Phytoplankton culture

[Psychonaut]

hey, thinking of starting to culture so phytoplankton as a little side project and just had a couple questions

Do I really need like an LED light, or can I just leave it in a window?

Do I really need to dose phytoplankton fertilizer? I have some ESV-B+ in the mail, can I use that? If not can someone recommend a good source that’s pretty cheap? I really just want to limit my re-occurring expenses.

Thanks!

(p.s. maybe this doesn’t count as macroalgae but I didn’t know where else to put it)

 

[taricha]

hey, thinking of starting to culture so phytoplankton as a little side project and just had a couple questions

Do I really need like an LED light, or can I just leave it in a window?

Do I really need to dose phytoplankton fertilizer? I have some ESV-B+ in the mail, can I use that? If not can someone recommend a good source that’s pretty cheap? I really just want to limit my re-occurring expenses.

Thanks!

(p.s. maybe this doesn’t count as macroalgae but I didn’t know where else to put it)

Sunlight will work, but may create temp swing between direct sun and no sun. Most people prefer the control and reliability of a fluorescent light.
Phyto fertilizer is best and easy and cheap
Florida aqua farms micro algae grow http://floridaaquafarms.com/shop/micro-algae-grow/
Fritz Pro Algae food https://fritzaquatics.com/products/f-2-algae-food
I like fritz because it's 2-part and thus less likely to go bad, and I like Florida aqua farms because it's so mindlessly easy - 10 drops per mL of culture. But both are cheap and easy and last a long time.

 

[taricha]

- 10 drops per mL of culture.

This typo obviously should have been 10 drops per Liter.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Sunlight will work, but may create temp swing between direct sun and no sun. Most people prefer the control and reliability of a fluorescent light.
Phyto fertilizer is best and easy and cheap
Florida aqua farms micro algae grow http://floridaaquafarms.com/shop/micro-algae-grow/
Fritz Pro Algae food https://fritzaquatics.com/products/f-2-algae-food
I like fritz because it's 2-part and thus less likely to go bad, and I like Florida aqua farms because it's so mindlessly easy - 10 drops per mL of culture. But both are cheap and easy and last a long time.

Agreed with the LED.

With regards to food, we recommend BRAWNDO!

but in seriousness:
Fritz is better, but FAF isn't bad. We use a derivative of Fritz Pro Algae Food. We supplement with more vitamins.

 

[shred5]

I have used several F/2 fertilizers over the years including Forida aqua-farms.

I would use a light and not a window. It is good to light it 24 hours aday.

I bought a cheap led light and rubber banded it to the 1 gallon glass jars. It was like 12 dollars and worked great.
I have also used the Innovative Marine Auqua gadgets chaetomax refugium light a little more expensive but did a better job.

Personally I got the best growth with t-5 growlights.

I will have to try Fritz.

 

[taricha]

Agreed with the LED.

When you say LED, can you give an example of what kind of light you mean?

(I checked spectrum of my cheap home depot LEDs, and the warm white misses almost all of the good wavelengths. A real waste of watts.)

 

[AlgaeBarn]

When you say LED, can you give an example of what kind of light you mean?

(I checked spectrum of my cheap home depot LEDs, and the warm white misses almost all of the good wavelengths. A real waste of watts.)

5000k to 6500k(better)

 

[hyla84]

How do concentrate it once is ready? Does anybody know how to do it?

 

[AlgaeBarn]

How do concentrate it once is ready? Does anybody know how to do it?

Concentrate the Algae? You can let it settle out or buy a continuous centrifuge (they start at about ~$10k, we just got a pretty one :-D).

 

[hyla84]

Concentrate the Algae? You can let it settle out or buy a continuous centrifuge (~$10k, we just got a pretty one :-D).

Unlikely I'm from italy. Can you ship? [emoji16]

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Unlikely I'm from italy. Can you ship? [emoji16]

What species do you need?

 

[hyla84]

What species do you need?

If you can ship everything, photo and zoo and even the centrifuge that you suggest

 

[AlgaeBarn]

If you can ship everything, photo and zoo and even the centrifuge that you suggest

pmed

 

[Silver14SS]

https://poseidonreefsystems.com/t/phytotank-complete-kits

I use this and grow more phyto than I can use. Should be easy enough to make a DIY version, but it was very convenient getting everything as a package.

 

[Will-Yum]

What species do you need?

I just ordered 8 bottles of Phytoplankton. I wish @AlgaeBarn sold gallon jugs or larger quantities cheaper.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

I just ordered 8 bottles of Phytoplankton. I wish @AlgaeBarn sold gallon jugs or larger quantities cheaper.

We are working on a product that will solve this issue pretty well. We are testing shelf life at the moment. In the meantime, how much do you need and is it regular use? We can setup a custom subscription for you

 

[Will-Yum]

We are working on a product that will solve this issue pretty well. We are testing shelf life at the moment. In the meantime, how much do you need and is it regular use? We can setup a custom subscription for you

I don't like to sign up for subscriptions cause I lose track of money going out. I've been ordering a lot from you guys lately and it varies what I need.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

I don't like to sign up for subscriptions cause I lose track of money going out. I've been ordering a lot from you guys lately and it varies what I need.

We appreciate the support, we are working on some test life studies, but we will be sure to notify you directly once we release