DIY Culture Station

comatose · #1 01/15/2005, 11:52 PM

Hi Dwayne, i read your Column and had a few questions,
i am growing Nanochloropsus, when it is finished growing do i put it in the refrigerater ? how long will it last in there?

how much do i feed my tank? i have a 180 gal AGA.
i was thinking of starting off with a 1/4 cup a day, is that ok?
what are signs to look for if i am feeding to much to my tank?
thanks.

Dwayne · #2 01/18/2005, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by comatose
Hi Dwayne, i read your Column and had a few questions,
i am growing Nanochloropsus, when it is finished growing do i put it in the refrigerater ?

Yes, you can store it in the fridge.

Quote:

how long will it last in there?

Supposedly it will keep for 6 months. I say supposedly because I have never kept any that long. The longest I've kept some in the fridge was two months.

Quote:

how much do i feed my tank?

This really depends on what is your tank. I suggest starting with a small amount and then increase the amount slowly over time.

Quote:

i have a 180 gal AGA.
i was thinking of starting off with a 1/4 cup a day, is that ok?

This should be a good starting point.

Quote:

what are signs to look for if i am feeding to much to my tank?
thanks.

Keep an eye on general water quality and the beginnings of any nuisance algae.

Dwayne

comatose · #3 01/19/2005, 09:52 PM

thanks Dwayne
one more question:

the bottle that just finished maturing i'm gonna use over the course of this week, do i stop the air bubbles and just let it sit on the shelf with the light and use it as needed ? or am i suppose to store it a certain way during it's use? or should it be in a warm dark place this week?

Dwayne · #4 01/20/2005, 12:25 AM

When bottles are ready for harvesting, I put them in the fridge. Left at room temp it will decay.

comatose · #5 01/20/2005, 01:22 AM

Thanks for your help Dwayne

mmcrae · #6 02/04/2005, 03:26 PM

Hey Dwayne,
Excellent article and very clever design of your automatic feeder. I am just now starting phyto, rotifer, and bs cultures. It's obvious that you have to add more phyto to the top section as it runs out. I am curiuos how long the rotifers and brine shrimp last in the middle and bottom sections. If fed well by the phyto they should reproduce and sustain a continuous culture. How's your success been?

Dwayne · #7 02/04/2005, 03:33 PM

The rotifers are sustaining themselves without intervention. The brine shrimp, I hatch in a different container and then pour them into the feeder.

mmcrae · #8 02/04/2005, 03:53 PM

thanks Dwayne

mmcrae · #9 02/04/2005, 03:57 PM

Hey Dwayne,
one more question. Where did you get that drip valve?

Dwayne · #10 02/04/2005, 04:11 PM

That was a piece that Geo had for the project. I would assume they are available from different sources.

ahancey · #11 02/15/2005, 03:17 PM

Do you have a list of specific parts needed to build this project?

Dwayne · #12 02/15/2005, 03:53 PM

Not sure which project you mean, two different ones have been discussed in this thread.

Geosapp - no specific parts list is available

Culture Station - parts are listed in the article.

Dwayne

barryhc · #13 01/28/2006, 11:45 AM

Bumpedy Bump. Where is the article ?

Thanks > Barry

Dwayne · #14 01/31/2006, 09:34 AM

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/ds/index.php

salty joe · #15 02/19/2006, 03:05 PM

Hi Dwayne,

I just read the article on your GeoSapper. That is a great idea.

Is the top of the phyto chamber open?

In a thread, you mentioned using a float switch to control water level in the GeoSapper. What do you think of using a small pump located in the aquarium with a fine pre-filter followed by a UV unit and a valve to adjust the drip rate? With the proper surge frequency and volume, would it be possible to have an indefinite supply of phyto as long as the culture was fed and illuminated?

I was thinking of using the GeoSapper method for phyto only. Then maybe another seperate unit for rotifers under the phyto for the phyto to dump into.

I've never cultured food, but when I do, I'll be trying the GeoSapper method. Thanks for sharing the info. That is one of the best DIY projects I've seen.

Joe

Dwayne · #16 02/19/2006, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Hi Dwayne,

I just read the article on your GeoSapper. That is a great idea.

Thanks, I hope you find it useful.

Quote:

Is the top of the phyto chamber open?

In the original unit the top is open. I do think better results would be achieved with a top. This can be most anything that is sufficient in size to cover the top opening.

Quote:

In a thread, you mentioned using a float switch to control water level in the GeoSapper. What do you think of using a small pump located in the aquarium with a fine pre-filter followed by a UV unit and a valve to adjust the drip rate? With the proper surge frequency and volume, would it be possible to have an indefinite supply of phyto as long as the culture was fed and illuminated?

In a recent RC thread, I mentioned using a float switch on a continuous phyto reactor. The Geosapper could be modified to function as phyto reactor. I think if the problem of "sterilizing" the input water to the phyto reactor could be overcome, you could indeed develop a method as you describe.

Quote:

I was thinking of using the GeoSapper method for phyto only. Then maybe another seperate unit for rotifers under the phyto for the phyto to dump into.

The idea of the Geosapper was to provide the mulitple sections to house phyto/rotifers/and other live foods in one device.

Quote:

I've never cultured food, but when I do, I'll be trying the GeoSapper method. Thanks for sharing the info. That is one of the best DIY projects I've seen.

Culturing live foods can seem very overwhelming at first. My advice is to take it slow and develop your own techniques for each food type you want to culture. Each time or batch you culture will become easier, but be aware that you will have periodic set backs. If you think before you act, you can minimize the number and magnitude of those set backs.

Good luck.

dpieroni · #17 05/29/2006, 10:40 AM

hi everyone,
forget my ignorance but I have start some treads about greenwater for feeding corals and have poor answers...
I have been culturing greenwater fora bout 6 months for feeding rotifers for my clowns.
I have a mixed soft coral and a few lps.
Is it woth to add greenwater to my reef directly for my corals?
I haver been reading in this forum that you are doing this for feeding.
Is this correct?
thanks
diego

Dwayne · #18 05/29/2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dpieroni
Is it woth to add greenwater to my reef directly for my corals?

This is open for discussion, but I think most agree it is beneficial. This does depend on the type of corals you keep and how much/often you feed.

Quote:

Originally posted by dpieroni
I haver been reading in this forum that you are doing this for feeding.
Is this correct?

That is correct. You can read this Reefkeeping.com article for more information on feeding the tank.