Concentrating homegrown phyto

[mossanimal]

I just started a phyto culture and am wondering how to prepare it for dosing. I know that commercial folk use a centrifuge and resuspend but buying a centrifuge probably isn't in my wheelhouse. I was thinking of letting the culture settle naturally in the refrigerator and resuspending from there? Thoughts? How do other folks do it?

My assumption is that if you don't do this then you would be dosing Guillard's nutrients into your tank as well as the phyto??

 

[taricha]

A couple of ways I've done it.
1) Measure the culture medium nitrate and phosphate during the phyto culture up routine, and get a feel for when those are depleted. Harvest at that point, so then media Basically Doesn't add nutrients. All of the nutrients are in the cells. (You are dosing F2 to your tank. It's just in the cells.)

2) another way I've done it is Refrigeration, settling, and pouring off the clearer water above the settled cells like you said.

3) I've also just done centrifuge.

 

[mossanimal]

A couple of ways I've done it.
1) Measure the culture medium nitrate and phosphate during the phyto culture up routine, and get a feel for when those are depleted. Harvest at that point, so then media Basically Doesn't add nutrients. All of the nutrients are in the cells. (You are dosing F2 to your tank. It's just in the cells.)

2) another way I've done it is Refrigeration, settling, and pouring off the clearer water above the settled cells like you said.

3) I've also just done centrifuge.

Perfect. Thank you. Just wanted to make sure I was on the right track.