Is it really necessary to feed phytoplankton?

[LunarCubes]

I have noticed that some people feed phytoplankton to their corals and some do not. I was wondering if it was really necessary to feed it? Does it depend on what type of corals you keep? I currently have mostly softies with 1 hard coral and 1 clam. My tank has been up and running for about 2 weeks now but the corals were transfered from my old 55. I plan on adding more hard corals, clams, and even try my hand at a few sps. When the corals were in my 55 I would feed DTs every other day but since I transfered everything over I havent fed DTs at all. I have heard that its high in phosphates, is that true? My 55's phosphates were off the chart but maybe that was a coincidence? Any help would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Jeremy

[MiddletonMark]

Well, the clam probably would like phyto, but I'm unsure what else coral-wise really eats the phyto directly.

I'll be interested in what Eric's take on the subject is ... but in the archives of www.reefkeeping.com there's a great series of articles by Eric on a whole sequence of different foods [phyto, zooplankton, bacteria, DOM, etc]. Great reads :)

[EricHugo]

If you are worried about DTs, do a phosphate check on the product.

I cannot say whether phytoplankton supplementation is necessary or not...maybe helpful for some tanks, not so helpful for others, or at some times of the year and not at others. It surely will not be very important in directly feeding most corals, but having phytoplankton available in the tank is a good thing for many other reasons. But, I can't say whether any tank already has enough or not.