Phytoplankton

[kj_yoda]

What is the best way to Grow your own phytoplankton? I have been using DTs for almost 4 years now, and have been absolutely impressed with the results that I have had with this product. I wouldn't have a reef tank without it.

Now, I want to know how to grow the phytoplankton myself.

[gwen_o_lyn]

me too, I think Rob was gonna do a show about this...

[Rob]

yes, i am goign to actualyl try and do video on it..

[pham411]

whao 4 yrz, that must have been a forturn. what i do is get the dtz and start my cultures with those. that way i get the different types of phyto that dt offers. you can start with those algae plates from florida aqua farms if you want also

[lajohnston]

I grew my own for about a year and it's really rather simple. I'm on my way out the door, but will post more later today, unless someone else jumps in here in the meantime.

Basically what you need is:

Light source (I used 24" Flourescent fixture)
air pump, tubing, (flex and ridged)
2 Liter bottles
RO water
starter culture

Rob- video would be great!!! Love the ones you've done so far!

Cheers,
Laurie

[Rob]

thanks.. i will be starting this video hopefully this weekend, or early next week.
should be released in the next two weeks.

[8251Reefer]

I started my culture last week and it is going good I gues.. I used DT's. I will desribe my 2 liter. It is currently a Green/tan color in the water completely opaque with dark green spots particles (phyto I assume) collecting on the bottom. I shake the bottle daily to get those particles suspended. Does this sound like it is doing well? How can I tell if the whole thing has gone sour? Any help would be appreciated.

[Rob]

it should be a solid green.. not tan...
it should go from a tint of green to dark green over a few days..
if its tan, its dying.. if it collects at the bottom, its likely dead..

[8251Reefer]

Thanks for the reply Rob! I am assuming it did this because I had it setup in the garage. It got a little chilly this past week. I am starting a new culture tommorrow in the laudry room. Hopefully with a stable temp I will be able to do get this one going, thanks Rob!!

[AlgaGen]

Culturing Phytoplankton is fairly straight forward. There are several points that are very important in my opinion.
1) clean healthy starter culture. If you start with contaminants they will only increase. It is worth the cost to get clean, healthy starter. There are a number of species that have great nutritional properties (browns, greens, reds, etc) and a number of sources to obtain them from.
2) Water quality is critical. If using straight ocean water, it should be treated with chlorine and de-chlorinated prior to use. Artificial works well (28-35ppt depending on species)
3) temperatures are important. As a rule many species can handle cool (18-23C) but not warm (28-30C).

A typical set-up uses 1-2 liter containers either lined with plastic or not. the advantage of lining with plastic is that clean-up and sanitation is a breeze-just throw it out when cleaning the container. Rigid air lines are placed to the bottom of each container. Each rigid tube is attached to flex air lines that are attached to an air pump that aerates and mixes the culture. Air is usually kept at a lite to medium boil depending on the density and species of culture. The cultures should sit inches (2-4) away from the florescent fixture(cool white bulbs). Guage for yourself, be aware of the heat generated from the fixture.

In general, each container is filled with water (treated or un-). In the case of treated water (chlorinated), the water is de-chlorinated with sodium thiosulfate, tested for chlorine and aerated for a few minutes prior to adding the nutrients. There are a number of off the shelf nutrient mixtures that work very well. Add as per the recommended doseage in order to get f/2. Allow this to mix for a few minutes then add the starter.

Typical inoculations(inocs) are done by volume 1:10. If a culture is inoc'd too litely then it will bleach and die. A lite inoc is characterized by a faint tinge of color in the container. There are several steps that can reduce the chance of bleaching the culture; 1) turn off one bulb in the florescent light, 2) inoc at a greater volume to get a rich color, 3) use shade cloth or put the culture farther back from the light source. I prefer heavier inocs or reducing light intensity.

Most species have a 4-7 day growth cycle (depending on species and growth conditions). Harvesting should occur when the algae is growing fastest and is healthiest. When a culture begins to slow down it produces a greater amount of neutral, less nutritious, fatty acids. In general harvest the algae every 4 days (depending species). An easy way to harvest is pouring off half the container and then topping it off with new water and media. This is a semi-continuous culturing technique. If you pay attention to technique and keep things clean this approach should last for months before you will need to take a culture container down.

What did I leave out?

[Rob]

not much.. good write up..
it should go good with the video i am finishing up on how i do all mine..

[Jimm]

This sounds very much like starting a yeast culture for brewing. Except for the light part.

[AlgaGen]

It is very similar to brewing and there is a heterotrophic approach to culture microalgae, in fermenters. Cool stuff!

[Rob]

It is very similar to brewing and there is a heterotrophic approach to culture microalgae, in fermenters. Cool stuff!

"i think this is the start of a be-u-ti-ful friendship"

[pham411]

I started my culture last week and it is going good I gues.. I used DT's. I will desribe my 2 liter. It is currently a Green/tan color in the water completely opaque with dark green spots particles (phyto I assume) collecting on the bottom. I shake the bottle daily to get those particles suspended. Does this sound like it is doing well? How can I tell if the whole thing has gone sour? Any help would be appreciated.

this is crashed dude, dont use it.

[8251Reefer]

thanks everyone for the insight. I have moved my culture station to a stable temp area of the house and will begin anew today, I have thrown out the other culture. Do I need to rinse all the rigid tubing, bottles, etc... prior to starting a new culture to prevent contamination. I heard I can have problems if I don't clean everything up properly. Doeas anyone have a proven method for cleanup? ie. bleach, hot water, water/vinegar mixture ? Thanks for any insight youy can provide.

[AlgaGen]

Definitely clean all parts that have been in contact with the algae, media etc. Soaking in bleach overnite works and is industry standard. Labs autoclave (pressure cooker) glassware but this is not always available although very effective. Containers should be washed thoroughly, I shy away from soap because of additives and residual left on the plastic or glassware. Remove all biomass and soak in bleach, then rinse and neutralize with sodium thiosulfate (found at pool supply stores) and you should be good to go.

[Rob]

anytime i deal with anytime of crash everything is thoroughly bleached. that said, my regular culture bottles receive a regular water cleaning with a scrubby, and a vinegar about ever 3rd split. i do resort to bleach in the event that i am at all not comfortable with the results i got from the culture. in tat if a bottle is not not producing, which split time comes around, they get a bleach bath.

is also important to clean the airlines that are feeding air to the bottles..

[Jimm]

Hmmm, I have a 14 gallon stainless conical fermenter sitting around doing nothing. Also a bunch of 6 gallon glass carboys.

[pham411]

yups its culturing101 up in here, every reefer should try to culture phyto, its benificial and a cool experience. i crashed my a few time due to heat, other than that its not that difficult.

[AlgaGen]

The big issue with fermentation is that everything has to be clean beyond reasonable levels. If you are feeding a small organic as a food source to the algae it also becomes available food for any and most bacteria which will grow faster than the algae hands down. this said one can get crazy amounts of biomass form the effort.

Regarding the culturing of phytoplankton...the general expression is "that it is not rocket science", however, I worked with a rocket a scientist who could not grow it to save his life...

What species do you all culture?

[Rob]

i culture nanochloropsis

[Jimm]

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

(Ale Yeast)