Eatfrenchfries

In my understanding of zonal nutrient loops I sought to understand how cryptic zones may process dissolved organic carbon in a reef environment. Haven't quite figured it out but my culture practices provided some insight. Biological Carbon Pump: Dissolved CO2 in seawater is incorporated by phytoplankton into organic molecules -> grazing by zooplankton leaks organic molecules + phytoplankton decay leaks organic molecules = dissolved organic carbon + detritus (particulate organic matter) - detritus that cannot be easily processed sinks to the bottom to be cycled by different microbes Microbial carbon Pump: Dissolved organic carbon from phytoplankton and zooplankton fuel bacteria growth -> bacteria recycle what DOC molecules they can until nothing is "usable" -> bacteria release CO2 back into atmosphere + refractory dissolved organic carbon (unusable components) -refractory carbon is photodegradable Nutrient Zone Balance: Controlling nutrients in a reef tank is about stocking, filtration, feeding quantity/frequency, etc. Let us break it down to C : N : P , our tank requires some sort of ratio to efficiently function. Unbalanced Nutrients: excess Nitrate + phytoplankton ( leaking DOC) --> reduces zooplankton consumption -> no detritus being made + plenty of DOC -> microbes thrive -> high refractory dissolved organic matter (constantly suspended matter)-> in the ocean would flow with the current and be hard to sink/tank should be removed via fine filtration Balanced Nutrients: proper maintenance of the C : N : P ratio -> phytoplankton -> grazed by zooplankton -> detritus -> particulate organic matter is made of aggregate or fast sinking particles easily removed via filtration Marine Paramecium Culture: Primarily used in freshwater aquaculture as a food for fish fry. It is known to eat algae and bacteria. Developing a culture for marine turned out to be rather difficult since there are a number of harmful ciliates. Luckily a friend from across the pond recommended isolating "green" ciliates found in the same environments as rotifer and brine cysts. "Green" ciliates were isolated and put into production after the 5th attempt. They are fed a variety of phytoplankton but prefer leaky cells, smaller cells, bacteria smaller than them. No predation has been observed. *microbes make up 90% of the weight in ocean water. Corals are bacterivores. -Tanks nowadays are often started "sterile" which limits what our biodiversity can produce for itself. If our tank cannot produce a remedy for itself then why not make one for it. -A lot of my live foods are fed live phytoplankton religiously. You can imagine I have built up quite a large amount of detritus and organic carbon in these culture tanks (buckets) which do not receive water changes. -Utilizing Purple Non Sulphur Bacteria the dissolved organics were being processed and the molecules rendered inert keeping the culture from crashing when parameters become unbalanced -Constant microbial blooms can reduce visibility and suffocate copepod cultures - Paramecium helps reduce other bacteria in the water. Can be used as an intermediary food source on pod production Photos below are of Paramecium in culture being fed a mix of phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, zooxanthellae, and purple non sulphur bacteria. (oval figures with fine hairs and green dots) *Unsure of application for larval fish rearing. *high potential as a culture additive to reduce stress *food akin to rotifers but more readily consumed by corals *consumer of decomposing matter *microbial competitor

Hope everyone is doing well and they are keeping their tanks warm. Power came back on for me after 52 hours. Bad - Complete loss of life in all tanks (240g total). - Halted all pod production. Unknown if total loss. With my luck it'll just be Tigriopus and rotifers alive. - breeding projects....gone - bacteria culture projects..... gone Good - saved all of the phytoplankton in my collection. Shaken on the hour every hour. - only thing to survive the tank wipes was Sargassum (prefers cooler temps) - mangroves are fine Ran a Ecoflow delta, Yeti 1500x, and hooked up a marine battery. Managed to keep power up for close to 40 hours. After that I was charging power cells st work to take home. But in the end it was not enough. I staggered what I could, went manual where I could. The hardest part was keeping the heat up in my apartment. Next time I'll get a place with wood burning capability or allow gas/propane generator. Maybe I just had too many things to take care of. The big glass sliding door facing a frozen creek didn't help either, terrible insulation. Regardless, it was definitely a learning experience for me. Not sure where to go from here. Stepping away is not likely. Though my heart is definitely not in it right now.

Close to 30 hours without power. Main marine battery is keeping my reptile/invert collection alive. Ran out of backup batteries to keep the aquariums heated and aerated. Been manually shaking the phytoplankton cultures every hour. Fingers crossed power is restored soon.

(Acartia t.) (Pseudodiaptomus p. naupliar) parvo - Trim.mp4 (Parvocalanus c. jumping faster than I can focus) Pelagic inhabits the water column (excellent feeders or breeding) Benthic inhabits surfaces (excellent for foragers, colonizing, CUC) Benthic Copepod Blend (16oz): $15 the pods available in this blend will populate reef aquaria and consume detritus. No phyto supplementation is required but can be extremely beneficial. Tigriopus californicus Tisbe biminiensis Apocyclops panamensis Euterpina acutifrons Pelagic + Benthic Blend (16oz): $25 pods in this blend include four benthic species Tigriopus californicus Tisbe biminiensis Apocyclops panamensis Euterpina acutifrons and the addition of three pelagic species which require live phytoplankton supplementation to produce Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus Acartia tonsa Parvocalanus crassirostris Location: Raleigh Hills (Scholls x Oleson) Shipping: Yes Reference as of 2/6/ 24

Definitely remove the ulva as it can be quite invasive in a reef. As you can see it is already hampering coral growth by growing on fresh tips (skeleton). But it does make excellent export. If a nutrient issue arises, it could take hold and become unruly. It is the most palatable of all the algae. It'll grow faster than most CUC can eat it. Fish would be preferable. Manual export is advised. Some species of ulva are sought in culture. It can be quite a tool

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. 2023 was an eventful year that taught me a lot. Thank you to everyone in the community. Special thanks to everyone who has supported my development. Would not be here if not for all of you. A lot of people ask me about my "setup." Tis not much but this is my primary workstation. Pretty much decided to see how much I can fit into my apartment without my girlfriend killing me. (Picture: zooplantkon production on the left rack / computer and more zooplankton behind it / 90gallon macro growout t5 top, led actinic bottom) Zooplankton production except rotifers and brine. Buckets have hardier species. Clear vessels contain pods that require fresh food daily. Fresh and salt zooplankton are here. 7 marine pods,1 amphipod, 2 rotifers, 2 fresh pods, 2 water fleas, black / white worms, brine (baby + adult) in full production. Currently developing the capability to culture 2 new marine pods. Top of the rack. Crayfish, black worms in the tubs. Buckets contain rotating pod cultures that I experiment with. Vases under the poster contain freshwater zooplankton (moina, daphnia, cyclops, diaptomus). Out of view. Brute trashcan for amphipod rearing. Microalgae culture station. Masters on top. Bulk on bottom are rotated weekly to keep water down. Currently maintain 15 distinct cultures. Currently only two breeding projects. Halocaridina rubra (top) and Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis (bottom). Got a little saltwater hydroponic set up. Mainly red / black / orange mangroves, but there is a bit of seapurslane grown in a coc coir. Stocked with guppies / ghost shrimp / purple and green bacterial mats @ 1.024 salinity Bacteria, rotifers, and brine are kept in a separate "office" room. Helps keep contamination down. Slowly learning to not be pulled in different directions. Just do what makes me happy.

Bump.

@Lexinverts Trials with these "wild" specimens are currently underway. ( t. Squamosa + R. BTA + gb. Montipora) My current blend of phytoplankton incorporates two strains of zooxanthellae already. ( t. Derasa + microadriatica) I am prospecting to make a blend of zooxanthellae for recovery purposes.

No clam was killed. Mantle extraction is viable for culture. Currently 4th generation. Tridacna Clam Spin.mp4 Focus in the video starts with the zooxanthellae and shifts to the zoochlorellae. Very dense. I am looking for goniastrea to attempt an extraction from

Yes but not with my current method which may be viable for culture. Looking for volunteers. It is on my list to obtain all the clades. Currently only have A and B

suspected Clade "A" BTA Zoo alive.mp4 viable.mp4 0003.bmp 0004.bmp 0005.bmp 0006.bmp 0007.bmp 0008.bmp 0009.bmp BTA ZOO 2.bmp BTA ZOO.bmp 0008.bmp

Location: Raleigh Hills Shipping: Yes Pickup: Yes All single strains are made to order by splitting my masters. Majority of the strains have been cultivated by me for 2+ years. 500mL (16.9floz) Chlorella v. $10 (fresh) Nannochloropsis o. $10 (fresh/salt) Tetraselmis c. $15 (brackish/salt) Isochrysis g. $20 (salt) Thalassiosira w. $20 (salt) *Please contact me directly for a larger start. *availability varies each week depending on personal use* *More phytoplankton strains coming soon. *****Culture Lab unveiling coming soon*****

Thank you to everyone who attended. Twas a lot of fun.

Just had a smelly harvest. Pickup is this Sunday at the holiday party. If you will not be attending please let me know so we can work something out. I have approximately 1.3 gallons (5000mL) of PNSB up for grabs. *next batch is scheduled for January 8th picture: sea purslane grown at 1.025 in my purple bacteria/mangrove tank

It looks like mucus plugs. I concur with a bacteria / viral infection. Your best best would be to find the environmental stressor that triggered the event. Second would be to boost the immune system. Broad antibiotics is best in a separate tank. How did you rule out ich and velvet?

Forages constantly since they eat as long as there is light. They inhabit the area under a reef usually. Eating lots small inverts + worms. Reminds me of a cross between a big wrasse/anthias. These fish have amazing eyesight. Also can dart very fast so have a lid and be wary around the tank. They come from slightly deeper waters so lights can be disorienting if not consistent. If startled they will go a designated zone they find / make. For some reason they will do a "holdo maneuver" into SPS coral thinking they can fit but they do not. Color schemes relate to moods but flashing through the full color range is typically stress. I've seen yellow, orange during feeding. Blue, purple, green. And white during handling/transport. It's not that they do not last long but take time to acclimate successfully to your aquarium. If you want more than one you will need a pair. Groups are not a good idea as they will fight for food. The flashing part is cool but it isn't a frequent occurrence unless something is triggering it.

@Krux Ideally you would want Tisbe / Apocyclops to seed your tank and clean the tiny nooks. Tigriopus is more of a feed and harder to seed in a reef tank. Amphipods are bigger than copepods and predatory on anything smaller than it. Can swarm larger food items. The other pods listed function in specific environments and require live foods.

@obrien.david.j Best guess would be a couple weeks. My test system (72F) which does not have mechanical filtration occasionally throws sparks at night time. *can be agitated to display luminescence at a rate of 1 bubble per minute without stressing the cell. Seems to last for some time in invert cultures but will be consumed if exposed. (Based on observation after dosing Opae ula)

You could. It would take a while to reach that volume. It'd be neat to do at night to see your flow. The dinoflagellates are from cooler waters so they won't last. The constant mechanical filtration will also ruin their bioluminescence.

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20231028_032421.mp4 Pyrocystis fusiformis- A dinoflagellate that glows when disturbed at night. Cultured in labs to visualize flow. Not much use dosed in marine aquaria other than an occasional spark or two. A fun little science project for all ages. It has some merit in learning microalgae production methods. (photo: pyro cell taken during the day while the chloroplasts are extended to the edge of the cell membrane) Care: approximate 12 day/night cycle, needs to be fed prediluted F/2 with synthetic seawater every 5-7 days. Location : Raleigh Hills 100mL for $10 500mL of prediluted F/2 + seawater for $1

Holiday Special 12/1 - 1/6: Raleigh Hills (across Western Pet Supply) *bring your own container * pickup only * if you do not bring a container I will charge full price* *If ordering one portion = 16.9fluid ounce container must be able to hold at least 16.9 fluid ounce* Mixed Copepod portion 500mL (16.9floz) $10 Amphipod (25count) $10 Phytoplankton Blend (Nanno, Tetra, Iso, Thal, Rhodo) 1 gallon for $35 20231130_195848.mp4 (Photo: finally produced some small grass shrimp (Paleomonetes) in culture. 1.020. NFS )

I start fish + inverts in an established tank with: rotating rock and algae for cover + expendable dither fish to see social interactions + live food. Easier to make them feel at ease and eat which can be the hardest part. If it passes initial observation it will move to another holding tank to begin a modified TTM. (Prazi, methyl, formalin, metro, erythro, hyposalinity, diatom filter, copper). quarantine for fish takes me 45-90 days. Inverts take 20 - 75 days. My lowest survival rates tend to come from uronema.

(picture of nematodes because the actual video makes me squeamish) Sifting through established PNSB mats in my tank has shown an unusually high amount of nematodes. My zooplankton culture vessels show some nematodes but surprisingly dileptus in number as well. Dileptus are cool predators but indiscriminate of prey. *personal observation* copepods prey on motile daughter cells, nematodes remain amongst nonmotile mother cells. Snails consume, Fish that are detritivores (lawnmower, ctenochaetus), Cucumber actively eats bacteria. It seems the consistency of dosing micro fauna (bacteria) has "brought forth" my meiofauna community. The nematodes feed on bacteria/detritus and oxygenate the microbiome. Organic matter is either recycled by the benthos to be used again or buried to be worked on over various cycles. *skimmerless systems appear to form biofilm. Manual removal required. Highly advised to use skimmer for ease of maintenance * (PNSB concentrated in dropper form. estimated to treat 3000gallons. currently running trials.)

They seem to like any anemone ( in bigger nems they will hang out on tentacles) but people get small ones like rock flower, mini max, bali reds just so you can actually see the shrimp since they are so tiny. If you worry about stinging your SPS coral. Just get a big mushroom. With your current coral setup I'd just get some and see if they form a bond with what you've got. They need each other more than a host. Mine hang out on a mini max a couple days each week. For the most part they just form their huddle in random parts of the tank each day. Started with 15 in a 20gallon. Currently only see a tribe of 7 and a tribe of 4.