# Growing algae



## egearbox (Nov 9, 2010)

Hi, I joined a few weeks ago with questions on growing algae (deliberately) for bio-energy research. I got some help (thanks!) and and got a small tank set up, in front of a window, "started" my experiment with some local pond water and used James0816's excellent DIY CO2 tutorial to "feed" my algae some CO2. 

I've gotten some results, mostly what I guess you would call "hair algae", but not the full algae "bloom" I was hoping for - it mostly just looks like a really dirty fishtank. 

I know this is probably outside most people's area of interest but does anyone have advice for getting a really good algae bloom going? Dump in some plant food or ???? Just wondering what to try next.

Thanks in advance....


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Remove the Co2 as that will help keep the algae down. Add some ferts. Kind of over dose them and in a few days you'll have an algae bloom


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

^

and lots of light


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I grew marine micro algae with 3 2 liter coke bottles. Each with a rigid air line to keep the mixture in a rolling biol. I use a 4" 2 tube utility fixture for light and fed the bottles florida aqua frams micro algae grow which is a modified f/2 (I think) mixture.

The bottles were a very dark green in a few days. I would harvest 300ml and replace that 300ml with nuked tank water each day.

I would have one "crash" occassionally but was able to keep them going for 3 years or so.


my .02


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Marimo balls are a type of algae and are quite attractive. They can be torn up to make them grow faster. I have one in a jar on the windowsill that is doing very well. With enough light they float around, if you want something that looks cool as well as does what you want consider getting some. Here is a you tube video:
YouTube - Itin 03 - Hokkaido: Marimo


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

why do I have a feeling that my shrimp would go to town on those things, lol


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

Have you done any water tests? I'd say you need to add some fish or something to dirty up your water, get some nitrate and phosphate going, but different algae have different ideal conditions, so you'll get different advice. Rather than relying on wild spores to happen by, it makes sense to find a species and make ideal conditions for it, and throw in a specific starter culture. If that's not an option, you could look for a pond or lake and try taking a dipper full of water home as a starter. Whatever is in the dipper that likes your conditions will prosper, while anything that doesn't will stay dormant. But anything that you end up with will need lots of food, hence the water tests. You'll need lots of nutrients in your water, so you need to know your nutrient levels. Since this is a green project, I'd concentrate on nutrients that are likely to be waste products from other industries, since those are the ones that will be most plentiful, cheap and helpful to use up. Might be worth a call to your local water treatment plant (or email) you can ask them what species of algae are usually most problematic for them (problematic = local & tough) and what conditions they thrive in, what human contributions are feeding the problem. My local water utility gives tours, yours might too.


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## LPUIG73 (Jul 18, 2010)

egearbox said:


> Hi, I joined a few weeks ago with questions on growing algae (deliberately) for bio-energy research. I got some help (thanks!) and and got a small tank set up, in front of a window, "started" my experiment with some local pond water and used James0816's excellent DIY CO2 tutorial to "feed" my algae some CO2.
> 
> I've gotten some results, mostly what I guess you would call "hair algae", but not the full algae "bloom" I was hoping for - it mostly just looks like a really dirty fishtank.
> 
> ...


I wasn't trying to grow algae, not deliberately.. But by placing a small, clear glass container filled with old aquarium water by a window with southern light exposure, I grew some good, thick green algae.



















If I were going to try to grow algae in larger amounts inside an aquarium tank, I would modify the aquarium tank.. I would get more clear glass, cut and fit the glass plates inside the aquarium leaving maybe an inch or two distance between the plates and I would fill the length of the aquarium (using nutrient rich, old aquarium water) with those plates leaving a gap of space between the bottom of the tank so I could run tubing throughout the bottom of the tank and the plates to create as much surface as possible and then expose the tank to strong, direct southern sunlight.. I would silicon the plates to the aquarium walls.... I would do co2 injection too - I would pump as much co2 as I could through the tubing at the bottom of the tank.. I would also cover the tank with more clear glass, to maximize the amount of light hitting and trap most co2 gas inside the tank.

There are a lot of people trying to grow algae in mass quantities as a source of future fuel..I didn't see any previous posts about algae on this forum, so here's a clip about algae being grown in laboratory conditions:


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## egearbox (Nov 9, 2010)

Wanted to thank everybody that chimed in with suggestions- I did get some algae going, but never got the results I wanted so I've turned my project into a conventional fishtank with some guppies. I guess that'll have to do for now. Thanks again to all.


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