Air borne contaminants

[mano]

I've been having some hatching and crashing issues lately with my brine shrimp. It isn't every batch but maybe once a week a hatcher will crash, either the brine hatch and die or they just don't hatch (really odd and I'd never seen this before). I've also had my enrichment containers crash a couple of times. I'm starting to think I have a contaminant in my airline or something because everything else has been fine and nothing has changed protocol wise. I use ozonated and UV sterilized water and always have, temps are fine, oxygen levels are high also. I have had some filters on the airlines that go to each of the containers(Ultra-Pure air filters) but I think they are over a year old. I bought some of the bacteria filters for airlines from Aquatic Eco to see if that makes a difference, and I replaced all of the airline today.

I know air borne contaminants are a huge problem in microalgae culture but has anyone experienced anything like this for their brine or even their larval culture tanks? I am also trying to figure out a design for a "homemade" airline filter since I have a lot of tanks so if anyone has any ideas of items that might work I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

Christine

 

[aomont]

Hi Christine,
Don´t know if your problem is really due to airborne contaminants, though it is possible, or if you have already step by this but here goes a filter diagram

It´s from FAO Manual on the Production and Use of Live Food for Aquaculture.

Anderson.

 

[ediaz]

I never had a crash like that, only if the airline slips out or too much enrichment. I doubt airbone conts.. can harm artemia.

Anyway here is how mine looks, same insides as Anderson's drawing.

Ed

 

[mano]

Thanks Anderson, I will try something like that.

Ed- I know it seems unlikely but I don't know what else it could be. Each hatcher/tank is sterilized everyday with bleach and sodium thiosulfate added to neutralize it. We are using already decapsulated Artemia so possibly something is coming in with that I guess. Since it doesn't happen every time I don't know what else it could be. It happens to me and to my assistant and it seems to be totally random when we lose them.

Thanks guys for your replies!

Christine

 

[SueQ]

Christine-
Are you guys working in an old/older type lab? Any air ducts nearby? I've had multiple random culture crashes with both algae and ciliates in our lab. We attributed some to airborne contaminants that entered either through our airlines, or the VERY short time period when we would open the culture up to w/d some for counting.
HTH!
Suzi

 

[Atticus]

I use these on my airlines...

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/6004/cid/1704

 

[mano]

Suzi-

The building I'm in is kind of old but it is pretty open so no air ducts. It's pretty much a shed actually.

I got some of the bacteria filters from Aquatic Eco and have been using them for over a week now and no crashes in any of the containers. Hopefully that solved it. I've also made a couple out of pvc like described in Anderson's post that I plan to use on some other culture tanks.

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Christine

 

[David M]

Perhaps they are fertilizing the flower fields again? :lol: