DIY Amino Acids and Chlorella

TheHandyReefer

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Hello everyone!
I work at a store that has more than 20,000 gallons of coral grow out space, but dosing aminos gets expensive, so I'd like to make our own. From what I've seen, Aquavitro Fuel is the best amino acid supplement out there and as luck may have it, they posted their lab analysis of what's in it (the table is below). Two Little Fishies Acropwer is just aminos, and is based on this paper(chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1218179/pdf/9078264.pdf). Acropower has not released their formula, but it likely contains glutamate and Lysine and other aminos. Red Sea AB+ is very high in nutrients, but does a good job at feeding coral. I've spent a few weeks really diving into this topic and trying to simplify it cause there a lot to unpack.

What's in fuel amino acid supplement?
Fuel not only has amino acids, but also carbohydrates, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and trace elements. It's amazing there's so much in one bottle. My question is, how did they come up with all these quantities for so many different things? The answer is chlorella! This is a fresh water algae that is packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants. It's an incredible supplement and there's not much out there of people using it in a reef tank. This is also the likely ingredient in Red Sea AB+, cause of how green it is.

How to make it?
I'm ordering the ingredients, but I need to do a lot of mixing and testing to try and get a clear, safe and sterile solution. Aquavitro states that it is ascorbic acid in a base of chlorella. Until I get my hands on some to test with, I'm not sure what concentration or ration of ascorbic acid to chlorella I should use. Here's my thoughts so far.
-Glutamate (9%) Responsible for protein synthesis, neurotransmission, symbiosis with algae, ph regulation and more. It can be synthesized by the coral using ammonia and nitrate or they obtain it from food, water or zooxanthellae
-Lysine (4.5%) contributes to various physiological processes like, protein synthesis, growth, and overall health. Can only be obtained through zooxanthellae, bacteria, food, and surrounding water
-Argenine (4.5%) responsible for protein synthesis, nitric oxide production, symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae, coral reproduction and growth, and antioxidant defense. It can be synthesized by the coral using ammonia and nitrate or they obtain it from food, water or zooxanthellae
-tyrosine (2%) responsible for neurotransmission, antioxidant defense, melanin production. It can be synthesized by the coral using ammonia and nitrate or they obtain it from food, water or zooxanthellae
-Chlorella (80%) supplement found in powder form and used for human consumption.
-ascorbic acid ??? Acts as a preservative and plays a crucial role in corals.
As I'm learning more, I'm thinking of keeping the chlorella solution and aminos in separate containers and dose them individually and see how things look and test through ICP. I want to hear everyone's thoughts, complaints, ideas, and/or experience.

Minerals
Boron96 µg
Iodine180 µg
Iron15 µg
Copper1 µg
Zinc5 µg
Manganese62 µg
Bromide300 µg
Cobalt4 µg
Molybdenum15 µg
Vanadium28 µg
Nickel0.4 µg
Tin0.2 µg
Rubidium1 µg
Vitamins & Lipotropic Factors
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)5.0 mg
Thiamine (B1)20 µg
Riboflavin (B2)20 µg
Niacin (B3)250 µg
Choline (B4)4 µg
Vitamin B12120.8 µg
Inositol11 µg
Arginine300 µg
Glutamate600 µg
Lysine300 µg
Tyrosine190 µg
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids600 µg
 

CasperOe

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This is cool! Much an advanced expansion of the hobby for the average reefer, let us know how you get on! :cool:
 

geologeek

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Have you considered mixing the chlorella with a few different species of algae to get a broader mix of vitamins and lipids etc?

Chlorella is probably used as it covers most bases and is cheap as it is used for health foods and is made in large quantities:

Science direct article

In the past when I was producing large quantities of copepods I found that a mix of species of dried algae gave far better results and only changed to feeding live algae as I had an outlet from the university I was working with needed to waste 100's litres a week across six species and gave it to me.

Obviously your case is different, but I still think a mix beyond chlorella may have beneficial properties??
 

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