OldDawg
Member
I recently put together a DIY Culture Station for phytoplankton, brineshrimp, copepods, raising fry etc, easy to make, cheap and will keep a culture of phytoplankton rotating for 6-8 months.
The idea was based on an article by Dwayne Sapp, "DIY Culture Station" which I adapted to fit my needs and space in fish room. I used 1" PVC pipe, airline tubing, air pump, 2L empty Coke bottles, 2 flourescent lights, and a timer. The cost of the project was minimum, and putting it together was relatively easy.
To start the culture you will need a nanochloropsis culture on a disk, sterilized RO water to make a salt water solution with a SG of 1.020, and a F2 fertilizer solution. Sterilizing the RO or tap water will help eliminate contamination, which is the major cause of a culture crash. There are various other microalgae cultures available, and some people prefer a mixed solution, I chose nanochloropsis because it is the easiest one to grow and works well. I thoroughly cleaned and sterilized my empty 2L Coke bottles, they are cheap to purchase and easy to replace once they get too dirty to clean up.
I keep the airline just above the bottom of the bottle, and on a slow bubble so the solution is constantly moving but not foaming at the top. I have the timer set for 16 hours of light, which seems to give the best growth rate. I keep everything as clean and aseptic as possible, carefully washing my hands before touching anything, and hopefully this should help avoid contamination.
I have 5 bottles for the phytoplankton culture, labelled A, B, C, D and E. Once bottle A is ready to use, dark green so I can no longer see through the bottle, I will take 1/3 of the bottle and put it into bottle B. Then top up bottle A with culture medium (salt water plus F2 fertilizer) and top up Bottle B to the 2L mark. I do this until bottle E is ready to use, and now I have 500ml or 1000ml of fresh phytoplankton to either feed my tanks with, or to grow brine shrimp, copepods and fry. I should have a continuous supply of fresh phytoplankton solution for use.
Adding phytoplankton to the marine tank is amazing, the fish love it, the corals love it and your sand bed will come alive with lots of new creatures. Brine shrimp grow easily in the phytoplankton, and the same culture system can be used for growing brineshrimp and copepods.
The idea was based on an article by Dwayne Sapp, "DIY Culture Station" which I adapted to fit my needs and space in fish room. I used 1" PVC pipe, airline tubing, air pump, 2L empty Coke bottles, 2 flourescent lights, and a timer. The cost of the project was minimum, and putting it together was relatively easy.
To start the culture you will need a nanochloropsis culture on a disk, sterilized RO water to make a salt water solution with a SG of 1.020, and a F2 fertilizer solution. Sterilizing the RO or tap water will help eliminate contamination, which is the major cause of a culture crash. There are various other microalgae cultures available, and some people prefer a mixed solution, I chose nanochloropsis because it is the easiest one to grow and works well. I thoroughly cleaned and sterilized my empty 2L Coke bottles, they are cheap to purchase and easy to replace once they get too dirty to clean up.
I keep the airline just above the bottom of the bottle, and on a slow bubble so the solution is constantly moving but not foaming at the top. I have the timer set for 16 hours of light, which seems to give the best growth rate. I keep everything as clean and aseptic as possible, carefully washing my hands before touching anything, and hopefully this should help avoid contamination.
I have 5 bottles for the phytoplankton culture, labelled A, B, C, D and E. Once bottle A is ready to use, dark green so I can no longer see through the bottle, I will take 1/3 of the bottle and put it into bottle B. Then top up bottle A with culture medium (salt water plus F2 fertilizer) and top up Bottle B to the 2L mark. I do this until bottle E is ready to use, and now I have 500ml or 1000ml of fresh phytoplankton to either feed my tanks with, or to grow brine shrimp, copepods and fry. I should have a continuous supply of fresh phytoplankton solution for use.
Adding phytoplankton to the marine tank is amazing, the fish love it, the corals love it and your sand bed will come alive with lots of new creatures. Brine shrimp grow easily in the phytoplankton, and the same culture system can be used for growing brineshrimp and copepods.
