Marine algae cultivation

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Hi everyone,

I'm planning to study the increase in lipid oil production in marine algea,but now I'd like to know how to start.For me to study the increase of lipid oils in marine algae I'll have to make an marine algae tank.Can anyone guide me on the best ways to do this.I'm struggling to find specific growing conditions for marine algae.

If anyone will be so kind to help,please reply to this message
 
What type of algae are you wanting to grow? Caulerpa racemosa would probably be the easiest. Just give it a few 20w daylight energy saver bulbs , a small amount of flow and sufficient nutrients and it'll grow like mad.
 
Thanx guys will look into that.An old fish tank would be of great use now
 
Welcome to masa!
Which area of our coast do you plan to harvest the algae? Just asking as you get both coldwater, temperate & tropical brown algae species along our coast.
Unless you are planning on using an expensive chiller to keep the water cool, i would suggest you get algae from our east coast to keep in tropical temperatures.

As for lighting. Algae is the easiest of marine specimens to grow as you can use any type of "yellowish" light to grow the algae. Anything from regular bulbs, to energy savers, to halogen floodlights & led floodlights.

Feeding algae is also very easy! You can go buy a small container of plant fertelizer, & simply drop a few grains in the tank every day...
 
Growing the common brown algaes form the cape, especially for scientific purposes, isnt a easy as a simple refugium. Besides keeping temp constant, one has to insure consistent nutrient levels etc.
My old lab mates used to grow Gracilaria, i can scratch around and see which media they used.
 
Thanx david.just to reply I'm collecting brown algae from the false bay coast as brown algae is avaible in bulk here
 
@Fraser W could possibly help you too as he has a algae display tank connected to his system
 
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oh and :welcometomasa2: to MASA
 
You're going to have an extremely hard time growing coldwater algae. I'd highly recommend one of the tropical species instead. You should be able to get some cuttings from various hobbyists or pet shops to get you started.

As mentioned above, Graciliaria is probably your best bet if you need a coldwater species. It will still need a chiller though (expensive) and strong lighting (also expensive).
 
an algae scrubber connected to a sump will be the easiest and cheapest option
 
Do you know which species, some are almost impossible to grow. Biggest problem with false bay species is that they come from a high nutrient area and replicating these conditions in a closed system leads to diatom growth. Depending on water quantity and what filtration you have, you can use a chemical to prevent diatom growth.
Can you list what equipment (filters, access to cold rooms etc) you have and on what scale you plan to cultivate.
 
I'm still researching on cultivation of marine algae with the aim to extract its lipid oil.can you name possible tropicle marine algae species that I can use for scientific research because I'll have a problem with finding an appropriate chiller room
 
Green (fast growing, don't need much light):

Caulerpa
Halimeda
Bryopsis
Chaetomorpha
Cladophora

Brown (fast growing, but need very high light):

Dictyota
Sargassum
Padina

Red (slower growing, only need low light):

Botryocladia
Halymenia
 
I know that Nannochloropsis ("greenwater", type of phytoplankton) has been researched for biofuels. It's pretty easy to cultivate, though it can be a bit tricky to find the starter cultures. Guys use it to feed rotifers for fish breeding.
 
Thanx for your input guys.I'm planning to convert the lipid oil to diesel
 
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