The Aquarist Microalgae Home Culture Kit
Hi there, Aquarist!
Welcome to the fascinating world of home phytoplankton culture. Culturing phytoplankton at home offers numerous benefits for aquatic enthusiasts and ecosystem caretakers alike. By nurturing your own phytoplankton, you not only provide a sustainable food source for your aquarium habitats, coral reefs, fish, and zooplankton, but you also gain a deeper understanding of the aquatic ecosystems vital to our ocean and world sustainability.
While the journey to a thriving culture may have its challenges, it's a rewarding process that empowers you to contribute to the health of your aquatic environment. We want to encourage you to embark on this journey with hope and excitement, knowing that with patience and persistence, you'll soon reap the rewards of a flourishing phytoplankton culture. While the initial stages may pose some hurdles, our comprehensive FAQ page is here to guide you through every step, offering insights into the variables involved and troubleshooting advice. Remember, each setback is an opportunity to learn and refine your techniques.
By consistently nurturing your home culture, you'll soon enjoy the benefits of a nearly endless supply of phytoplankton, with the only recurring cost being the purchase of new starter phytoplankton every 10 weeks or so to reset the batch.
To begin your own home phytoplankton culture, there are a few items you will need to have on hand that are not included in this kit (these items are available in other kits or alacarte in our shop):
- Water - One gallon of Reverse Osmosis (RO) water is highly suggested. If you do not have RO, distilled water from your local store may also be used.
- Lighting - Any light with a Kelvin rating of 3,000-3,500 will work. A timer a suggested as your culture will require a minimum of 16 hours of light daily. When choosing a light, pay attention to the heat generated and adjust the light's distance from the culture vessel to avoid overheating your culture. We use LED lighthing, since it generates little heat, but fluorescent or incandescent can work in certain setups.
- Air Pump - Almost any aquarium air pump will achieve the output needed for your home culture. Keep in mind that this pump will need to run 24 hours a day. An air pump including output control valve is suggested. The pump should be located higher than the culture vessel itself, to reduce chance of air flowing toward the pump. The filter on your pump will need to be checked and maintained to acertain clean air is being fed to your culture.
- Hydrometer/Refractometer - used to measure and assess salinity
The lightest of our sets, this kits includes the basic materials needed to begin your own home culturing journey.
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(1) 16oz bottles live phytoplankton (customer chooses species)
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4oz of ocean salt to make your own saltwater mix
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4oz PhytoPheed f/2 growth medium
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(2) sterile syringes with dosing caps
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(2) 3mL pipettes
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3’ of flexible air tubing
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(1) 10” 3/16 thinwall rigid air tube
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(1) 64oz glass jar, with plastic lid drilled with holes for rigid air tube and air escape
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Easy to follow instructions for beginning and maintaining your own culture sent to your email
Upgrades and additional accessories are also available in our shop.
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Reviews
I live halfway across the world and im amazed the phytoplankton made it alive to my city where the average temprature is 90 degrees!
Everything came packaged well and the order was perfect!