phytoplankton culture help

[Jakegr]

Originally Posted by donkey77

is it going to be ok if i have it in my fish room or does it need complete darkness, cause my sump light is on 18hrs a day

To maximize growth rate, light the phytoplankton 24/7. It does not need a period with the lights off. The phytoplankton gets its "dark" time as the cell circulates in and out of the inner parts of the culture. I'm not sure what species you have, but typically 100 umol (PAR) is a conservative light intensity for microalgae.

Also, this website details the F/2 medium and gives some information about general algae culture.

https://ncma.bigelow.org/node/79

F/2 can be purchased in bulk from aquatic ecosystems. The 1 gallon jugs of part A/B would last most hobbyists a very long time. To make it easy measuring-wise, you can make pre-mixed "stock-solutions" and keep them in your fridge. This would allow you to add (for example) 1 mL of stock solution per L of culture to achieve the appropriate concentration.

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategor...F-2-Algae-Feed