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| Super Uber Clean Phyto Culturing! | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 25 2010, 05:31:06 PM (520 Views) | |
| Post #1 Feb 25 2010, 05:31:06 PM | Suzy |
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Guys, I have the cleanest culture of phytoplankton I have ever had. It is Tetraselmis, my favorite because it has antibiotic properties along with it's high nutritional aspects and filtering ability. It is a motile algae, so when you look at it under a microscope, it is moving! Literally swimming on it's own! I got it a few weeks ago, and have been babying it to get going strong. Today, under microscopic inspection, it had zero of anything I could see! Nothing but oval, green, exactly alike cells cruising around a high rates of speed! I have grown algae for years, and it always gets contaminated by air born stinky nutritionless cells. I have been able to keep Tetraselmis going for a while before, but I going to try really hard to keep this one forever! Or at least a year, which ever comes first.... So, here is what I am doing. I have 4 empty DP bottles, turned upside down. I have found Tet likes to get into those grooves at the bottom and die. Upside down, the bottle has a funnel like effect, so any cell that gets lazy will drift down into the funnel part and get elevated into the water column. The bottles are placed in a cut in half DP bottle to hold it upright. I drill a hole into the bottom of the DP bottle, then insert a new rigid piece of tubing. I have a dedicated empty salt bucket for the new water mix. First, I wash my hands, then the sink, then the bucket. Rinse, rinse and repeat! I use my hands to get the salt out of the bucket and use my hands to stir it. I add 5 caps of fertilzer, much more than needed, but my tanks need the added fert anyway. So, I know this method is not sterile. A stupid spore could jump in at any moment! But, it is the best I can do without a hooded pharmacy table! I did add a filter between the pump and the gang valve. I think once it is mixed and in the DP bottles, all is good. I think if contamination happens, it will be when I am making the new cultures. I hope by having 4 culture bottles, I will have one not get contaminated, and be able to keep it going for a while. Or forever, which ever comes first.... Posted Image |
Seahorse Whisperer
  ![]](http://209.85.12.237/static/1/pip_r.png)
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"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny! | |
 
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| Post #2 Feb 25 2010, 05:32:50 PM | Suzy |
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Here is my tricky way of innoculating the new culture: using the rigid airline from the original culture to a new DP bottle. I hope no bugs got in! Posted Image Can anyone see a way in my process that I could be more clean? |
Seahorse Whisperer
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"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny! | |
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| Post #3 Feb 26 2010, 04:42:24 PM | Clint |
| This seems like it should work. I just wonder if at some point it will be come a bit of a bother. |
breeding stock
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| Midvale (435) 213-6215 | |
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| Post #4 Feb 26 2010, 06:32:56 PM | fisher32 |
| Well you got me going now. I haven' kept a culture for a year now. But on the bright side if anyone is going on a group order let me know...it's time to get growing again. My tank is up and running. I'm studying all the posts and trying to figure out what to grow. |
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| Somthins fishy around here....and I like it that way! | |
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| Post #5 Feb 26 2010, 11:48:19 PM | Sylvio |
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Hi Wenn man Algen über Jahre halten will sollte man sich Backup Kulturen anschaffen. Man sollte aber absolut steril arbeiten selbst die Behälter müssen sterilisiert werden. Eine weitere Möglichkeit ist das Phyto auf Ager zu pflanzen. Ich hatte mal ein Röhrchen mit Tetraselmis auf Ager. Da braucht man nur das Röhrchen mit sterielen Salzwasser zu füllen schütteln und schon kann man eine neue Kultur ansetzen. Das Röhrchen bei 15 Grad lagern da hat man es 1-2 Jahre. Posted Image MfG Sylvio |
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| Post #6 Feb 27 2010, 08:03:53 AM | Suzy |
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Bob, group order? I need to talk you into to this algae! It is sweet! I use it and supplement a paste of the other fatty acid, so I get the best of both worlds! Clint, this has already past the bother phase! This is where my compulsion shows! Once I get to a phase where I am spawning corals, this will look like silly putty stage.... I have to go meet Danika Patrick but when I get back, I have to know what Syvio is saying. Then I have to move to Germany... |
Seahorse Whisperer
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"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny! | |
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| Post #7 Feb 27 2010, 04:19:06 PM | Amie |
I think Sylvio said: If you want to keep algae for years you should purchase backup cultures. But the storage containers should be absolutely sterile themselves in order to work. Another option is to start Phyto-agars. I once had a tube of Tetraselmis on Agar. Since you only need to fill the tube with salt water stir and shake, even one can start a new culture. Place the tube at 15 degrees C (59 degrees F)because it has been stored for 1-2 years in the cold. |
stormy, stormy nights
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http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you. | |
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| Post #8 Feb 27 2010, 04:25:20 PM | Amie |
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Suzy, I think your method is perfect. I can't believe how dark your tetra. is! That's awesome. I really need to start my red phyto, it's supposed to be really hardy. I have a red and brown phyto at the moment, but they are in the refrigerator because I'm too scared to start them. I'm not sure that I trust my f/2. I've had it in the freeze for years. Maybe you should get your f/2 in a bottle that you can squirt out and then put a cap on - that way you would be reducing your chances of contamination, right? I think your method of transferring is perfect, no chance of contamination. How are you cleaning your bottles? Are you using Muriatic Acid? Or are you drinking a lot? |
stormy, stormy nights
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http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you. | |
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| Post #9 Feb 27 2010, 07:38:55 PM | fisher32 |
| I'm in on an order..I'm pumped. Green... red... pure is good! |
breeding stock
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| Somthins fishy around here....and I like it that way! | |
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| Post #10 Mar 1 2010, 06:42:33 AM | Suzy |
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I use new bottles every time. As soon as they are empty, I only drain them then put the lid on. I am thinking if I rinse them then wait for days until I need them, spores could get in from the rinse water. So, when I need them, as I clean the sink, I add a slug of bleach then rinse. I think my sterile technique is adequate enough to put some in a vacutainer from work. You know those little tubes the Doc uses to draw your blood? Those look like Sylvio tubes, but without the lid. Sylvio, are the tubes in you photo covered? Air tight? Bob, I just ordered this one a month or so ago, so I was not planning on getting more soon. How can I talk you into growing this species? Really, it is my favorite because it is the best! Just try it for a bit then order from elsewhere? I would love to share it with you! |
Seahorse Whisperer
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"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny! | |
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