Introduction to Algae Culture

To grow algae you will need

• A container. A flask, a Beaker Bag, a water bottle, or a glass aquarium. Almost anything that holds water and lets light in.
• Water. Chlorine free. That is the one hard rule. Bottled water works, spring water is best.
• Salts. The dissolved minerals that make the physical environment. To an alga, salts are what soil is to a land plant. Even freshwater algae needs some.
• Nutrients. Nitrogen, phosphorus, trace metals and vitamins. Dose at 1 mL per litre.
• Light. An LED on a 12 hour timer. Out of direct sunlight, because heat is what kills a small culture, not light.

That is the whole list. The full version of it is here, with what you can skip.

Just opened a box from us?

Go straight to the instructions for your kit.

• Brainy Briny Beaker Bag
• 1.7 mL Culture Kit
• 1 and 5 Gallon Culture Kit
• Spirulina Farming Kit
• Algae Beads
• Experiment Kit

The three rules that prevent most failures

1. The rule of one fifth. Never dilute your culture more than one part algae to four parts fresh media in a single step.
2. The ten percent daily rule. Once it is growing, add about 10 percent more media per day to build volume without shocking it.
3. Wait. Lag phase runs 1 to 10 days and nothing visible happens. That is normal. It is the single thing people phone us about most.

Go deeper

• How to Culture Algae
• Choosing a strain
• Setting up
• Supplies
• When it goes wrong
• Farming spirulina
• Every strain we grow
• Watch the videos
• Glossary