So... being the life-long geek I am, I decided to take a look at a batch of ReefChili i had just reconstituted prior to feeding the tank. Put a drop on a microscope slide and was astounded to see dozens of motile, paramecium-like protozoa skittering around the field-of-view. My first thought was, 'nah... these had to have come from the tank water'. So I took a sample from my GAC/GFO outflow where I take the water and checked that. Nothing. I mixed another small batch of ReefChili and there they were! Dozens of very alive protozoa (in addition to all sorts of other stuff that was also clearly viable and intact). I was amazed. Geek report over...
Anyone Use ReefChili? Would you believe it's ALIVE?!
- Thread starter jtma508
- Start date
nickyblase
Non-member
very cool. I have it, but only use it every now and then. Maybe I'll start using it a little more frequently in place of the frozen zooplankton I have been using lately.
Did you notice any time lapse between when you mix them with the water, and when they come alive?
Did you notice any time lapse between when you mix them with the water, and when they come alive?
It wasn't long. 5-10min or so. I'm planning to look into this in a little more detail when I have more time. I'm pretty familiar with the microorganisms that are in my reef and their relative numbers. This was quite dramatic. And they were all of the same variety as near as I could tell.
I contacted Ryan at ReefChilli to let him know what I found and to get his feedback. IN the meantime I've repeated the process with a different mixing bottle and they are there as well. And in very consistent numbers. Definitely a flagellate and I'd estimate between 70u and 100u. Man, I need a new microscope. Hello, Santa???
Well, Ryan at ReefChilli just responded 'glad to be of service'. I typically fill the mixing bottle (supplied with ReefChilli) from my GAC/GFO reactor outflow tubing. I've checked that water and taken a swab of the inside of the tubing. There are creatures (protista) in the tubing but the population is diverse. What I've seen in the mixed ReefChilli are all the same protozoa. I don't really have anything more conclusive. The mixing bottled is rinsed with hot tap water after each use. I'll take a look at the bottle before I add the reef chilli and see if there's anything in it then.
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