Funny question- is algae phytoplankton?

E

EL34

I've never seen a mention of this- when you scour algae off the glass, creating green 'dust' in the water, does that count as phytoplankton? Does anything benefit from it?

I may be pushing the adage "there's no such thing as a stupid question".

Bill
 
Phyto and what you scrape off are both algaes but different at the same time. They really just serve different purposes and feed different animals. So no, not really.
 
-So no, not really.-

Durn. I was hoping that when I scrub the glass I could have that good feeling that I'm doing something beneficial, not just maintenance work.

About 20 yrs ago a salesperson at an lfs told me I could feed filter feeders by waving a hand over the gravel/sand and kicking up stuff. Never heard a confirmation or discredit of that one either.

Thanks Wes.
Bill
 
well i when i clean my glass with my magnet most of my corals feeding tenticles come out
so i kinda always thought they were eating the alge

on a side note i also thought neil diamonds song forever in bluejeans
was reverend in blue jeans so........................
 
Well, phytoplankton is algae... but so is chaetomorpha and kelp. I think there is some benefit to letting your corals eat some of the stuff that grows on the glass, so you can still feel good about doing that. But the stuff that grows on the glass is going to by different than nannochloropsis or isochrysis or any of the other phytos that are sold or reared for planktonic food. And as far as the stirring up stuff, alot of corals will eat detritus as well, particularly the particulates that have accumulated some good bacterial mulm on them... Yummy!
 
while some corals may eat whats stirred up in the sand, i wouldnt do it because it has the potential to do more harm than good. if your sand is bad, maybe a sand sifting cuc is in order. if you want to feed your corals, then get coral food.
 
I've noticed the same moderate polyp enthusiasm when the algae or sand junk gets thrown into the water, that's why the posted question. Long shot but sometimes the simple or obvious is overlooked in favor of a marketed product. Emphasis on the 'long shot' in this case. Maybe they're just happy they can see me better.

I'm now trying Arm&Hammer baking soda to raise alk, and I saw a post about using $2/lb calcium from Leslie's pool supplies. Alternatives like this could be a whole nuther focus as long as they are truly risk-free effective alternatives.
Bill
 
Hi Wes- I agree with you regarding bad sand. Thrown out on the table is the possibility that normal tank residue might be good for some tank residents other than the cleanupcrew.

Bill
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top