Phytoplankton and live food dosing guide
Find your daily phytoplankton dose, choose a suitable bottle size and build a feeding routine for your reef.
Culturing live marine food in Wales since 2008.
How much phytoplankton should you dose?
5 Species Phytoplankton, Nannochloropsis Phytoplankton Mix, Nannochloropsis Gaditana and Reef Juice use the following daily rates:
Light stocking
1 mlper 27 litres dailyWater volume in litres ÷ 27
Medium stocking
1 mlper 18 litres dailyWater volume in litres ÷ 18
Heavy reef feeding
1 mlper 9 litres dailyWater volume in litres ÷ 9
Dosing examples
For water volumes of 78 litres and 200 litres, the daily amounts are:
78 litres
- Light3 ml
- Medium4.5 ml
- Heavy8.5 ml
200 litres
- Light7.5 ml
- Medium11 ml
- Heavy22 ml
Daily amounts rounded to the nearest 0.5 ml.
Which stocking level should you choose?
Tank size determines the calculation, but your livestock and feeding routine help determine the appropriate rate.
If you are unsure which level suits your reef, include your fish, corals and other filter feeders when asking for dosing advice. Include any other foods you already add. A description of your livestock is more useful than tank size alone.
The dosing calculator works out the amount for each stocking level.
How often should you dose?
Dose these phytoplankton products daily. The amounts above are daily doses, not weekly totals.
If you currently dose every few days, calculate the recommended daily amount before changing your routine. Do not repeat your existing larger dose every day.
Use the feeding schedule builder to organise your feeding into a weekly routine.
How should you add phytoplankton?
Have your calculated dose and a suitable measuring syringe ready. Add the phytoplankton as follows:
- Shake gentlyRedistribute settled cells in the bottle.
- MeasureMeasure your daily dose.
- Pause the skimmerTurn off your protein skimmer.
- Add the doseChoose a high-flow area of the tank.
- RestartTurn the skimmer back on after 30–60 minutes.
How should you store phytoplankton?
Refrigerate your live phytoplankton when it arrives. Return the bottle to the fridge after measuring each dose, and gently shake it before the next use.
Use 5 Species Phytoplankton within six weeks of delivery.
For other products, follow their product-specific storage and use-by instructions. Do not assume that every live food or concentrate has the same shelf life.
Which bottle size should you buy?
Choose a bottle around your daily dose and the product’s usable storage period. A larger bottle is only useful if you can use enough of its contents before the use-by date.
For 5 Species Phytoplankton, multiply your daily dose by 42 to estimate how much you need over six weeks.
78 litres · medium rate
4.5 ml daily · 250 ml bottle
You use approximately 189 ml in six weeks.
A 250 ml bottle covers that period. It provides enough food, but you will not finish the whole bottle within six weeks at that dose.
200 litres · medium rate
11 ml daily · 500 ml bottle
You use approximately 462 ml in six weeks.
A 500 ml bottle covers that period, with approximately 38 ml remaining.
What about Reef Flourish and Oyster Relish?
These products have their own daily dosing instructions:
Live Reef Flourish
1–4 dropsper 80 litres daily
Reef Flourish Super Concentrate
1–4 dropsper 265 litres daily
Oyster Relish Concentrate
5–10 mlper 380 litres daily
Copepods, new tanks and home cultures
Why can’t you see copepods after adding them?
Not seeing copepods does not establish whether the population has succeeded or failed. Review the tank conditions and feeding routine before deciding what to add next.
For advice about your population, provide the following details:
- When you added the copepods and how much you added.
- Your tank’s age and water volume.
- The fish and other livestock you keep.
- Whether you have a refugium or sheltered breeding area.
- Which phytoplankton you dose, how much and how often.
Phytoplankton provides food for copepods. A refugium provides somewhere for them to breed away from hungry fish. The need for further additions depends on your setup and the animals feeding on the population.
When should you start feeding a new tank?
Complete the tank’s cycle before adding live food. Live food does not replace cycling.
Once the cycle is complete and the final water change is done, start phytoplankton at the light rate. Plan your copepod additions around the tank and its future livestock.
Keep cycling instructions separate from your feeding routine. Do not add ammonia to an occupied tank as a dosing check.
Is Copepod Feed the same as phytoplankton for your reef?
Copepod Feed is intended for the culture vessel. Add it by eye until the culture water has a light green colour, rather than using the reef-tank dosing rates on this page.
For display-tank dosing, use an appropriate phytoplankton product, such as 5 Species Phytoplankton or Nannochloropsis, and follow that product’s instructions.
Rotifer Feed Concentrate is also a culture feed. It is dosed by eye to a light green colour.
Where can you find home culture instructions?
Home cultures need their own feeding, harvesting and maintenance routines. The reef-tank doses on this page are not culture instructions.
Use the culture guides and resources for help with growing phytoplankton, copepods and rotifers.
Get dosing advice for your tank
A description of your setup helps Darren recommend a dose that fits your reef and the food you already use.
For questions about water test results, include the readings and the test kits used.
Culturing live marine food in Wales since 2008
Include these details:
- Your water volume, including details of any sump or refugium.
- Your fish, corals and other filter feeders.
- The products you currently use.
- Your current amounts and feeding frequency.
- Any changes or problems you have noticed.