Phytoplankton culture

[richardmclendonjr]

How do I know when the culture is ready? I have pictures with the lights on and without below. I started the culture on Tuesday and it looks very thick. I just am afraid of going too long and it crashing.

 

[afboundguy]

I harvest anywhere from 7-14 days but typically aim for 7-10 days. My basement is on the colder side (63.51 degrees F right now) so I tend to aim for 10+ days. My initial reaction is it's too light. There is also information out there that if you wait on the longer end (can essentially go until you start to see foam at top) you can load up healthier fats with the green photos that are usually more carbohydrate-heavy.

This is my Tetra culture from harvesting the other day and it was at 12/13 day and I could barely see the other side when shining a flashlight through one side.

 

[richardmclendonjr]

Do you ever put more f2 in it or just what you put at the start?

 

[afboundguy]

Do you ever put more f2 in it or just what you put at the start?

I have done that a handful of times when it was well past 7 days and it was super light (lighter than yours appears). How much did you put in? I use 2 ml of Fritz 2-part (1ml of each part) in my half gallon cultures.

 

[YSreef]

For me once it turns really nice green its ready, and restart the culture but generally around 7-10 days, sometimes I leave it for a bit longer cause I get lazy