Micro Algae Grow came in today. Aerating jugs now. Phytoplankton should be started tomorrow evening.
Micro Algae Grow came in today. Aerating jugs now. Phytoplankton should be started tomorrow evening.
Running into some issues getting the aeration set up. I have quite a bit of O2 tubing from when my father was with us and thought I could use it. It is a bit smaller in diameter than the normal tubing but thought it would be ok. Got the rig all set up and nothing. Changed out manifolds....nothing. Changed from a 10g pump to a 40...nothing. Getting very upset. Found some old tubing and swapped it out, that worked. Adjusted the other tubing as well and now both are aerating. Guess this O2 tubing for the canula's is just too small. Poo. It's quite a bit to let go to waste. Maybe I can find some alternate uses for it.
I may have miscalculated the hatching date too. Only (4) females now carrying eggs. Drat! It looks like the first round might be a wash.
Phyto still going to need at least a week to get going and that won't start until tomorrow.
We'll see.
Round 2 officially begins today. Found (2) berried females. One is holding a ton of eggs and the other about half as much. Now, by my calculations, I will leave them in the tank for just under 2 weeks before moving them into their hatching areas.
Will be getting the zoe tank going tomorrow.
Phyto is now curing. I'm having some reservations as the cultures are pretyy light. They should be ok but we'll see. Here's my set up for this round of testing:
Seawater at 1.026/35PPM. In this bottle, I added 10ml of Dunalliela Salina.
Brackish water at 1.014/19PPM. In this bottle, I added 10ml of Nannochloropsis Oculata.
Each bottle then got 1ml of Macro Algae Grow.
They are sitting under a light (not sure of the wattage as I didn't look yet). I just wanted to get it started. Slow rolling with air pump.
Back in the shrimp tank, three ladies are now carrying eggs. Looks like the same pattern as last time.
It's early yet but phyto not showing any growth signs just yet. It's only been 1 day. I may just have to add a bit more to the cultures but we'll keep an eye on it. I misjudged my calculations on my culture station so will have to get more materials. This will enable me to culture all (4) phytos. I'm starting to think about starting them in a set medium. Probably 1.014. I'll have to play with the numbers a bit to calculate the salt to water ratio during the tests.
There are now (4) berried females. Definately following the same pattern. I expect the other females will be berried by Sunday.
Getting ready to make some more salt water. Once the phyto is ready to split, then rearing tanks will be established.
Progressing well as far as the culturing medium. The Nannochloropsis is starting to take hold. The Dunalliela is still not showing. Will give it one more day before I give it another shot.
No further berried females in the tank like I thought there would have been. One of the females is turning the dark color. I'll try and figure that one out later.
As you can see, the Nannochloropsis is taking hold.
The Dunaliella is a no go. Those spots you see in the pic are contaminates. Not sure how they wound up in here. Will be scrapping it and starting a fresh batch tomorrow.
Restarted the Dunaliella today. The starter culture is really light in color. Not really sure it is very viable. I doubled the amount of culture to start with to 20ml.
The Nanno continues to get greener. I noticed particles floating in this jug too but since it is growing, I'll leave this one alone. I'll have to try and determine when to split this one. I think it needs to mature for a few more days yet.
Should still be on target to test both salinities out.
Scrapped the Dunaliella. The second batch didn't take off either. So, needing a pure salt phyto, I started two new cultures: Isocrysis Galbana and Tetraselmis. Ordered a fresh culture of Dunaliella and will start it when it arrives. Not really sure I want three pure salt cultures going at one time but will think that over when the time comes. Brackish setup will be ready.
Phytoplankton's in the sea water are starting to grow. That's a good sign. Will be harvesting/storing the first batch of Nannochloropsis this weekend. If I read correctly, I can store it in the fridge for about a month. Not sure if I would keep it that long though. Will need to find some reef keepers that want some fresh cultures.
No berried shrimps as yet but keeping an eye out. I'm thinking of picking up a couple other species since there will be an abundance of phyto. Haven't decided just yet. I know I would like to track down the Ninja shrimp to add to this project.
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