Is my phytoplankton nannochloropsis ready?

[max1m0]

I’ve been doing phytoplankton for around a month and been doing some harvests, but I just want to be sure is this is ready for harvest.

 

[EgotisticObeseChihuahua]

It doesn't look just ready yet. You want it to be a dark green that you would have no chance of seeing your hand through if you shined a light. right now it's a light green I would wait till it becomes a darker green.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Agree, I would wait another 2-3 days.

 

[max1m0]

It doesn't look just ready yet. You want it to be a dark green that you would have no chance of seeing your hand through if you shined a light. right now it's a light green I would wait till it becomes a darker green.

Ok thank you

 

[DaJMasta]

Opacity will depend on light strength, fertilizer amount, and aeration level,too , so that could be as dense as it reliably gets with your setup. I'd harvest and split it, leaving one portion to continue growing and see if it gets darker. If it does, leave them for longer in the future, if not, then you'd need a more powerful light, more fertilizer, or something similar to get more density.

 

[floridareeflabs]

Agree, ideally you want it to be almost "black" looking and no light coming through if possible. As stated, it depends on airation and f/2 and lighting but also salinity to achieve that level of darkness. The darker you get it the more cells you have and the less you need to start with for your next harvest. Example, we can start 5 gallon culture all day long with as little as 30 ml of our phyto as it is super dense vs if you get a light less dense phyto you will typically need more to start your culture.

Also, if you harvest too soon you are adding that fertilizer to your tank. You should typically see f/2 depleted in 10-12 days if dosing right (as well as growing conditions right) but also you can test the nitrates of a sample and ensure they are almost at 0 to know if you depleted the f/2. If too light then not enough f/2 to start with or it depleted and you have die off starting etc.

Hope this helps!