Plankton Culture

[thedogofwar]

Dwayne,

I recently read the article on the culture station. I have a lighting question I hope you can answer for me.

I'm planning a scaled down version of the typical production station. My needs don't require as much production.

So anyway, I planned on using (2) 1L bottles. I'm trying to figure out how much lighting I will need. My idea places one bottle over the other. I hoped to get away with a single 24" NO light running parallel to the bottles.

Will this be sufficient light? Is there a general idea of whats needed like watt/gal figure?

TIA

[Dwayne]

Originally posted by thedogofwar
Will this be sufficient light? Is there a general idea of whats needed like watt/gal figure?

I don't know if there is a 'general' idea of what is needed in regards to light. There are a few ideas and they all seem to work to one degree or another.

I have always tried to keep one side of the culture vessel lit. Sometimes this is done with a single light and sometimes it takes more than one (depending on culture vessel size). Others have lit multiple sides of the culture vessels.

The length of time the light is on is another factor. Some believe in turning the lights off for a 12/12 or 16/8 period, giving the culture a dark period. I have always left the lights on for the full 24 hour period.

I think at one time there was even discussion of using specific spectrum of light for increased production. I have always used standard florescent lighting.

IMO - Stacking 1L bottles with a 24" NO light parallel to the bottles is sufficient.

I probably did not answer your question, but hopefully gave you enough information to make a decision.

Dwayne

[thedogofwar]

no you did, I was looking for your opinion on the matter.

Let me ask you something else. I'm using Reef Angel's method (if you're familair) scaling it by half. I was curious to how much of the disc to add to the first culture medium. I was thinking 1/2 the reg scenario of 1 disc per 2L. I'm being told that the higher the density the faster it will mature.

This doesn't make sense to me. I expected the same length to mature with a higher density if I used the 1 disc per 2L. In addition, if this is true, wouldn't I need to also use the same amount of fertilizer as a 2L scenario?

I thought I had just about all the loose ends tied up and then a curveball like this. My discs are soaking in the medium right now. the 24hr mark is due at 6pm tomorrow.

[Dwayne]

I'm not sure I'm following your question here. But here goes;

To start a culture use the whole disk. Using the whole disk gives you a more pure start. The density will be determined by the size of the culture vessel and the amount of fertilizer (As well as other factors). The higher the density the faster the reproduction. Example: The old story about I tell 2 friends who tell 2 friends, who tell 2 friends is faster than if I only told one friend in the beginning.

Fertilizer is very much dependent on the size of the culture vessel. Too much or too little (outside of tolerances) will give unwanted results. Only use enough fertilizer for the 1L bottles you had planned on using. This should be 1/2 of what is used for a 2L bottle.

Dwayne