Phyto Culture started

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Bangemslim

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Started a culture of phyto from AlgaeBarn and am having crazy results.  The phyto is a mix of nano, ISO, tet, and thal if that matters.  I sterilized everything before starting and am using the same setup that worked for over year.  The only difference is that instead of leaving the caps loose I put a single pinhole in each cap to relieve pressure.  What is happening here?  View attachment 1290
 
Yes, shake them everyday.  However, there have been a few times where the airline hose fell off and I'm not sure if it was for minutes or hours.  
 
Unfortunately, I have no experience with this yet, but very curious.Just from looking at the pictures, does it look like the phyto is growing to the side walls of the bottle? Maybe too much light (intensity or time) or too much air?What is your lighting schedule like (hours)?
 
I'm not sure if it's growing in the side or it's something else.  The light is a basic daylight led with hood.  It runs on a daylight schedule of 12 hours with my leopard geckos(same lift switch).  It could be the periods of time without circulation that, contamination from the holes on top when there was no pressure blowing out, or having 4 types of phyto in the same batch.  BUT I have no idea if any of those are correct, I'm just speculating.  Also do not have a microscope to verify if anything is alive.  
 
From what I have read it sounds like it is best to only have one type, in a culture.What is your circulation schedule (hours)?
 
I figured since it is sold with 4 types that they have to be able to cohabitate but could be a false assumption.  The circulation is all done with the air pump running 24/7 and why when the hose popped off it was stagnant.   
 
Hmmm, maybe they do...or do you think they mix them before selling them?What fertilizer are you using with this culture?
 
I would guess mixing them for packaging but if they have a "shelf life" of a few months then growing together for a few weeks wouldn't hurt.  Im using miracle grow as it's worked in the past.  Want to get an f2 fertilizer but no one carries it locally and I'm not big on shipping costs. I'm cheap haha
 
Hmmm, that makes sense to me!That is what I grabbed as well, I'm cheap too, just waiting for my algae discs to come.Sounds like your doing everything right to me. Seems kinda bizarre the way it is up on the walls.Think maybe the airflow is too strong? Do you have a way to restrict airflow a little or add a valve to slow down the bubbles? 
 
Ive had the exact same thing happen to me when I used miracle grow.I started a new batch from Todds Podds Sin City Brew using F2 and its still stable 3 months later.I do not have to shake the culture while it is culturing, I oly shake it when it is bottled up and waiting to be sold. I have to shake it every other day or so. Usually does not last too long though. Ive never heard of mixing multiple strains together...maybe that's your problem??
 
i always used miracle grow on mine with great results. and I also mixed all strains I could find.
 
Sorry been busy getting ready for a trip.  Yes there's a 3way gang valve that is tuned to provide even flow between all three jugs. Ive always used the same miracle grow and have had fantastic cultures that lasted for over a year.  The culture itself was purchased last month but was just split into these bottles 9 days ago.  I assume the lack of flow caused issues and slow growth
 
Interesting. So what are your plans? Gonna keep them going or start over? I will be starting mine this week. I won't be using bottles but glass containers and just one type of phyto with miracle grow. What did you use to sterilize everything with?
 
I have kept the bottles going just to see what would happen.  The algae on the sides has darkened very nicely but will never be used in any of my tanks.  I like the idea of using a more permanent solution with glass just found it easier to throw away the 2l bottle when it was consumed.I used bleach to clean and sterilize then rinsed A LOT  with rodi.  With this problem I am going to get a new set of rigid airline, silicone airline and valves just to be safe.View attachment 1363
 
Interesting, so it just keeps continuing to build up on the sides...does it seem like the culture inside is still growing though and getting darker?I should have my culture going next week and will be using glass containers, I will probably use alcohol to sterilize. Good plan?Do you think it is the bleach causing the coagulation on the sides?
 
Posted by: jenkinscrew Interesting said:
Have you started your culture yet?  Bought some glass tea jugs with spouts that I will be trying once I find someone selling a strong, established culture.  
Click to expand...
 
Yep I started mine a few days ago. Using glass containers with rigid airtube and LED light. Seems to be getting darker everyday so far. Just stirring it every evening and seems to be doing well. :)
 
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