Markushka's How To Culture Phytoplankton Guide

[Markushka]

What you will need:

• Clear plastic bottles with labels removed
  
• Airline tubing
  
• Rigid tubing [optional]
  
• Air pump
  
• Light fixture
  
• Fertilizer
  
• Salt water
  
• Phytoplankton for starting culture
  

 

Growing phyto isnt hard at all. you just need to meet its needs: Light, food, and environment. Take a 1l plastic bottle and fill it with water. I use a SG of 1.014 because i've found it works best [though I am still experimenting with this] and about 10ml of fertilizer [again the amount is up to you, whatever gets best growth]. Which fertilizer you use is also up to you, just need to make sure there isn't any significant amount of copper. I use a liquid plant fertilizer.

 

To prepare the bottle I make a hole in the cap, large enough to snugly fit an air line, and another smaller hole [to allow air to go out]. I run a length of airline all the way to the bottom [if you have a rigid tube that is better] and enough to go to your airpump or splitter. I fill the bottle 3/4 of the way with water and 1/8 with fertilizer and 1/8 of the phyto.

 

Put the cap on and turn on the air pump. For the light I use my sump light [a 23w CF energy saver screw-in type on a clip on fixture] and run it for about 16hrs or so a day. You can set up the culture anywhere as long as you have the light, I have it set up in my sump since its convenient, there is a light already and its out of the way.

 

The culture is ready when its reaches a good colour. You can test to see if its done by checking for phosphates and nitrates. When the tests read low your culture will no longer have enough nutrients to continue to multiply [i use the colour method myself]. At this point, I filter the culture to remove any large particles [i use a coffee filter or paper towel]. Now you are ready to use it to dose the tank or start a new culture. The Phyto should be stored in the refrigerator, and shaken periodically to prevent it from settling.

 

 

Pictures will be up shortly. I wasn't sure wether this was the correct forum, I was debating between this one and the DIY one. mods feel free to move it

 

I'd also like to put a disclaimer here, I use this method to raise phytoplankton for my tank and my brine culture and i'll use it for my copepods. I am not responsible for anything that may occur or not occur to your tank or livestock from using or not using this method.

 

To be updated...

[Shyla8]

Nice post, I am gonna try it! When I get yours that is lol

[Markushka]

This need updating.

[Dmarmontello]

Update it man! I might give this a shot. Sounds like a good project.

[Markushka]

I have too much school #### going on this week/weekend. I sure will as soon as I get enough free time. pictures are long overdue here too.

[Dmarmontello]

next time we swap some corals.. you could help me set it up???

[Markushka]

sure thing. actually some of the zoas I got from you didn't make it. but the toadstool is looking awesome. how are the sps doing?

[Dmarmontello]

sure thing. actually some of the zoas I got from you didn't make it. but the toadstool is looking awesome. how are the sps doing?

 

 

Which ones didnt make it? I'll cut you some new ones.. The Sps are doing well.. growing but very brown still.. It will take some time for any colors to show up.

[Markushka]

hu well the pink ones made it thats about it. the others didn't like the super gluing. oh and the yellow polyps mad it too! the toadstool frag is looking good with good pe. as long as the sps are showing pe then they will colour up. my green monti is just starting to colour up again and the elkhorn isn't.

[Dmarmontello]

its impossible to kill the yellow ones.. but its weird that the other zoas didnt make it.. let me know which ones and whenever we meet up ill give you new ones. I have fragged and healed 1 polyp frags on nuc green paly and purple death. these are a little higher end. I'd give them to you for the others not making it.

[Markushka]

its impossible to kill the yellow ones.. but its weird that the other zoas didnt make it.. let me know which ones and whenever we meet up ill give you new ones. I have fragged and healed 1 polyp frags on nuc green paly and purple death. these are a little higher end. I'd give them to you for the others not making it.

 

We can work something out, I do have some more stuff I could frag for you. the only problem is that with all this school work, I have no idea when I'll be in the philly area again.

[Dmarmontello]

No rush. We will work it out.. I have some new stuff i give you too.. Just send me a msg when youll be in the area again.

[Markushka]

Dan, got the redacted version for ya:

 

 

I was doing a project for a class of mine where I was culturing phyto, and I had to do this write up. I'm going to post it up here as a revision of my first post. I haven't redacted it, although I probably should because I wrote it at 12 at night.

 

anyway, here goes:

 

Sterile cultures of Nannochloripsis and Chlorella species were obtained. We also obtained a batch of food-grade Nannochloripsis that we used for culturing.

 

We used clear uncoloured plastic 2 litre bottles of a regular shape that were sterilized and rinsed with deionized water. Two holes were made in the caps, one larger one, centered, for the airline tubing, fitting snugly, to go through, and a smaller one to let air to escape so as to not build up pressure. Airline tubing was strung through the cap with enough length so as to more than reach the bottom of the bottle and enough to reach the gang valve without being taught. The bottles were stripped of labels to allow maximum light penetration.

 

To create the initial culture water we used 2.0 litres of deionized water minus the initial culture volume. This volume we would mix in proper amounts of marine aquarium salt mixture in a large clean beaker. (Two of the Nannochloripsis cultures are at a specific gravity of 1.025 one culture is at a specific gravity of 1.015 and the Chlorella culture is in fresh water with a specific gravity of 1.000. These values were determined with a refractometer) To the prepared water at the correct specific gravity we added 1 ml of fertilizer. The fertilizer is a Guillards F2 formulation without silicate procured from Florida Aqua Farms. A list of the chemical makeup is attached. The Fertilizer was prepared per the supplier’s instructions.

 

The pure culture was added to the prepared water and fertilizer in the beaker and using a funnel the culture was poured into the culturing bottle. The bottle was capped off and the airline hose was connected to the gang valve. The airflow thru the tubing into the bottle should always be enough to keep the algae in suspension. The culture bottles are placed at a light source with a 16 - 18 hr on cycle and a 8 - 6 hr off cycle regulated by a timer. The cultures should be left at normal room temperature.

 

Splitting of cultures can be based on turbidity (culture density) measurements or based on log phase doubling time. A culture of Nannochloripsis in log phase has a doubling time of about 8 days under ideal conditions. Log phase doubling times vary between species of algae. When splitting a culture, its best split it in half and replace the removed volume with prepared water as per the instructions of creating a new culture listed above. It is essential that the same amount of fertilizer is added as when starting a new culture, especially if trying to maintain a culture in log-phase growth.

 

I hope, this helps someone out who is interested in doing the same. I should take some pictures of my set up I have at home. I'll try and get those up after I'm thru with finals.

 

(edit: broken up into sections for readability.)