Evil Disco - Phycology 6G

[rhizotron]

Evil Disco - Phycology 6G

I'm working on a few other setups featuring bacteria and other microbes as mixed cultures in display enclosures. In another discussion here I've explained my Stromatolite Reef tank along with a Martian Biocrust terrarium. I also have a series of developing Winogradsky Columns; I really like those!

This new small aquarium is designed to instead grow single species pure phytoplankton cultures. I got a start on it with this plinth-style MDF stand that I glued and tacked together earlier this evening...

This is very basic. The system won't require a lot of hardware, so I've opted for this simple closed-up box instead of a cabinet with door and shelf inside.

The aquarium is the 16" X 16" X 6" frag tank from Advanced Acrylics. I could have easily built a small glass enclosure this size myself, but I opted for acrylic for its insulation value. My favorite idea for stocking this aquarium is the extremophile Archaeaon, Halobacterium salinarum. In addition to its extreme salinity preference (as high as 350ppt!), H. salinarium also grows best at hot temperatures (95-120F). With this acrylic tank, I should be able keep the water near the lower end of that range with a 50 or 100-watt heater. I also have a plan for a clear plastic lid to keep heat inside.

Here's a few ml of this fascinating microbe that I grew in a culture tube...

H. salinarum is among a few other halophiles that can turn a salt lake or hypersaline lagoon a shocking bright pink color with their photosynthetic and associated pigments...

By Q-lieb-in - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84230320

I need to restart a Halobacterium culture, so I will probably first set up the system for the easy-to-grow, bright green Ochrophyta, Nannochloropsis oculata. This single-celled phytoplankton really glows when you shine a light through it and it's very easy to culture...

Tomorrow night I'll sand the MDF smooth, then start sealing it up with a Titebond III + water wash. I want to paint the stand a nice bright color, maybe persimmon orange or something like that. I also have some different lighting ideas in mind.

Stay tuned!

 

[blaxsun]

It's very... green...

 

[rhizotron]

Dunaliella is another one I should try growing in here. I haven't kept it yet, but it's supposed to be pretty easy and like Halobacterium, the very high salinity in the culture medium should exclude everything else so the Dunaliella can flourish with no competition. You can get live culture of this one online for just a few dollars.

By CSIRO, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35487939

Dunaliella accounts for most of the bright pink water coloration that develops sometimes in the North Arm of Great Salt Lake where the Union Pacific causeway basically splits the lake in two and creates more saline conditions there.

By Astro_Alex - https://www.flickr.com/photos/72482589@N07/45481555892/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87892497

This is a green alga (Chlorophyta) and live cultures are usually just green in color. The bright pink occurs with production of β-carotene under good conditions. I hope that I can get this to express in the aquarium with high salinity, bright light and a favorable nutrient medium.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Microorganisms_from_the_hypersaline_Lake_Tyrrell.jpg

 

[rhizotron]

I should have this stand ready to go pretty soon. I used the table router with a roundover bit for the vertical edges to almost match the acrylic tank.

People hate on MDF because it's cheap, but it is nice to work with.

On the Internet there's is a lot of debate about the best way to finish MDF. But all you have to do is make a wash with Titebond III and water and brush it on. After the first application this will raise the particles in the MDF to make a rough surface, then you just lightly sand over everything again. Then repeat a few times. I'm going to put a white latex primer on this stand and paint with a regular latex enamel in a bright color.

If you get it to soak into the material good, Titebond III will make an almost waterproof finish. It also dries nice and hard, whereas regular white PVA glue tends to be tacky and doesn't sand as well, especially if there's any humidity in the air.

 

[rhizotron]

My favorite lighting idea...

NeoPixel Ring - 24 x 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Drivers

Here's another stocking idea. I've heard they are fussy and slow growing, but it sure would be cool to have a tank full of these...

ALGAE CULTURE KIT FOR PYROCYSTIS FUSIFORMIS

 

[rhizotron]

Some more progress...

This is not the permanent spot, but I got the stand finished and took the cling wrap off the tank...

I had them on-hand and I think I like these rounded fireplace basalt stones. In the interest of minimalism, and avoiding scratches on that acrylic, I probably won't even put sand or gravel in here...

Incidentally, one of my Winogradsky Columns is hung up on the wall here directly above the tank. This one is amore than two years old and it has matured nicely...

 

[rhizotron]

I got the LED rings from Adafruit and wired them up. They are not as bright as I had hoped (and pricey!) but they look neat.

I jammed a little jewelry case LED downlight in the middle and the output is a little better, but it is 12v, so I can't wire it with everything else. This is probably enough light for maintenance with Nannochloropsis, but might be dim for growing other stuff. I might try to scrounge for a high power 3W LED and see how much better that is.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Lookin good.
D

 

[rhizotron]

Lookin good.
D

Thanks. I hope to hang up the lighting tonight.

 

[rhizotron]

I think I have a solution for getting more brightness. A star base 3-watt LED will fit right inside that inner Neopixel ring...

Vollong 3W White High Power LEDs

It looks like manufacturers are phasing these out. Or maybe this is a supply chain problem? I can't find the cool white anywhere, but warm white will probably be OK.

 

[rhizotron]

It took me a while to get back to this, but I filled it with water and added the phyto culture. I'm setting it up first for Nannochloropsis oculata because I have those on hand. I could have dumped more in there, but I decided to add just 50ml because I thought it would be more interesting to watch the whole establishment process.

Here I go mixing metric with imperial units...but the culture solution filling the tank is 1.5ml of Guillard's (F/2) algae fertilizer with 4 tsp of salt mix per one quart of water.

I've made this pretty neat integrated water stirrer with a little low rpm DC motor that passes through the polycarbonate top.

Cheap geared motors like this one usually wear out fast, but I don't have to run it continuously and it was just eight dollars, so I can replace if it dies.

I'm working on that other lighting, but for now I just have a PAR30 LED spot light shining inside to start the phyto growth.

 

[rhizotron]

I procrastinated for a long time, but finally got back to this thing. Tonight I finished updating the new hardware and reset the Nannochloropsis culture with fresh water, salt and nutrient medium.

I ditched the original lighting idea in favor of a LED "selfie" ring light with gooseneck. This is assembled with hardware on a piece of wall-mounted t-track aluminum extrusion along with housing for a microcontroller, wiring connections and a digital clock display. I can easily add additional components to this simple setup...

That light is probably too dim for growing corals very well, but it's plenty bright for Nannochloropsis...

I wanted to run everything with the wearable controller (the round one), but had some trouble getting the whole program to load, so I just stuck this additional board in there. Good enough for now...

 

[rhizotron]

Update!

I tried restarting my Nannochloropsis culture a couple more times, but I think it was just too contaminated with other organisms because it just fizzled out.

However, more recently I got Dunaliella salina going in this setup and it has done really well! Due to this species' preferred hypersaline conditions, I expect contamination to be less of an issue.

In this pic the culture is greenish, but a few times—not every day—I've seen it with an amber-orange hue after it's ben photosynthesizing all day and with the production of its beta-carotene pigment.