How to avoid Phytoplankton crashes
- Thread starter melev
- Start date
jpfelix
New member
what is your density reading the day before the crash?
i've found that increasing my bubble rate (usually within 15-20bps) helps. also, i feed my flasks (i love lab "access") every couple of days instead of one large feeding once a week. when i fed once/week i got more crashes. sometimes i think it was starvation, others may have been fertilizer burn.
for lights i have two 24' no bulbs, one on each side at the base of the flasks.
i have also had marginal success in keeping the salinity lower (1.015) if i know i will be neglecting the bottles.
no hard eveidence here, just my experience.
i've found that increasing my bubble rate (usually within 15-20bps) helps. also, i feed my flasks (i love lab "access") every couple of days instead of one large feeding once a week. when i fed once/week i got more crashes. sometimes i think it was starvation, others may have been fertilizer burn.
for lights i have two 24' no bulbs, one on each side at the base of the flasks.
i have also had marginal success in keeping the salinity lower (1.015) if i know i will be neglecting the bottles.
no hard eveidence here, just my experience.
melev
Well-known member
The density meter reads 2cm when I have a good culture. And when I get a crash, you can probably see it way at the bottom of the container.
My guess is that I'm not allowing enough air to percolate my batch, and I'm not using tap water. All this time I've used Ro/Di water as that is almost always already pre-mixed saltwater. After adding a little more water to lower the salinity, I fill the bottles.
I've started one single bottle with a little bit of phyto I still had in the fridge, using some of the suggestions in this thread. I've got cotton in the breather hole (that wasn't easy!), it's bubbling a little more powerfully, and tap water was used.
I've not had a chance to buy the 2g bleach jug, Joe. I'll do that over the weekend so I can get things ready for the next batch (or split).
My guess is that I'm not allowing enough air to percolate my batch, and I'm not using tap water. All this time I've used Ro/Di water as that is almost always already pre-mixed saltwater. After adding a little more water to lower the salinity, I fill the bottles.
I've started one single bottle with a little bit of phyto I still had in the fridge, using some of the suggestions in this thread. I've got cotton in the breather hole (that wasn't easy!), it's bubbling a little more powerfully, and tap water was used.
I've not had a chance to buy the 2g bleach jug, Joe. I'll do that over the weekend so I can get things ready for the next batch (or split).
melev
Well-known member
But I have these little squat bottles, more like concentrated bleach that aren't even one gallon. That is why I thought I'd seek out the larger jug you suggested.
I do have a really nice 3g container I could use as well; it used to store toner for laser copiers. It is messy to clean them out, but they are HPDE containers.
I do have a really nice 3g container I could use as well; it used to store toner for laser copiers. It is messy to clean them out, but they are HPDE containers.
rsman
New member
the best bleach you can get is clorox unscented. i buy it in 5 gal buckets 
it works nice for phyto cleaning but also for things like fishnets and skimmer collection cups
im still a microwave fan for small batches my nano isnt grown in small batches anymore, but i still keep small batches of other algaes.
it works nice for phyto cleaning but also for things like fishnets and skimmer collection cups
im still a microwave fan for small batches my nano isnt grown in small batches anymore, but i still keep small batches of other algaes.
melev
Well-known member
Argh
Argh
Well, disgustingly I have to post that yet another bottle has gone down the same path as previous cultures.
Now keep in mind that I was using some stored phyto from the fridge and not a new sample. It looked great yesterday, and today had lost that green hue and was heading south.
I started one last bottle today, using the last of my phyto from the fridge, and the bottle was rinsed with hot water and a little bleach. I used the culture media that I made about 4 days ago.
pH in the latest bottle was 8.2 Ambient temp in the room is 79F. The cotton in the vent hole was damp. Bubbling was steady, but not enough to create foam on the surface. Sg 1.019, 3ml of MAG added to 1g of culture media. Tap water was my source water. Salt is Oceanic.
Either I need to split my culture at Day Four, or I have to start with a new batch because this one is worthless.
Argh
Well, disgustingly I have to post that yet another bottle has gone down the same path as previous cultures.
Now keep in mind that I was using some stored phyto from the fridge and not a new sample. It looked great yesterday, and today had lost that green hue and was heading south.
I started one last bottle today, using the last of my phyto from the fridge, and the bottle was rinsed with hot water and a little bleach. I used the culture media that I made about 4 days ago.
pH in the latest bottle was 8.2 Ambient temp in the room is 79F. The cotton in the vent hole was damp. Bubbling was steady, but not enough to create foam on the surface. Sg 1.019, 3ml of MAG added to 1g of culture media. Tap water was my source water. Salt is Oceanic.
Either I need to split my culture at Day Four, or I have to start with a new batch because this one is worthless.
Bugger
New member
Maybe your not rinsing out your bottle properlly?
Glass flask's are much better to work with because you can microwave them.
How do you know when your culture is ready.
what should I measure to figure out nutrient levels in my culture?
I don't want to poision anytheing.
Also micro aglea won't live very long in the fridge.
Maybe your calculations are mixed up.
1 gal = 7.8L
Are there metric L and other kinds of L. ? L = litre.
ARe there metric gal and a different kind of non metric gal?
What is your light cycle.
Glass flask's are much better to work with because you can microwave them.
How do you know when your culture is ready.
what should I measure to figure out nutrient levels in my culture?
I don't want to poision anytheing.
Also micro aglea won't live very long in the fridge.
Maybe your calculations are mixed up.
1 gal = 7.8L
Are there metric L and other kinds of L. ? L = litre.
ARe there metric gal and a different kind of non metric gal?
What is your light cycle.
melev
Well-known member
<b>Maybe your not rinsing out your bottle properlly?
Glass flask's are much better to work with because you can microwave them.</b>
After today's rinsing with bleach water, I have no doubt the bottle was as clean as it can get.
<b>How do you know when your culture is ready.</b>
Most state to wait 7 days to split. I'm starting to seriously look at 4 to 5 days.
<b>what should I measure to figure out nutrient levels in my culture?</b>
There is a Organics test by Salifert that might help with this. Of course, if you have excessive nuisance algae in your tank, you've got too many nutrients. As would higher PO4 and NO3 readings indicate.
<b>I don't want to poision anytheing.
Also micro aglea won't live very long in the fridge.</b>
It is usually good for about 4 weeks. It needs to be shaken every day to keep it from smothering the cells.
<b>Maybe your calculations are mixed up.
1 gal = 7.8L
Are there metric L and other kinds of L. ? L = litre.</b>
These calculations are available online for others. Floria Aqua Farms has a book on this topic, and people like Flame*Angel and myself have webpages to help make this process easier. For some reason, I've just lost my knack for growing this stuff, and that is why this thread is here.
<b>ARe there metric gal and a different kind of non metric gal?
</b>
No idea.
<b>What is your light cycle.</b>
16 hours on, 8 hours darkness.
Glass flask's are much better to work with because you can microwave them.</b>
After today's rinsing with bleach water, I have no doubt the bottle was as clean as it can get.
<b>How do you know when your culture is ready.</b>
Most state to wait 7 days to split. I'm starting to seriously look at 4 to 5 days.
<b>what should I measure to figure out nutrient levels in my culture?</b>
There is a Organics test by Salifert that might help with this. Of course, if you have excessive nuisance algae in your tank, you've got too many nutrients. As would higher PO4 and NO3 readings indicate.
<b>I don't want to poision anytheing.
Also micro aglea won't live very long in the fridge.</b>
It is usually good for about 4 weeks. It needs to be shaken every day to keep it from smothering the cells.
<b>Maybe your calculations are mixed up.
1 gal = 7.8L
Are there metric L and other kinds of L. ? L = litre.</b>
These calculations are available online for others. Floria Aqua Farms has a book on this topic, and people like Flame*Angel and myself have webpages to help make this process easier. For some reason, I've just lost my knack for growing this stuff, and that is why this thread is here.
<b>ARe there metric gal and a different kind of non metric gal?
</b>
No idea.
<b>What is your light cycle.</b>
16 hours on, 8 hours darkness.
rsman
New member
after re reading most of the thread, ill respond to some parts later, the advantage of using the microwave is you can take your bottle AND the culture water and sterilize both of those at the same time (do this BEFORE adding fertilizer and inoculant) additionally I did forget to menton (sorry) that when starting a culture like that you do need more fertilizer, generally its best to let the culture start then add the first dose, then another in a day or 2. you can picture the growth chart to look kinda like a table as its rising you dont want too much fertilizer, but cant have too much either, if it runs out the growth stops and the culture stops. a 2nd bulb will help you get better cultures, but not increase the survivability of these.
ok so some ?'s
what brand/type F/2?
how old is it?
how much of the culture did you start with when creating these cultures?
1 gal? are you not using 2l bottles still ??
can you estimate the amount of time it took to crash at all?
how clear is the culture water?
can you test the crashed culture water for nitrate/phosphate?
what are the temps in the area around the culture like highs/lows/swing times ????
ok so some ?'s
what brand/type F/2?
how old is it?
how much of the culture did you start with when creating these cultures?
1 gal? are you not using 2l bottles still ??
can you estimate the amount of time it took to crash at all?
how clear is the culture water?
can you test the crashed culture water for nitrate/phosphate?
what are the temps in the area around the culture like highs/lows/swing times ????
rsman
New member
ooh yea another reference for you
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/W3732E/w3732e00.htm
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/W3732E/w3732e00.htm
melev
Well-known member
rsman said:
The F/2 is Micro Algae Grow from Florida Aqua Farms. I bought it about 2 months ago, and it is stored in a cool area.
The culture media was one gallon of saline water and F/2, and I only made one 2-liter bottle to start a new batch.
The culture media water is clear. The phyto bottle starts of light green, gets darker and then starts to fade around Day 5. When the stuff crashes, it is obvious the next day. That is when I roll my eyes and wish I'd split it sooner.
I tossed the crashed stuff.
The temperature in the room never fluctuates, it is always 79F.
