Algae cultures

[Maculosa]

Does anyone know of a fertilizer for phytoplankton that is usually used for plants or something that wouldn't have to be ordered online?
Just wondering if I could cut down on culture costs

 

[billsreef]

Some folks have used miracle grow. However, while it will grow alagae it lacks the vitamins and will yield a nutritionally inferior algae compared to growing algae using Guillards f/2. IMO, it's cheap enough to order a mass pack of modified Guillards that will make enough f/2 to culture a few thousand gallons of algae. Last mass pack I ordered from Florida Aqua Farms cost me a whopping $24 shipped to my door. Mix it up to a gallon concentrate, add a few drops of HCl (muriatic acid from the hardware store) as a preservative, and it will store for quite some time.

 

[papagimp]

I wouldn't say it'll yield an inferior algae, but using miracle grow will add heavy metals and other stuff the algae doesn't use or need, so this build up over time has the potential for causing problems with water chemistry. I'm still working on the intial bottle of F/2 I got from FAF about a year ago, and I doubt I'll use it all up this year either.

Maculosa, if you really want to keep culture costs down, use the appropriate ingredients to begin with, using something not designed for phytoplankton may just cause more crashes, which obviously will not help keep costs down if you have to keep remaking your cultures. I never had any luck personally using miracle grow at all, but I know others who have.

 

[GreshamH]

FWIW the cost of F2 (Vericon) has gone up. Most vendors should start showing the cost hike soon, if they all ready haven't.