Every week, I get several hobbyist that want help culturing Rhodomonas salina. I'm not claiming to be an expert. That's for Taras at Top Shelf Aquatics, as I've struggled after I got the strain in March, for a month or so.
Here's a few tips I've learned and this can be done successfully at home with out flask to hold the mother culture. If the culturing container or jar is wide, this helps with sterilization, you can wipe down the container with ease vs a narrow jug that you need multiple brushes to sterilize between each use.
I would recommend a wide mouth 1 gallon jar, I like to be able to double bleach each container, then spray down with rubbing alcohol, air dry then fill with bleach instant ocean saltwater, I use T-chlor 12.5% and it takes 25 ml to get a 5 gallons of saltwater to 50-75 ppt of bleach which is required to sanitize the saltwater. I'll let the bleach saltwater go with aeration for 1-2 hours, this gives me a peace of mind that anything I might have missed may get killed off with time. After the 2 hours is over, I'll add pool dechlorinator, you can find this on amazon or fritz sells containers of this, look for sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate. STP goes a long way I'll tell you to add 2-3 crystals per gallon, this will dissolve fast and any excess will be gone in minutes. Once the chlorine is gone, you'll want to add Fritz F/2, this is critical as it's the only fertilizer on the market that's close to what Rhodomonas needs to survive. Fritz F/2 is 13:1 ratio, ideally you want a 15:1 ratio for Rhodomonas salina but I haven't found that ratio. You'll add 2ml of each part, Fritz F/2 is two parts A & B, I recommend doing 8 ounce of Rhodomonas salina per gallon and adjusting each week depending on density each week. You may need to add more if your lighting or temputure varies during the day. I culture in an area that stays between 77-80 degrees. Rhodomonas like cooler temps, this strain does not tolerate temps well above 82 degrees.
I'll also note that after adding both parts of Fritz that you do not want to wait to add the your start of phytoplankton as precipitation will occur and you'll need to restart with new saltwater.
Here is my instagram page, I am doing a Rhodomonas salina series. While the clips are basic for now, I do have a new stand I'm working on building so I don't have to do voice overs as my operation is loud from all the pumps, air pumps and water movement. So hang in there with me as I'll be able to use more equipment to get better video content.
Come learn how to culture Rhodomonas salina part 1
Here's a few tips I've learned and this can be done successfully at home with out flask to hold the mother culture. If the culturing container or jar is wide, this helps with sterilization, you can wipe down the container with ease vs a narrow jug that you need multiple brushes to sterilize between each use.
I would recommend a wide mouth 1 gallon jar, I like to be able to double bleach each container, then spray down with rubbing alcohol, air dry then fill with bleach instant ocean saltwater, I use T-chlor 12.5% and it takes 25 ml to get a 5 gallons of saltwater to 50-75 ppt of bleach which is required to sanitize the saltwater. I'll let the bleach saltwater go with aeration for 1-2 hours, this gives me a peace of mind that anything I might have missed may get killed off with time. After the 2 hours is over, I'll add pool dechlorinator, you can find this on amazon or fritz sells containers of this, look for sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate. STP goes a long way I'll tell you to add 2-3 crystals per gallon, this will dissolve fast and any excess will be gone in minutes. Once the chlorine is gone, you'll want to add Fritz F/2, this is critical as it's the only fertilizer on the market that's close to what Rhodomonas needs to survive. Fritz F/2 is 13:1 ratio, ideally you want a 15:1 ratio for Rhodomonas salina but I haven't found that ratio. You'll add 2ml of each part, Fritz F/2 is two parts A & B, I recommend doing 8 ounce of Rhodomonas salina per gallon and adjusting each week depending on density each week. You may need to add more if your lighting or temputure varies during the day. I culture in an area that stays between 77-80 degrees. Rhodomonas like cooler temps, this strain does not tolerate temps well above 82 degrees.
I'll also note that after adding both parts of Fritz that you do not want to wait to add the your start of phytoplankton as precipitation will occur and you'll need to restart with new saltwater.
Here is my instagram page, I am doing a Rhodomonas salina series. While the clips are basic for now, I do have a new stand I'm working on building so I don't have to do voice overs as my operation is loud from all the pumps, air pumps and water movement. So hang in there with me as I'll be able to use more equipment to get better video content.
Come learn how to culture Rhodomonas salina part 1
