AlgaeBarn is hardly the only aquarium hobby-centered business to produce phytoplankton and macroalgae. But we like to think that we’re pretty darn good at it–if not the best! Consider our highly-acclaimed premium live phyto blend OceanMagik in various kits or our standard-setting CleanMacro series. If it needs to be stated, algae is kind of the linchpin of our operation.

In point of fact, algal products make up the core of our extensive product line. But they are even more than that; they are intrinsic to, and at the center of, the basic husbandry approach we advocate–our own novel natural husbandry approach! If you’ve read many of our articles before, you’ve seen one thing iterated and reiterated here on this blog: Naturalistic aquaria don’t just mimic nature in the way they look but also (and most importantly) in the way they behave.

The Natural Choice  – Ready to use Kits

Algae are the primary producers in most shallow-water marine ecosystems. This makes them the first link in marine food chains as well as the nexus of major nutrient cycles. However, on actual, wild coral reefs, there are “good” algae and “bad” algae. In healthy wild reefs, good algae flourish while bad algae are scarce.

Therefore, we at AlgaeBarn not only culture the good stuff, but we also offer an array of natural solutions for the control (“biocontrol,” if you will) of the bad stuff. Constructed and maintained the “AlgaeBarn way,” an aquarium system relies on a diverse biological community of plants, animals and microbes to cycle nutrients. This ensures that (1) primary consumers (organisms such as copepods that eat primary producers) are well nourished and (2) harmful, ugly nuisance algae are kept in check.

With AlgaeBarn in your corner, you don’t have to be a marine biologist with a PhD in community ecology just to know which organisms you’ll need to create this natural balance. Nor will you have to compile miles-long shopping lists. That’s because AlgaeBarn puts together well-balanced multi-species assemblages for you! This means that OceanMagik is mixed (four species!) for optimal nutritional value, EcoPods is mixed (four species!) for complimentary ecological impact, the Ultimate Macroalgae Pack is mixed (you guessed it, four species!) to maximally inhibit bad algae, and so on.

But AlgaeBarn doesn’t just make blended products that thoroughly complete one job; they also offer big-picture product systems–comprehensive, synergistic bundles–that promote the naturalistic function of your entire aquarium food web. Specifically, these packages are designed to help you run the healthiest and most easily maintained aquarium possible with the least amount of effort. And, the least amount of expense (these packs save you cash)!

Listed here are just a few of our most popular and most trusted packages.

1. The Aquarium Cycle Kit

To avoid the mess of organic nitrogen sources (nitrifying bacteria cannot use the organic carbon anyway!), and also to avoid unnecessarily harming “test animals,” we suggest using this simple and ethical aquarium cycling kit. The Aquarium Cycle Kit contains the most essential components to biologically establish a new biofilter medium, sand bed and/or hardscape. Get your nitrogen cycle off to a rapid start by using only the best live nitrifying bacteria and the perfect inorganic fuel to help the microbes thrive! Using this combo pack, which includes TurboStart 900 and NitroCycle, (some of which are found in multiple kits) you can cycle a completely sterile system in as little as five days!

2. The Ultimate Refugium Starter Pack

Given their many beneficial qualities, as well as the opportunities for marine gardening that they provide, it’s pretty hard to opt out of a planted refugium. This package includes everything you need to cycle and seed a healthy ‘fuge. Central to the package is MarinePure (a very highly effective biomedium) and live cultures of supplemental nitrifying bacteria. Of course, it also includes macroalgae–the species of your choice! And finally, it includes not only copepods but also live phytoplankton to keep them healthy and reproductive during the seeding process.

3. The Ultimate Ecopack

More than just an assorted food pack, the live phytoplankton and bacterioplankton offered in this unique kit actually promote nutrient cycling and water purification. Plus, the copepods mop up detritus and film algae. The marine snow delivers extra nutrition (e.g. B vitamins) to numerous organisms from heterotrophic bacteria to pods to soft corals. This economical package completes the base of your captive ecosystem’s food pyramid and is a complete nutrient cycling system unto itself. Best of all, it offers a balanced nutritional profile and a wide range of food particle sizes. Highly recommended!

4. The Mandarin Feeder Kit

Some of our packs are designed to help keep specific, popular species. Take for example the Mandarin Feeder Kit! This combo addresses the major short- and long-term challenges in providing adequate sustenance for all dragonets with NanoBrine baby brine shrimp, 5280 Pods mixed copepods and the high-quality prepared food Can O’ Cyclops. The brine shrimp give a starving mandarin a big, immediate emergency meal, the 5280 Pods seed the tank for a lifetime of quality live food and the prepared cyclops food makes boosting/supplementing your mandarin’s diet much easier in the long term!