. it was scary because it was the last of what i had. yes i sterilize the bottles with rubbing acohol and rinse with ro water and thats it. let me say one thing, i might have not been to worried about cleaning as well as i should on some of them. i dont usually split cultures from the fridge but the last three have died, so it was my only option.

[@My_Little_Hobby]

Hi, are you supposed to shake the bottle periodically while the stuff is growing or just leave it and let the sludge grow on the bottom? Thanks

[@anthonyrodriguez2570]

If I have extra room near my refugium could my refugium light work for this? Awesome vid!

[@moneymarkj]

I never thought about doing this, but now I'm thinking about it! Good Video

[@addictivereefkeeping]

Perfect!!! Gotcha. Ya i was kind of wondering if i could grow it separately and than add it all in one bottle for my fridge. But i see what your saying about the stronger strain. But it would be cool to have one batch for feeding already combined. Heres the deal. I have a place where i sell frags and now i would like to place a fridge and start bottling this stuff for the local community. So whats your thoughts on that with it being safe/ and the combined blend forsale aswell?

[@addictivereefkeeping]

@MadHatterReefs hey man. That info was killer. I was hoping there was a way to count them but from what I read its a pretty expensive component. Any other ideas? The test strips is a great idea as well. Thanks for your help.

[@MadHattersReef]

@ifleitas its called F2, A Lab made fertilizer

[@foskett96]

hi i am new to culturing phytoplankton, so i bought some phytoplankton and some copepods and rotifers to start to new cultures. how can i grow phytoplankton effectively whilst also feeding the copepods and rotifers culture. do u need to add the fertiliser to the phytoplankton everyday and do i need to feed the copepods and rotifers with the phytoplankton everyday. please help thank you

[@MadHattersReef]

Rigid tubing makes it easy to make sure your at the bottom of the vessel, but you can use flex just the same.

[@bearclawws]

Thanks for your video :) I like the way you did it, clean and simple. Thanks for sharing

[@alireza_zeynivand]

Hi bro Can we make our own phytoplankton fertilizer ?

[@yagizalptekin]

can we use the phytoplankton's to produce more oxygen at home

[@CozmoCreepers1983]

How often do you need to feed the phytoplankton the F2?

[@jasonGardner777]

+anastasia beaverhausen I hae been only adding it when I split the cultures. I put 1ml for 500ml and let that run for a week and when I split those I add 1ml again. The F2 does not expire for a long time.

[@MadHattersReef]

@TheKleinReef I ordered it from a Lab once and it took for ever to get to me. I've been getting it on E*bay as of lately.

[@MrRoadkill282002]

I'm just starting a culture. I went with a petri dish that is needs to sit for 24 hours. This may be a stupid question but on the sterile bottle after using rubbing alcohol do I need to rinse the bottle?

[@addictivereefkeeping]

so now i haver lost three batches in a row. whats going on? im not doing anything different. is there a problem taking 2 week old batchs out of the fridge to reproduce again. im not sure why there dying off.

[@jean9910]

Where did you get those lights? both the fixture and the bulbs.

[@blackwood5851]

I want to grow phytoplankton to feed brine shrimp and rotifers. How can I separate the algae from the water itself? Otherwise it will be impossible to harvest the brine shrimp without taking the algae with it

[@addictivereefkeeping]

Hey bro need help. Im doing really good on the phytoplankton growing. For some reason my plankton is black in less than three days. Im using less than 1 ml of mircale grow pure water bottle. You said i could do a cell count. I will be getting a microscope to do so. Whats a good number to have in a slide or a certian amount of ounces? And how do i test the nitrates and phosphates when the water isnt clear? I just want to make sure im making a safe product. Thanks bro.

[@addictivereefkeeping]

Ya i will make a video ive been snapping photos and shooting videos to put together. Sorry what does MG mean? Ya im figuring the darker the better. The only thing that concerns me a little is how much darker mine is compared to the orignal DTs culture i started from. I know the darker the better. Hey whats your thoughts on blending plankton? Like three different types. When can i put them all together in the same bottle? Thanks bro

[@MadHattersReef]

@foskett96 I only dose my cultures once a week with F2 or "phytofood" that can be found on Ebay. With feeding Copepods and Rotifers I would make sure you keep the water a light green color.

[@MadHattersReef]

I do........ but if you have a lot of build up at the bottom you may need more air bubbles.

[@rlburton]

try a flat water-filled bottle (like a glass flask) in front of the lamps to absorb the infrared so the phytoplankton don't get hot

[@JKPhotographyHouston]

quick question. Do you have to let the lights turn off for some time during the day like a refugium or do you leave it on all day and all night? The lights that I'm running are remote/programable so if I cut the power, it will stay off.

[@MadHattersReef]

No 24/7

[@TheAcousticSwagg]

what is the maintenance schedule for the culture? do i change %10 of the water everyday like rotifers?

[@jamesmartin60]

Have you taken/done a reading for NO2 and Po4 on your culture before putting into your tank ??

[@joem6170]

Mate.. instead of premix saltwater wat do u think abt using seawater?? You think it will crash?

[@MadHattersReef]

@ljusta np. Thanks for Watching!

[@UserName-io5jn]

Hello. Thanks for uploading this video, it's very helpful. I do however, have a question regarding phytoplankton. Is phytoplankton exclusively marine? Because I am planning on starting a freshwater aquarium that consists of small invertebrates, such as Daphnia, copepods, amphipods, etc. I was interested in raising phytoplankton as a food source for these inverts, but I am somewhat confused as to whether or not green water can be cultured in fresh water. Thanks!

[@bahirtunca4485]

İyi günler. Besi kültüründe kullanılan kimyasalları ,cins ve mitar olarak yazabilirmisini. Teşekkürler.

[@baseballtothemax101]

Nice video! Can I ask how to store the starter culture if I don't use all of it right away?

[@MadHattersReef]

in the fridge or freezer

[@akhilennium]

what is F2??? is the iron supplement we add for Macro algae??

[@tauqeerhaider4820]

Sir can I used this processes apply a big pound Plz send me reply and detail formula

[@haldarjan1516]

How much salt in the water

[@harishkumaru589]

Is it edible & food grade. Can we use the same setup for human consumption. Is it safe to do that?

[@MadHattersReef]

I would not.

[@myself9128]

Your vids got me up and running successfully, thanks. Do you know what your average phyto count per 1ml is from a weekly culture?

[@MadHattersReef]

I would think so but I haven't tried it.

[@eroggero]

Just started trying this, I seem to get a lot of settlement in the bottom of bottle, is that normal? Thanks

[@osubeaz]

What do you do with them

[@jjflounder1]

How much ... How often.. do you dose to your MDT ?

[@jerielalex1]

how long you leave the ligths on?

[@mushroomtoad2000]

Can it do without air pump?

[@wortwortwort5723]

Could you have the culture by a widow that gets good sunlight?

[@MadHattersReef]

Maybe, I've never have tried that.

[@MadHattersReef]

@jerielalex1 I leave them on 24 hours a day. Most hobbyist run the lights 12 to 16 hours a day.

[@goatext1117]

were did you get that

[@garionporter5961]

I am trying with kent chromamax, but it comes out a rusty color. Is is dead ( was it ever alive-I thought it was...maybe it's just marine food??) I have seen no green yet.

[@theasualt6759]

where you get that

[@FFKiwi1]

Hey there! Can i use Phyto feast LIVE as a starter culture and do this?

[@MadHattersReef]

+Lisa DeMayo as long as its alive you can culture it.

[@luiscenturion8815]

HI , sorry i don't understand what is the in the little bottle that you put at the end with stringe ? Thanks

[@MadHattersReef]

It's F2. basically a fertilizer/food for the phytoplankton. You can find it on Ebay as well.

[@MadHattersReef]

Lol. If its dark Green your doing good. Just make sure you test it with using MG. let me know how you make out... Post a Vid

[@taile7973]

Hey can you please tell me where did you get your starting culture from? I got one from Ebay and they're not green like the one you got...

[@MadHattersReef]

The guy that I got this culture from no longer sells on ebay. Phytoplankton can become stressed during shipment. Give your culture a shot and maybe you can nurse it back to health. I sell on ebay from time to time but I'm having a hard time keeping up with my rotifer cultures right now, so I don't not have any listings at the moment.

[@varian206]

how to prevent the contamination from salt water? do we have to boiled it before we use it?

[@midnightwaves01]

Boiling the water would kill all the live plankton you just grew.

[@adjusterfrank]

Nice video. Thanks for the schooling!

[@wcdeich4]

how many ml / L fertilizer for the phytoplankton? Did you say 1.020 specific gravity?

[@MadHattersReef]

I was using 5ml per liter. I also keep the salt low the phytoplankton seems to do better.

[@FrankGainsford]

Mad Hatter's Reef I have been led to believe that phytoplankton do best in nature where sweet water (River water) mix with sea water (salt water) so your comment on keeping salt content low sounds very important..... can any body confirm this ?? @lacerant Planer

[@MadHattersReef]

@cichlidmania26 I'll send you some good reading on cell counts via Email and as far as Testing the cultures I would try using testing strips. (old School).

[@firebirdnewt]

can you use freshwater instead of salt water?

[@MadHattersReef]

+firebirdnewt this species of phytoplankton needs saltwater. There are other species that can live in freshwater.

[@MadHattersReef]

Different types of Phytoplankton are different colors. I'm not sure if Chromamax is alive or even what types of plankton are in it for that matter. If you want to get into culturing I would look for something that states "Live" and go from there. Your better off sticking to one species rather than mixed cultures because they will compete and one will win and take over the culture.

[@MadHattersReef]

@bmyers82 I use 1ml on my cultures.

[@1948DESMOND]

does phytoplankton help in any waywith serious depresesion, somethint i have had now for the past sixteen years?????

[@yellowhelix]

Hi Joseph, I know this was 5 months ago, but I hope you're doing okay. Sending some good vibes your way :)

[@MadHattersReef]

The stuff that glows in the ocean is called Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates its not phytoplankton and I wouldn't eat it.

[@micheleantinozzi7080]

What kind of light you used for grow?

[@MadHattersReef]

A shop light with daylight bulbs works fine.

[@azflying]

Great video!

[@tannersmith2000]

Where did you buy the rigid air line tubing?

[@MadHattersReef]

I buy it online and my LFS.

[@mushroomtoad2000]

Can it do without an air pump?

[@RyanSultana]

Fukano Nakito Organisms need oxygen to grow so no

[@MadHattersReef]

Ryan Sultana Phyto produces O2. The air is to ensure the cells do not crush themselves.

[@Victor-ko1xt]

does this work with fresh water

[@error50012]

No

[@krisnabudiyanto7359]

What's the other name of F2

[@aquariumdirect9408]

where did you buy the f2? have a link?

[@MadHattersReef]

Haven't bought any in awhile so I'm not sure where to get it.

[@anandajidasa]

WHY ARENT IT FLOURECENT LIKE IN THE OCEAN ?? do you know i wonder and there seem to be no awnser to my question- if i should eat it i want the flourecent stuff-

[@Tbobization]

I know this is an old video. What salt can you use to culture phytoplankton?

[@4ballen]

any kind of reef/fish salt

[@Tbobization]

Can you use regular table salt?

[@leonardotheuseless4188]

@@Tbobization no

[@JamsouRy]

How do you know when the phytoplankton is done splitting?

[@MadHattersReef]

+Ryan Reynoso after while you get a feel for it but just wait until it gets dark.

[@wcdeich4]

Does the phytoplankton have any smell to it?

[@MadHattersReef]

wcdeich4 online if something is wrong. Otherwise it should smell like clean saltwater.

[@AberdolphLinklr]

how do you then isolate the plankton to eat? you don't just drink the bottle right?

[@MadHattersReef]

I feed my aquariums with it. I don't eat it.

[@AberdolphLinklr]

Mad Hatter's Reef dang, I've been trying to find a way to harvest these guys for people but I cannot find anything on it:-( Thank you for the reply!!

[@eyesonyou2ube]

@MadHatterReefs I bet you do how much you asking for a starter kit

[@fallbackseal5933]

Is It Shiny?

[@MadHattersReef]

I'm not sure but I'd be will to bet it does... I haven't needed to culture freshwater algae.

[@hamam1994]

hey, do you mind if we talk please. I am doing a research on phytoplankton and would like to learn more about culutring them

[@Boytrantampq240688]

Hi brother If I can not buy phytoplankton, is there a way to salvage them in the sea? For I am near the sea.

[@MadHattersReef]

I wouldn't just because you would have more than just plankton

[@DraGon-cg6ge]

phytoplankton for oysters?

[@ljusta]

Great and ty for how to grow it.

[@jean9910]

Is 1.024 ok?

[@bfbaquaculture]

yes that should be fine

[@MadHattersReef]

I have never used cultures from the Fridge before, I always split fresh cultures. That may be it or.... Are you sterilizing your culture when you are splitting them? Bacteria will kill Phytoplankton as well.

[@Victor-ko1xt]

you could technically just mix it with sea creatures and their waste will feed them?

[@JanetDiaz6152]

how do i know if i did it correctly ??

[@jasonGardner777]

+Janet Diaz I started a batch last Thursday and I noticed the color getting darker and darker. I am almost at the color of the original culture even though I have 2 more days to go. Everywhere I have read they have said to let it run for a week.

[@JanetDiaz6152]

Hi Jason.. Last summer . I was putting a cupful and notice a big increase of algae growth in tank.. I stop and discarded the batch...

[@jasonGardner777]

+Janet Diaz I am hoping to use this to feed my copepod breeding. Time will tell.

[@MadHattersReef]

I got mine on Ebay.

[@MadHattersReef]

F2 is a formula made in a lab that gives phytoplankton food to grow.

[@MadHattersReef]

@moneymarkj It's pretty easy to do and it also a great food source for the Aquarium when you get into culturing Rotifers and Copepods.

[@MrCocaines]

what are you doing with this ??

[@GROMALOCARIS]

what happens if you drink it?

[@MadHattersReef]

I would drink what I'm doing but there is a kind that is for people. Just not this stuff.

[@oscar33127]

How much f2 for a 2 litter bottel my freand

[@MadHattersReef]

Here's a good article: www.melevsreef.com/articles/culture-your-own-phytoplankton

[@CahnDalan310]

Josss jon

[@ardiansyahputra6852]

Plis translate text

[@PSFHubrack]

its to see this video ..great

[@eyesonyou2ube]

I am going to this as soon as I can get some to start I want to feed my tank every night with this with a slow drip dose!

[@MadHattersReef]

You just want to make sure that your product is what you say it is, for your customers.

[@billfrater1948]

Bearing in mind most of us watching this know nothing about Phytoplankton Culture. Split in a week, What does that mean?

[@terryyoon1856]

It's not bad

[@MadHattersReef]

@osubeaz Feed my Reef Critters with it