I decided I wanted to dose phyto a little while back. Problem is the convenience of getting a steady and reliable supply is tough these days. I decided to just grow my own - Tisha and I already do a fair bit of DIY "stuff" - kombucha, sauerkraut, hydroponic lettuce and tomatoes - so I knew it wouldn't be difficult to produce enough for my needs.
Photo below is the current Holy Grail Phyto Generating Factory - reference this when reading the below info.
Everything I'm saying below is either my opinion, or someone else's opinion I choose to believe - this is not going to help you decide if you should grow or dose phyto or which specific phytoplankton to use.
There are several links in this post - NONE of them are affiliate links.
First, choose a starter culture. You want a single species, my research taught me that you do not want to try to culture a mix of species. I chose to use Tetraselmis which I purchased from Mercer of Montana on Amazon. I thought about doing 2 setups so I could grow out 2 species. The only reason I don't is because I know I'm careless and it won't be long before I pollute 1 culture with the other.
Phyto I started with - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MYFWGM1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Food for the phytoplankton - 90% of the people I found culturing phyto seemed to be using Fritz F/2. It's a 2 part solution that goes a long way! I use 1 capful of each solution in a gallon jar and it seems to be working great.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTH5NB6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTH5N8Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Vessels - anything clear has worked for me so far. I know from brewing beer that it is impossible to keep plastic sterile. After a couple cleanings there are too many micro scratches for bad stuff to hide in and you'll end up with contamination. Due to that previous experience I"m using glass containers. I have used plastic but only once and only because I didn't have another glass jar to use at the time.
Jars I'm using now - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JT2X3T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JT2X3T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lights - this stuff grows under anything. I read so much about how to get the most intense perfect spectrum blah blah this and that - I'm using a super cheap LED strip with a manual dimmer that I operate by hand each day. They easily double a gallon batch in about a week. I can't use it that fast so it's fine for me. My goal was to be around 6500k and not generate a ton of heat.
Light I'm using - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0832FVMN9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Air source - umm, anything that can blow bubbles through an air stone. To be honest - my first batch was done with no air stone, just an air tube in the jar making big giant bubbles. It worked - but I prefer the stirring action I get with an air stone. I used a pump I had laying around and purchased a pack of small air stones. I don't have a link because I have no idea where I even bought these things - sorry.
I chose to not wrap the lights around the growing vessel. I did so because I wanted flexibility to use any vessel I wanted, perhaps even multiple small vessels. The day I started this I wandered out to my garage and found a Jason Fox shipping box that was the size I thought I needed so I started with that - and you can see I'm still using it.
Initial setup.
1. Poke a hole in the bottom side of the box just big enough for the LED strip wiring to exit the box.
2. Peel and stick the LED strip lights all the way around the inside of the box. I considered lining the inside with foil to increase reflective light - but I didn't and this is working just fine so far.
3. Drill a hole through the lid of your growing vessel large enough for an airline tube to be inserted through.
4. Sterilize your growing vessel, lid and airline tubing. I'll post a reply below with how I do this and what I've learned.
5. Fill your growing vessel up about half way with FRESH, NEW saltwater. Don't use tank water or water that could have been contaminated from any bacteria etc. You do NOT want to "cycle" your phyto!
6. Add an appropriate amount of F/2 part A & B to the water and give it a quick mix. Try to maintain a little bit of sterility on anything that is going to touch this water.
7. Add your phyto starting culture. I started with a single 8 oz bottle in about 3/4 gallon of water.
8. Set up your airline tubing with airstone through the lid of the growing vessel.
9. Top on growing vessel, set in box with lights, turn on air pump, turn on lights.
10. Daily I perform the following.
Below is what that first batch looked like 6 days later.
And this was the results
Photo below is the current Holy Grail Phyto Generating Factory - reference this when reading the below info.
Everything I'm saying below is either my opinion, or someone else's opinion I choose to believe - this is not going to help you decide if you should grow or dose phyto or which specific phytoplankton to use.
There are several links in this post - NONE of them are affiliate links.
First, choose a starter culture. You want a single species, my research taught me that you do not want to try to culture a mix of species. I chose to use Tetraselmis which I purchased from Mercer of Montana on Amazon. I thought about doing 2 setups so I could grow out 2 species. The only reason I don't is because I know I'm careless and it won't be long before I pollute 1 culture with the other.
Phyto I started with - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MYFWGM1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Food for the phytoplankton - 90% of the people I found culturing phyto seemed to be using Fritz F/2. It's a 2 part solution that goes a long way! I use 1 capful of each solution in a gallon jar and it seems to be working great.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTH5NB6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTH5N8Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Vessels - anything clear has worked for me so far. I know from brewing beer that it is impossible to keep plastic sterile. After a couple cleanings there are too many micro scratches for bad stuff to hide in and you'll end up with contamination. Due to that previous experience I"m using glass containers. I have used plastic but only once and only because I didn't have another glass jar to use at the time.
Jars I'm using now - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JT2X3T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JT2X3T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lights - this stuff grows under anything. I read so much about how to get the most intense perfect spectrum blah blah this and that - I'm using a super cheap LED strip with a manual dimmer that I operate by hand each day. They easily double a gallon batch in about a week. I can't use it that fast so it's fine for me. My goal was to be around 6500k and not generate a ton of heat.
Light I'm using - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0832FVMN9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Air source - umm, anything that can blow bubbles through an air stone. To be honest - my first batch was done with no air stone, just an air tube in the jar making big giant bubbles. It worked - but I prefer the stirring action I get with an air stone. I used a pump I had laying around and purchased a pack of small air stones. I don't have a link because I have no idea where I even bought these things - sorry.
I chose to not wrap the lights around the growing vessel. I did so because I wanted flexibility to use any vessel I wanted, perhaps even multiple small vessels. The day I started this I wandered out to my garage and found a Jason Fox shipping box that was the size I thought I needed so I started with that - and you can see I'm still using it.
Initial setup.
1. Poke a hole in the bottom side of the box just big enough for the LED strip wiring to exit the box.
2. Peel and stick the LED strip lights all the way around the inside of the box. I considered lining the inside with foil to increase reflective light - but I didn't and this is working just fine so far.
3. Drill a hole through the lid of your growing vessel large enough for an airline tube to be inserted through.
4. Sterilize your growing vessel, lid and airline tubing. I'll post a reply below with how I do this and what I've learned.
5. Fill your growing vessel up about half way with FRESH, NEW saltwater. Don't use tank water or water that could have been contaminated from any bacteria etc. You do NOT want to "cycle" your phyto!
6. Add an appropriate amount of F/2 part A & B to the water and give it a quick mix. Try to maintain a little bit of sterility on anything that is going to touch this water.
7. Add your phyto starting culture. I started with a single 8 oz bottle in about 3/4 gallon of water.
8. Set up your airline tubing with airstone through the lid of the growing vessel.
9. Top on growing vessel, set in box with lights, turn on air pump, turn on lights.
10. Daily I perform the following.
- Turn on lights while I'm making coffee - for me that is usually around 5 AM. I also look and marvel at how much more green the solution is from the days before.
- Turn air pump up to high - as high as I can run it without creating foam. My goal here is to get a good stirring action going on for a short bit of time.
- After I'm done making coffee, feeding the dog etc - I turn the air pump back down to a nice steady stream of bubbles. I guess here and it's always different. I'm trying to achieve smooth and gentle movement throughout the vessel.
- ignore it for the rest of the day
- before going to bed turn off the lights. This happens generally anywhere between 9pm - 10pm. My lighting schedule is just as I described. Haphazard with mistakes. I've left the light on all night with no affects. I've forgotten to turn them on until lunch with no affect.
- in 7 - 10 days, harvest.
Below is what that first batch looked like 6 days later.
And this was the results
