Trying Polyp Lab's "System Reef-resh" this weekend.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

The Polyp Lab website says to feed your corals quality food. However, it looked like, from their description of this product line, that it provided the "foods" necessary for corals to thrive. Do those of you who use this supplement with phytoplankton or anything?

[Delphinus]

FWIW, most corals don't actually feed on phytoplankton, but instead on zooplankton (although technically it's mostly a particle size issue I think).

Clams and *some* corals do feed on phyto, but most corals don't. Instead, dosing phyto tends to feed the existing zooplankton population which then may hopefully proliferate more, and thus indirectly benefit the feeding of your corals that way. But you're not directly target-feeding your corals phyto.

Zooplankton on the other hand will have a direct target feeding benefit. Stuff like rotifers, possibly even baby brine shrimp, and so on. Basically, little itty-bitty critters that move on their own, as opposed to free floating plant cells.

Just thought I'd share that little nugget of info.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Good to know! My little jar of Reef Roids just says "marine plankton"....so that could be anything, I guess.

[Delphinus]

I think the term "plankton" usually refers to "zooplankton". Basically "phyto"=plants "zoo"=animals.

Although now that I think of it, does that still work for "zooxanthellae"? Zooxanthellae are dinoflagellates, which I thought was more like a photosynthetic bacterium. Are they capable of motion? I'm not sure.

I guess I'm taking the thread off track now. Whoops, sorry...

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

I think the term "plankton" usually refers to "zooplankton". Basically "phyto"=plants "zoo"=animals.
I guess I'm taking the thread off track now. Whoops, sorry...

Tony here's an interesting tidbit. If my "non-photosynthetic' yellow gorgonion happens to be closed when I clean the green algae off my glass it creates a feeding response and the polyps open up. So then the question is; do they eat phyto or zoo, or both? Again off topic...
Now back on topic:
I just metioned in the other thread about reef resh that my devils hand's polyps are now open all day but had been closed for 2 years straight before I started the RF program.

[littlesilvermax]

I wonder if Polyp Labs is still following this?

1) should I vacuum out the bio-films when doing a water change? (the stuff full of bubbles on some of the rocks?)

2) can I dose all three of the little bottles at the same time (dark hours)?

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by littlesilvermax

I wonder if Polyp Labs is still following this?

2) can I dose all three of the little bottles at the same time (dark hours)?

I can answer this one, Yes. Well actually I should clarify that by saying I think so because I sometimes do with no negative results. The genesis can go in at anytime and the other two go in after lights out. I dose the "fuel & genesis" at the same time at the start of the photoperiod. Although when I am going to be away I put a weeks worth of all 3 together the night before I leave so my wife only has to dose the "fuel" daily.

[littlesilvermax]

Anybody notice that the one small bottle of pink stuff (can't remember the name right now) lasts a lot longer then the other two small bottles?

I think I will not need the pink bottle for my third set of reefrefresh.

[BMW Rider]

Originally Posted by littlesilvermax

Anybody notice that the one small bottle of pink stuff (can't remember the name right now) lasts a lot longer then the other two small bottles?

I think I will not need the pink bottle for my third set of reefrefresh.

Same here, I will soon need a refill of the other products but have lots of the pink stuff left.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Updates? Pictures? Should I do it?

Reef-resh...Ultralith...Zeovit, oh my.