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Unread 11/05/2004, 10:06 AM   #26
JB NY
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The ones used when doing the laundry are fine.


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Unread 11/05/2004, 10:15 AM   #27
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But I have these little squat bottles, more like concentrated bleach that aren't even one gallon. That is why I thought I'd seek out the larger jug you suggested.

I do have a really nice 3g container I could use as well; it used to store toner for laser copiers. It is messy to clean them out, but they are HPDE containers.


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Unread 11/05/2004, 12:57 PM   #28
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the best bleach you can get is clorox unscented. i buy it in 5 gal buckets

it works nice for phyto cleaning but also for things like fishnets and skimmer collection cups

im still a microwave fan for small batches my nano isnt grown in small batches anymore, but i still keep small batches of other algaes.


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Unread 11/05/2004, 01:06 PM   #29
JB NY
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The bleach containers are best to use as they are quite sterile once rinsed out well.

I use generic 2 gallon unsecented bleach jugs.


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Unread 11/05/2004, 05:27 PM   #30
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How do you know when it crashes? Just curious. BTW Marc I've been growing mine with Miracle Grow and it's been working great. I ended up starting my culture from DT's because I got the photoperiod screwed up.
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Unread 11/05/2004, 06:48 PM   #31
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You'd think I'd take a picture of a dead bottle!


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Unread 11/05/2004, 08:39 PM   #32
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eewe miracle grow thats not cool!

the easiest way to see a crash is the bottle goes from green to a murky clear or yellowish tint and the green is on the bottom, when stired it doesnt float instead it kinda slowly settles like kalk in tap water.


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Unread 11/05/2004, 09:59 PM   #33
charley75
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There are lots of people using Miracle Grow....do some research...works like a charm. Liquid Miracle Grow all purpose plant food, vitamin B12, and Kent trace elements.
Charley


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Unread 11/06/2004, 05:41 PM   #34
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I just reailized I was furtilzing way to much. My tetraselmis was clumping. How do you meansure the amount of nutriunts left over in the vessil.


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Unread 11/07/2004, 02:26 PM   #35
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Argh

Well, disgustingly I have to post that yet another bottle has gone down the same path as previous cultures.

Now keep in mind that I was using some stored phyto from the fridge and not a new sample. It looked great yesterday, and today had lost that green hue and was heading south.

I started one last bottle today, using the last of my phyto from the fridge, and the bottle was rinsed with hot water and a little bleach. I used the culture media that I made about 4 days ago.

pH in the latest bottle was 8.2 Ambient temp in the room is 79F. The cotton in the vent hole was damp. Bubbling was steady, but not enough to create foam on the surface. Sg 1.019, 3ml of MAG added to 1g of culture media. Tap water was my source water. Salt is Oceanic.

Either I need to split my culture at Day Four, or I have to start with a new batch because this one is worthless.


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Unread 11/07/2004, 03:45 PM   #36
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Maybe your not rinsing out your bottle properlly?
Glass flask's are much better to work with because you can microwave them.

How do you know when your culture is ready.

what should I measure to figure out nutrient levels in my culture?

I don't want to poision anytheing.

Also micro aglea won't live very long in the fridge.

Maybe your calculations are mixed up.

1 gal = 7.8L

Are there metric L and other kinds of L. ? L = litre.

ARe there metric gal and a different kind of non metric gal?

What is your light cycle.


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Unread 11/07/2004, 04:10 PM   #37
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Maybe your not rinsing out your bottle properlly?
Glass flask's are much better to work with because you can microwave them.


After today's rinsing with bleach water, I have no doubt the bottle was as clean as it can get.

How do you know when your culture is ready.

Most state to wait 7 days to split. I'm starting to seriously look at 4 to 5 days.

what should I measure to figure out nutrient levels in my culture?

There is a Organics test by Salifert that might help with this. Of course, if you have excessive nuisance algae in your tank, you've got too many nutrients. As would higher PO4 and NO3 readings indicate.

I don't want to poision anytheing.

Also micro aglea won't live very long in the fridge.


It is usually good for about 4 weeks. It needs to be shaken every day to keep it from smothering the cells.

Maybe your calculations are mixed up.

1 gal = 7.8L

Are there metric L and other kinds of L. ? L = litre.


These calculations are available online for others. Floria Aqua Farms has a book on this topic, and people like Flame*Angel and myself have webpages to help make this process easier. For some reason, I've just lost my knack for growing this stuff, and that is why this thread is here.

ARe there metric gal and a different kind of non metric gal?

No idea.

What is your light cycle.

16 hours on, 8 hours darkness.


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Unread 11/07/2004, 08:40 PM   #38
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after re reading most of the thread, ill respond to some parts later, the advantage of using the microwave is you can take your bottle AND the culture water and sterilize both of those at the same time (do this BEFORE adding fertilizer and inoculant) additionally I did forget to menton (sorry) that when starting a culture like that you do need more fertilizer, generally its best to let the culture start then add the first dose, then another in a day or 2. you can picture the growth chart to look kinda like a table as its rising you dont want too much fertilizer, but cant have too much either, if it runs out the growth stops and the culture stops. a 2nd bulb will help you get better cultures, but not increase the survivability of these.

ok so some ?'s

what brand/type F/2?
how old is it?
how much of the culture did you start with when creating these cultures?
1 gal? are you not using 2l bottles still ??
can you estimate the amount of time it took to crash at all?
how clear is the culture water?
can you test the crashed culture water for nitrate/phosphate?
what are the temps in the area around the culture like highs/lows/swing times ????


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Unread 11/07/2004, 08:44 PM   #39
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ooh yea another reference for you
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/W3732E/w3732e00.htm


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Unread 11/07/2004, 11:26 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally posted by rsman
after re reading most of the thread, ill respond to some parts later, the advantage of using the microwave is you can take your bottle AND the culture water and sterilize both of those at the same time (do this BEFORE adding fertilizer and inoculant) additionally I did forget to menton (sorry) that when starting a culture like that you do need more fertilizer, generally its best to let the culture start then add the first dose, then another in a day or 2. you can picture the growth chart to look kinda like a table as its rising you dont want too much fertilizer, but cant have too much either, if it runs out the growth stops and the culture stops. a 2nd bulb will help you get better cultures, but not increase the survivability of these.

ok so some ?'s

what brand/type F/2?
how old is it?
how much of the culture did you start with when creating these cultures?
1 gal? are you not using 2l bottles still ??
can you estimate the amount of time it took to crash at all?
how clear is the culture water?
can you test the crashed culture water for nitrate/phosphate?
what are the temps in the area around the culture like highs/lows/swing times ????
The F/2 is Micro Algae Grow from Florida Aqua Farms. I bought it about 2 months ago, and it is stored in a cool area.

The culture media was one gallon of saline water and F/2, and I only made one 2-liter bottle to start a new batch.

The culture media water is clear. The phyto bottle starts of light green, gets darker and then starts to fade around Day 5. When the stuff crashes, it is obvious the next day. That is when I roll my eyes and wish I'd split it sooner.

I tossed the crashed stuff.

The temperature in the room never fluctuates, it is always 79F.


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Unread 11/08/2004, 12:59 AM   #41
rsman
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the FAF stuff is fine, the age and storage is good so id say you have either a source issue, contamination issue or a measuring issue or an environment issue

clear is good, well its bad but its good, yellowish is bad, ill assume you cant see anything floating in the clear stuff.

i can never find my temp conversion tables it always takes me forever to figure out where I left them. 79F is the highest you should go. at that temp you probibly are over growing the algae, you could lower the temp a little or change your culture technique ill assume that you dont need lots of algae so id just lower the temps to something like 75


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Unread 11/08/2004, 05:14 PM   #42
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I haven't had a crash since washing the containers thoroughly before refilling.


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Unread 11/16/2004, 05:48 PM   #43
Joey French
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Man, I have crashed three cultures in the last two months, so I feel your pain, man. I wish I could figure out what the problem is, because I have been extremely anal about doing everything just right.

Hopefully we both can figure it out....


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Unread 11/16/2004, 07:17 PM   #44
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You guys should really try this: I have three bottles. I empty one completely and then wash it with hot tap water. Then I empty one of the remaining two jugs into this freshly washed jug. Now wash this second jug with hot tap water. Now pour back into the second bottle 1/2 of the green water you just poured into the first bottle. I also was having crashes all the time until I started this routine. Since then I have not had a crash.


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Unread 11/16/2004, 09:54 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally posted by melev
You'd think I'd take a picture of a dead bottle!
Now that will be 142 items identified by pictures.

Marc. just a thought. It may be that the RO/DI unit itself may be harboring a bacteria pathogenic to the culture. DI resins are known breeding grounds for bacteria. I'd try boiling it in a glass pot before using it.

I see several people use a microwave to sterilize their culture equipment. That works really well for non-metallic things like bottles and tubing. After cleaning and rinsing let it air dry and zap it in the microwave. On dry materials only about 2-3 minutes is needed.

Oh, by the way; my gallons only hold 3.785 liters of solution but then again I'm weird.


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Unread 11/16/2004, 10:29 PM   #46
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Thanks for the suggestions. I've been ignoring my phyto station for the past 10 days, although I bought a bottle of DTs to start a whole new batch.

Using tap water was the general consensus, so would boiling it really be the right idea? Won't I lose some of the nitrate and phosphates commonly found in tap water?

And where the heck is Anthony in this thread?


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Unread 11/16/2004, 11:35 PM   #47
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I always use tap water, and I don't boil it.


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Unread 11/17/2004, 01:47 AM   #48
rsman
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microwaveing doesnt require bringing it to a boil, the microwave itself breaks down contaminants faster than the heat, like UV on steroids. might stick away from dt's if its possible its a mix now, it just means more issues. microwaving and boiling wont effect nitrate/phosphates or most other goodies. it just kills things.


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Unread 11/17/2004, 07:12 AM   #49
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You can't use DT as a starter culture. there's lots of threads on this.


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Unread 11/17/2004, 07:49 AM   #50
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Well, I need to start with something as I'm totally out, and numerous people have stated they started their cultures with DTs... What's the worst that can happen -- it'll crash?


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