More questions regarding phytoplankton cultures

[duberii]

I just started a phyto culture, but I have a few questions to clarify my understanding. For one, how do I know if my equipment is clean? I'm using seltzer bottles that I rinsed out, with some airline tubing and an air stone. I'm not sure what kind of sterilization I should have done, but the airline and the air stone I used are brand new. From what I've heard I'm trying to keep certain bacteria and rotifers out, which will eat or compete with the photo, though I'm not sure how careful I need to be. I have some airline that has been out of water for years- will that be clean enough to use? Was it a bad idea to rinse the bottles with tap water? Was it a bad idea to use the same pitcher I use for my reef tank to get the clean saltwater into the bottle? Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Also, how do I know if my culture is crashing/crashed? I don't have a real way to monitor how dark the color is getting, but my guess is that it's gotten a bit darker. I know that's a good sign, but what should I be looking for? Will the water turn clear when it crashes, or turn yellow, or what?

 

[LiveWire]

You should sterilize everything with rubbing alcohol. Just rinse it with the alcohol and let it air dry (does not take long).
Sterilize anything that you are going to use for the plankton culture like the airline tubing, air stone, bottles, caps, etc. The alcohol will evaporate and everything will be good to go. Use filter floss to keep out anything you dont want getting into the bottles. Just cut a small piece and put it in the top of the bottle so that air can get out but no dust or anything can get it.

You also want to use Sterilized water. You can microwave water for 9 mins and then let it cool to room temp and then you have your water.

It will start getting lighter if its going to crash. When it does you will know it for sure. I recommend always having two cultures going so if one does crash you can split the 2nd and just start again. I also recommend using a good quality F2 fertilizer and don't even think about miracle grow it works but will eventually pollute your reef.

I have my cultures in a cabinet and surround them with foil to get the lighting all around the bottles. Any my light is on 24/7. Some people say 16/8 but I found that 24/7 is just fine.

If you sterilize, keep things out with floss, use a quality F2, have a good starter culture, and run your cultures for 7-10 days you should be fine without much chance for crashes. Have fun with it. Its a great part of the hobby. If you run into any issues drop me a PM and i will be happy to help out.

 

[Silent]

Watch youtube videos. So much good information there. Use F2 fertilizer, light 24/7, split each week, keep stuff clean but don't fret over it, keep at least 2 cultures in case of crash. Super easy to culture the most basic life form on earth.

 

[duberii]

You should sterilize everything with rubbing alcohol. Just rinse it with the alcohol and let it air dry (does not take long).
Sterilize anything that you are going to use for the plankton culture like the airline tubing, air stone, bottles, caps, etc. The alcohol will evaporate and everything will be good to go. Use filter floss to keep out anything you dont want getting into the bottles. Just cut a small piece and put it in the top of the bottle so that air can get out but no dust or anything can get it.

You also want to use Sterilized water. You can microwave water for 9 mins and then let it cool to room temp and then you have your water.

It will start getting lighter if its going to crash. When it does you will know it for sure. I recommend always having two cultures going so if one does crash you can split the 2nd and just start again. I also recommend using a good quality F2 fertilizer and don't even think about miracle grow it works but will eventually pollute your reef.

I have my cultures in a cabinet and surround them with foil to get the lighting all around the bottles. Any my light is on 24/7. Some people say 16/8 but I found that 24/7 is just fine.

If you sterilize, keep things out with floss, use a quality F2, have a good starter culture, and run your cultures for 7-10 days you should be fine without much chance for crashes. Have fun with it. Its a great part of the hobby. If you run into any issues drop me a PM and i will be happy to help out.

The strangest thing happened- my culture definitely crashed- I could tell because it was noticably more clear, but then it bounced back. I decided to throw it out just in case. First question is how do I kill off all remaining phyto- the strain I'm using can apparently live in freshwater so I can't just pour it down the drain. I have an excess of isopropyl alcohol that I could pour in to kill the phyto if you think that would work.

Another question is- how much do I need to sanitize? I have buckets of RODI water that I have sitting around, but those same buckets have had saltwater in them, so should I be worried about contamination from there? I could take some of that water and microwave it like you said. Also, I have floss but I poked a hole in the lid of the soda bottle I'm using and threaded the airline through that- will that do, or should I really be using filter floss?

 

[Silent]

Phytoplankton is ok to dispose of anyway you want. It is not an invasive organism like caulerpa macroalgae.
Clean your items but no need to get them ready for surgery. Have a second culture in case of crashes but really it is pretty easy to grow the most basic life form on earth.