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Algae Culturing Techniques

An algae culturing facility is an essential part of any aquaculture operation. In such facilities, attention is paid to the production of specific algal species. In order to keep the master cultures free of contamination, these cultures are maintained in a separate unit from the larger culture containers, from which the algae is harvested. Contamination of algal cultures typically occurs via cross-contamination from neighboring containers, the seawater supply or from the air supply. Careful transfer techniques and general cleanliness can therefore not be overemphasized when culturing algae.

Things You'll Need

Master algae cultures
Algae culturing facility, with two culturing rooms and administrative office
Pump house
200-foot of 2-inch diameter plastic tubing
Air conditioning unit
Twenty, 30 Watt fluorescent lights
Five, 400-gallon algae containers
Five, 1000-gallon algae containers
Sand filter
Cartridge filters
Ultraviolet (UV) sterilizer
Air compressor
100-foot of air line tubing
Carbon dioxide (CO2) cylinder
Work bench, including sink

Instructions

- 1
  Pump natural sea water to the algae culturing facility and into the sand filter. Large pieces of debris are filtered out during this first stage.
- 2
  Pump the water from the sand filter to a series of cartridges, where additional detritus is removed. Natural ocean water contains phytoplankton and zooplankton, the plant and animal components of living plankton, which die off shortly after being removed from the sea. Plankton is filtered from the water at this stage as well.
- 3
  Pump the water through an ultraviolet sterilizer. Pathogens or disease producing organisms are also present in natural sea water; these are destroyed as the water in which they are being transported is pumped past the ultraviolet light. Bacteria and viruses in the sea water are also killed at this stage of the filtration process.
- 4
  Pump the filtered water into the various algae containers.
- 5
  Put the air conditioner into operation. The rooms in which the algae cultures are propagated, must be kept dry to prevent the growth of molds.
- 6
  Put the air compressor into operation. The compressor supplies air to each of the containers in which the algae is growing. The 400-gallon tanks contain the master cultures and are set up in a separate room. The 1000-gallon containers contain the large cultures, from which algae is harvested.
- 7
  Connect the carbon dioxide (CO2) cylinder hose to the air supply line, in order to mix carbon dioxide with the oxygen for optimal algae growth.
- 8
  Turn on the twenty, 30 Watt lights that are positioned above the culture tanks.
- 9
  Add the master algae cultures to the containers.

Nature