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green water

Started by Guest_Auban_* , Jan 12 2014 05:43 PM

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9 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Auban_*

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Posted 12 January 2014 - 05:43 PM

i think i may have hit on a way to get green water conveniently.
green water is probably the best food for daphnia since it is incredibly easy to use. its just about impossible to over feed with green water since it is alive. just leave a light on it and there is no danger of it rotting and fouling the water.

well, we cant always have green water handy, and it can be a pain to get started sometimes. if the algae isn't in the water to begin with, it just wont grow. its just about impossible to know what kind of algae you will end up with if you just put a tank full of water under full light. i usually end up with cyano.

and that brings me to the latest thing i tried as feed for my daphnia.
i saw something called astaxanthin powder. it was advertised as a fine powder, derived from Haematococcus pluvialis, a type of free floating algae.
it worked really well.
then i noticed something odd... after a couple days in a tank, the bright red powder started changing colors. it turned green

so i looked up H. pluvialis and found out that it turns red when it is exposed to harsh environmental conditions. its one of the things that allows this particular algae to survive in vernal pools.

i had basically been feeding my daphnia a type of free floating algae that had been completely encysted. so, it was all live algae.

so, the astaxanthin powder is really dried green water, ready to spring back to life as soon as i put it in water and shine a light on it.

fully live green water powder, for freshwater.
except its red.

Edited by Auban, 12 January 2014 - 05:45 PM.

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#2 Guest_tomterp_*

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Posted 12 January 2014 - 09:16 PM

i think i may have hit on a way to get green water conveniently.
green water is probably the best food for daphnia since it is incredibly easy to use. its just about impossible to over feed with green water since it is alive. just leave a light on it and there is no danger of it rotting and fouling the water.

I would think there is in fact risk of it dying and fouling the water. Just like any other organisms, it needs to eat. Of course, if you have fish in the tank you will be trying to feed the fish and the waste will continue to feed the algae.

When I set up my planted 75g 12 years ago I had a tremendous plague of green water in no time. Tried lots of things to cure, no luck till I bought a used Vortex filter which cleaned it right up. It was a very nice spawning media however, amazing the fry that I found when I cleared the water.

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#3 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 12 January 2014 - 11:55 PM

I bulk bought the spirulina that is 99.95% or whatever pure and sold for smoothies for people to eat. I added it to my marine tank to increase the copepod population, and it persisted. So I added it to my freshwater tank for my shrimp, and it persisted. It's a very useful instant live green water. I've got it aliquoted into little baggies and envelopes and ship it out for $3 on aquabid. People buy it frequently; for example I'm sending some tomorrow. It's a better instant live greenwater than what had been on the market. (Other vendors sell liquid greenwater, which is heavier so it costs more to ship, and it's active so there's a chance it can die. Mine is dry, inactive, and shelf stable, so it's the perfect greenwater to ship). *shrugs* I'm going to keep selling it off until I use up the whole bag. I have no desire to eat it in smoothies. That stuff does not smell like food

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#4 Guest_harryknaub_*

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 01:47 PM

so, the astaxanthin powder is really dried green water, ready to spring back to life as soon as i put it in water and shine a light on it.

I am curious, where did you buy the powder.

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#5 Guest_Ken_*

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 03:48 PM

I buy my Spirulina by the jar at a health food store near me.... Big jar for less than $20.00...... though it isn't brought to life when I add it to my water....

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#6 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 04:40 PM

I buy my Spirulina by the jar at a health food store near me.... Big jar for less than $20.00...... though it isn't brought to life when I add it to my water....

Yeah, the alive part surprised me, especially both salt and freshwater.

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#7 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 05:47 PM

Might want to check with a microscope and see if what's growing is really Spirulina. It's possible that the spirulina is dead and simply fertilizer for other planktonic algae in your tanks. The color should give you some clue - Spirulina is bluish-green (it's a cyanobacterium). If the water looks pea-green it's probably not Spirulina growing.

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#8 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 06:19 PM

It's blue green and smells spirulina-y. I can send some to you if you want to try it out, just send me your address in a private message. I've got tons and I've (finally) figured out how to send it for just the cost of a stamp.

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#9 Guest_Auban_*

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Posted 02 February 2014 - 10:07 PM

i have never had good luck with spirulina. it doesnt stay suspended for very long, and quickly rots. just my experience.

on a side note, i tried to sprinkle the astaxanthin powder on some fish flakes to boost their color. now the tank has gone green. 8-[