obrien.david.j

I did not get the PA storage system/sealer thing. Much simpler to order 32oz clear bottles (at ~$2/ea) and just wash them. Also faster to pour them into the tank. For bag and tubing kits, Yes, I ordered a bunch of extra up front. 1. ordered it all from Poseidon Reef directly, not through bulk reef. I could order all the extras at once, plus it then comes with the starter cultures. When ordering, spare bags/tubes were at a discount. So I ordered ~5 extra sets, plus set of 200ml fertilizer, plus 4 jars, plus larger air pump. BTW, I still prefer my old tetra luft air pumps. 2. For bottling supplies, I ordered 32oz bottles, baby bottle drying rack, bottle washing attachment for faucet, and larger funnel to fill them with. 3. For harvesting and restarting, I like really like my 3l beaker which fits almost a whole jar of phyto at once, plus extra 250ml+ plastic beakers to hold restart cultures. Amazon orders looked like this:

Thanks for the feedback that the thread has been useful. BTW, with all my "Correcting nutrients/elements" and getting bio back under control, and now daily phyto dosing and silica addtions... My sand still has Dinos. BUT, besides the bit of ugly brown color... The Tank Has Exploded. Corals growing like crazy/etc. On Phyto system, I bought the Poseidon system for the same reasons you list. Turn Key, Smaller Footprint, just follow their recipe/Fast weekly harvests... less about cost. And it works. Simple as that. I'm running 4 jars growing phyto, I can harvest and restart the setup in 30-45 minutes once every ~7-10 days. If interested, I can list the other items I'm finding useful to get this fully going. At this point I'm adding >=32oz of phyto to my tank daily. What I've gotten out of Poseidon is the concept of Regular Sterilizations. Every Week everything is new, clean, and freshly wiped down with alcohol. (new bags and airline hoses, so they start clean). I'm playing with continuous grow, see other thread, but put it outside because I didn't want more space taken up inside with grow lights. I'm likely to buy flex LED lights, wrap around the 5gal jar, and move inside - a home made Poseidon reactor. 1 gallon jars, with bags inside, are easy to harvest and restart - because you just pick them up and pour. (Poseidon setup) 5 gallon jar needed a spout to make it manageable, which means no internal bags. So either continuous grow, or more labor intensive full scrub/clean weekly. (which I'm not doing, so it's continuous grow style for me) Send me some links to the commercial reactors that streamline stuff, that allow for smaller footprint. (at a hobbyist scale) I'd like to research. And in summary, I started this being more interested in turn key and low footprint, than DIY and saving money. BTW - if your thinking of ordering Poseidon, ping me first. I've got some learnings to share on extras to include in the initial order up front.

I've got a bunch of Montipora spongodes and classic red Montipora capricornis. Happy to offer chunks, cheap.

Harvest #13 done - both phyto and pods again cooked a little longer than usual. 10days instead normal ~7days (was on vacation) Pods consumed all their phyto over the 10days, were basically clear water when harvested. I think these can grow faster if I feed them more... Currently feeding them almost an entire jar of grown phyto each week Harvested, and all restarted Pod Harvest

Well... Temp does seem to create problems. I've been off grid for a week fishing salmon in Alaska. Came home to our high temps, and culture looks crashed. Likely calling this experiment too temperamental and moving inside. This looks crashed to me. (big chunks at the bottom, basically clear liquid)

Over heating hasn't been a problem so far, but have you looked at the forecast for next week? Thanks

Harvest #12 complete. Both Phyto and Pods First grow of Phyto using all four PhytoTanks went fine. Pods in their own jar went fine. This was a dense culture. They stripped all phyto from the jar in 3 days. Had to refill mid-week. Before harvest, notice bright phyto and completely clear pod jar in the middle. Phyto Harvest and Reset: Pod Harvest, in bottom of 250um and 120um sieves Completely set back up. (pod jar in center)

Harvest #1, about 2.5gallons today. Observations: Spout makes it super easy to harvest. "Continuous Grow" concept made it easy to harvest, and reset up. Just Draw down some phyto, add 5gallons of weekly fertilizer, and top off container with fresh/clean salt water. (aka, 2.5 gallons today) Acknowledging risk of Continuous Grow is culture crashes from contamination. Oh well. But, Conclusion from this harvest... Phyto was not as dense as my inside grow harvest, which I also did today. Let's see how this goes. Maybe the cooler temperature from being outside means it takes longer to grow between harvests. Harvest #1: Outside vs Inside phyto compare. Inside looks denser/darker to me.

I've been considering the same switch. So whoever bought them, Maybe post your experience and thoughts openly. I'd like to learn from them too.

I was thinking the same thing, except I found a reference on a site selling clear cast acrylic, 3/4" thick sheets (0.708)... Heck, maybe acrylic is like lumber. A "2x4" is less than 2 inches x 4 inches. https://www.regionalsupply.com/itemdetail/?itemCode=ACR CLR 0.750 CAST 48X96

Thursday evening - Outdoor Phyto looks to be successful This is approximately 1 week of growth I normally harvest inside-phyto every 7-9days I think I'll do the same here. (harvest this weekend) I'm going to treat this grow differently than inside grow and treat it as an almost continuous grow. Harvest most phyto, refill jar with fresh salt water, add appropriate fertilizer, and just let it keep growing again. Not planning to fully drain, sterilize container, and start again from scratch.

Looks like this is 3/4", not 1". Right? The receipt description implies Cast Acrylic to me.

None in my system

I second saltyunderground. Have done two orders from them. Good source.

@pdxmonkeyboy - Thank you for lending your experience and helping read between the potential lines. Way to help the community out.

Through my various experiences eliminating aptasia over the years, I've come to the conclusion treatment in the display tank depends on display tank conditions. 1. If you're a heavy daily feeder, you're less likely to succeed with In-Tank eaters. (peppermint shrimp, filefish, butterflies, etc) You're giving them easy food, they're full, why would they eat an aptaia. 2. Berghia Nudibranchs are the exception, they only eat aptasia - so feeding the tank doesn't matter. But there's a caveat... 3. If you've got Amphipods, they eat Berghia eggs - and Berghia don't work. All three of these conditions unfortunately applied to my situation. I was running chronically low on PO4 and NO3, and Feeding Like Crazy. Tried Berghia, but the population never took off. Turns out I have a huge/healthy Amphipod population, I'd subscribed to FloridaPets to have Amphipods delivered every two weeks for about three months. That's why I ended up doing an isolation tank kill method, using peppermint shrimp, in an Unfed env. Which worked. I think this same method would work using either fish too.

You know what's really cool looking.... The THREE filefish I have in my tank. They're cool as a group. Bought each as Known Aptasia Eater... and they didn't touch them. My Copper banded butterfly fish is also cool looking... and didn't touch my aptasia. In fairness, I like to feed the tank heavily every day. So my theory is, my food was easer to get than munching on aptasia. And that's why I needed to setup the isolated tank with shrimp, feed nothing, and let them eat Aptasia there. And I'm still enjoying the heck out of the three filefish in my tank. Aptasia Free.

Peppermint shrimp worked for me, but I had to overwhelm the rocks in a dedicated / unfed separate tank. They'd never worked before for me.

Inside colors up "quickly" (few days), but I've never tried a 48hr check. It's also tough because I don't have anything to measure algae density. Inside is warmer, and more Direct light. I've been worried about how much sun light is really making it to the outside jar, especially with all the recent rain. I posted because I was happy I saw ANY color change. I started this outside grow Using the Poseidon kit ratios. Approximately 250ml of culture, per gallon of water. Approximately 2ml of A&B fertilizer, per gallon of water. Knowing the Poseidon kit doesn't actually hold a full gallon. But I didn't fill my outside container to the top either. So it's approx.

I've heard stories of people accidently taking a big sip of saltwater phyto... with obvious results.

I can visibly see phyto growth! Picture on Friday vs Picture on Sunday, approximately same time of day. Not bad for two days of growth. Friday, notice how easy it is to see the green bubbler hose inside the tank Sunday, green hose is much harder to see

Harvest #11 done - and Expansion Strategy executed Harvested as normal Copepods have been growing, and consuming lots of phyto. (32oz every 3rd day) Made a change. Moved the Pods to their own gallon jar, without fancy phytotank LED's. Free'ing up a PhytoJar. Expanded weekly Phyto grow from 3 jars to 4 jars Started Outdoor Phyto Grow Experiment. (this is not supportable year round, but an interesting experiment during the warmer months) Pods moved from PhytoTank Jar, to a vanilla glass jar Harvest #11 Complete, with 4th PhytoTank converted to phyto Final Arrangement, to still give some light to Pods jar Outdoor Phyto Grow Experiment

And within an hour of setting this up, the rain protection gear got it's first test. IMG_5569.MOV

I'm currently in my 11th cycle of growing phyto using the Poseidon Reef Systems 1 gallon jar setups. (see My Battle with Dinos thread). But my I want More! Copepods have taken off and I'd like to double their capacity... but don't have enough phyto to keep them, and my display tank, both fed. Inspired by others on the internet, I started an experimental outside phyto grow using a 5 gallon container. I tried to get this setup last weekend, but the spigot leaked and I had to replace it. Let's see how this goes. Maybe I can get a summer's worth of grow out of this, before temperatures turn too cool in the fall. "Tin Man" hat (inverted funnel) is to keep rain water from pooling on the cover. Air pump is protected from rain by this plastic box.

And the same view, at the end of the day - with lights. Yes, I've still got Dinos on my gravel.