Culturing Journal DataSheet
This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place or changes are made to your system
General Species: Nannochloropsis oculata
Species description: Nannochloropsis oculata, a marine eukaryotic unicellular phytoplankton, is extensively used in the aquaculture industry. It grows in a wide salinity range and has significant nutritional value because of its high content of protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid.
N. oculata belongs to the class Eustigmatophyceae; its cells are spherical or slightly ovoid in shape and measure approximately 2–4 µm in diameter.
Culture source (link if possible
): Florida Aqua Farms Inc.
http://florida-aqua-farms.com CCMP # (Optional
): Nannochloropsis oculata CCMP525
http://ccmp.bigelow.edu/ Culture Establishment Date: 8/1/2010
Continuation Date: culture still thriving as of 6/22/2015
Culturing Vessel Details Salinity: 1.012
Temperature: Indoor culture room temp 75F-80F
pH: Starts at 8.1, but allowed to drop naturally as cell density increases
Vessel description: I make larger batches in a white 5 gallon bucket and smaller batches in clear 2 liter bottles.
Lighting description: I use a 10 watt CFL suspended 5" above a white 5 gallon bucket or two 48" fluorescent plant grow bulbs in a shop light fixture suspended 5" above a row of clear plastic 2 liter bottles sitting on top of white laminated particle board.
Lighting cycle: 24 hours continuous lighting
Aeration description: I utilize a large air pump connected to hard air tubing via soft air tubing to create medium aeration 24 hours a day. No air stones are used. Hard tubing is cleaned between batches.
Methodologies Split methodology: I allow newly inoculated culture water batches to "green up" for 5 days to a light to medium green. Then I take #2 two liter bottles worth out to store in the fridge for future batch inoculations (these remain viable for 2-3 months if you shake them regularly while in the fridge). The remainder of the batch "greens up" for another 2-5 days. Usually, by days 7-10 it is ready to harvest when dark green.
Culture medium description: I add 1.45 ml/gal Florida Aqua Farms Inc. Micro Algae Grow liquid into dechlorinated tap water. I allow this culture water to sit 24 hours with aeration before I add the green water inoculation.
Cell count: I have never truly measured microalgae cell densities. I just "eyeball it".
Reference links: http://journals.plos.org/...1/journal.pone.0026756 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/65107 http://florida-aqua-farms.com Additional Information (No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please) Notes: You will be required to provide photographic evidence and as much detail as possible about your project in this thread.
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<message edited by JNeff on Monday, June 22, 2015 2:58 PM>