Phyto-Feast™

[Woods]

Anyone use this stuff? I was attcked by Green algae as soon as I started using it. I was using less than recomended and still cant stop the growth.

 

[Len]

Phytofeast is widely used in hatcheries and academia, so I don't think saying it sucks is very fair. It just didn't work for your tank, and there may be other variables factoring into the result you got. It is nutrient rich by nature, but a balanced and properly filtered system shouldn't have any problems with it or other planktonic foods.

 

[Anonymous]

I use tons of it and have no problems.

How old is your tank and what are your tank parameters? The problem may not be the phyto at all.

 

[Woods]

Mybe I was too harsh. So I wonder what I did wrong?

 

[Anonymous]

Mybe I was too harsh. So I wonder what I did wrong?

Tell us a little about your system
What size tank?
How long has it been set up?
Test readings (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, etc.)?

 

[Len]

If your tank is fairly new and/or doesn't have many organisms to uptake planktonic food, you may have simply introduced more nutrients into the tank then the "desirable" life could uptake.

What kind of green algae occurred after using phytofeast?

 

[Anonymous]

Mybe I was too harsh. So I wonder what I did wrong?

You can always edit the thread title.

 

[Anonymous]

I like it....I use it all the time, daily if I remember.

 

[Chubosco]

I have heard from others and believe from experience it reduces algae. Wonderful stuff to feed the tank on a daily basis. Can't see having a reef without it. A little phytofeast, oyster eggs, cyclopeeze daily for a healthy reef. Never have problems, then I feed the fish.

 

[Woods]

How much do you guys use per feeding?

 

[Anonymous]

Tell us a litle about your set-up(size, how old, equipment, sand bed,etc) and it's inhabitants. That will help us better guide you in it's use

For me, I don't measure. I squirt and go

For transparancy......I work for Reef Nutrition

 

[Anonymous]

I add 10 mL of concentrated "Shellfish Diet" to my tank every day. The tank is 30 gallons. The rocks are covered with calcareous algae and sponges. The rate of sponge growth is amazing. I have one little quarter sized patch of hair algae but it has never gotten larger. FWIW I slowly ramped up to this amount after 3 months or so. In the beginning I was just adding a couple drops a day.

YMMV.

 

[sihaya]

Phytofeast is widely used in hatcheries and academia,

Yeah, but the truth is that for some of the purposes for which it's used in "academia" it doesn't necessarily need to be any good. For example, you can grow rotifers off just about anything.

there may be other variables factoring into the result you got. It is nutrient rich by nature, but a balanced and properly filtered system shouldn't have any problems with it or other planktonic foods.

I agree that this sounds like a nutrient problem. However, knowing what's in phytofeast, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the phytofeast may have exacerbated the situation.

To support what I'm saying, I think everyone should read this article (which has been published in a real science journal... peer reviewed and all that):
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi- ... 1&SRETRY=0

 

[Anonymous]

You can't read that article without paying 25 bucks.

 

[sihaya]

You can't read that article without paying 25 bucks.

Ugh, I know. That's the downside of real research printed in academic journals. I have it and have read it, but I can't post it (copyright violation). It's so annoying. And I don't want to just summarize the results because I know everyone who loves phytofeast (and several other phytoplankton products) will cry bloody murder.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh well, would have been nice to have read it. Until it becomes available or someone sends it to me, I am not going to take anyones word on what it contains.

I think the cry bloody murder thing is a crock, btw, and it sure hasn't stopped you in the past. If the study is sound, the results matter more than anyones beliefs.

 

[sihaya]

Fair enough, I wouldn't either. But nor would I take Reed's word on what it contains.

 

[Anonymous]

Fair enough, I wouldn't either. But nor would I take Reed's word on what it contains.

I would take their word over DT's skewed propaganda.

 

[sihaya]

I think the cry bloody murder thing is a crock, btw, and it sure hasn't stopped you in the past.

LOL Touche. But I've been kinda enjoying the "peace" lately...

If the study is sound, the results matter more than anyones beliefs.

Well, I can tell you basically what it is. The study fed a variety of different phytoplankton products to juvenile clams (since they feed on phytoplankton). Obviously, live, freshly cultured phytoplankton resulted in the greatest growth in the baby clams. The research article presents how all these commercial phytoplankton products compare to the fresh, live culture.

As for the actual ingredients of phytofeast. It's already been chemically analyzed by more than one independent lab. And, well, suffice to say there's a bit more than just phytoplankton in it :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

If the study is sound...

Having not read the study, I cannot have an opinion on it.


I distrust results of analysis of competing products sponsored by DT's. I also distrust DT's because when I talked to him he was more interested in telling me what was bad about other products than he was in telling me what was good about his product. He seems to have an axe to grind and makes me uneasy.