How To Grow Spirulina at Home

Transcription

1 How To Grow Spirulina at Hom (Alga Industry Magazin Dr. Aaron Baum) Th popular imag of alga farming is bubbling grn columns and whit-coatd scintists and sms out of rach for ordinary popl. Is xprinc of alga farming limitd to profssionals? A growing ntwork of DIY alga farmrs is proving at w can all participat, by crating succssful alga ponds and grow tanks in our own homs. Ths ar not mr scinc projcts. Bcaus of high rat of alga grow and ir potntial nutrint dnsity, it is possibl to produc nough in a singl window to significantly supplmnt an ordinary prson s xprimntalist s dit. Hlping s folks is mission of our lab and wbsit, Algalab.org. Alough r ar many kinds of alga, and w r committd to hlping popl grow any strain y r intrstd in, w bliv at Spirulina is bst spcis for DIYrs to start wi, for r main rasons: Spirulina in microscop

2 1. Th uniqu hal valu of liv, frsh Spirulina, vn at small doss. Just a fw grams of Spirulina powdr a day hav bn shown to hav dfinit hal bnfits. Spirulina is by far moststudid nutritional alga, bo in trms of its bnfits and lack of harm. It has bn shown to mak a diffrnc in prvnting and trating ailmnts from obsity to malnutrition, cancr to hart disas. Ths studis ar on powdrd Spirulina. Though it hasn t bn studid, it sms obvious at liv, frsh stuff which is only availabl if you grow it yourslf would b vn halir. Prsonally, I find at ating a fw grams of Spirulina wi vry mal maks mal mor satisfying, smoos out sugar highs and lows, and givs m xtndd nduranc and stamina. 2. Spirulina is saf and asy to grow. As innocnt as it may sm, Spirulina is in fact an xtrmophil, capabl of growing in xtrmly alkalin watr inhospitabl to almost vry or organism. Most or alga grow in ssntially ph-nutral watr, which supports grow of a vast rang of alga including typs at produc toxins as wll as doing noing to inhibit grow of or potntially harmful organisms such as bactria. In my biofulalga work, w r constantly fnding off invasiv spcis. It s not just an acadmic concrn. Sinc it is gnrally hard to control grow of possibly harmful stuff (and alough it s fun, w ink you should look at your cultur undr microscop vry day), is aspct of Spirulina cultivation is prtty ky to growing pur and saf culturs on a DIY

3 basis. On of bst aspcts of growing your own Spirulina is knowing at product at you ar growing is as pur and fr of contamination as possibl. 3. Eas of harvst, and no nd for furr procssing. Ev n wh n an al ga l cu lt Harvsting Spirulina wi a clo filtr ur lo ok s ni c an d ic k, it s pr ob ab ly st

4 il l ab ou t 99.9 % wa t r. S pa ra ti ng d si r d.1 % fr om al l at wa t r ca n b a

5 r al tr ic k. A s a g n ra l ru l, al ga l c ll s ar ti ny, ro ug hl y sp h ri ca l, an d

6 d vi li sh ly di ff ic ul t to pu ll ou t of wa t r wi ou t so m sp c ia l (r a d: x p ns

7 iv ) t ch. Th is is wh r co rk sc r w sh ap of Sp ir ul in a c ll s co m s in ; wh n

8 a cu lt ur is po ur d ro ug h no in g mo r co mp l x an a fi n cl ot h, it fi lt r s ou

9 t a si ly, l av in g a ic k pa st, wh ic h ca n b co ns um d im m di at l y. Co nt ra st

10 at wi n d fo r c ll ru pt ur in g, dr yi ng, an d pr od uc t x tr ac ti on in ty pi ca l al

11 ga l pr od uc ti on sy st m s, an d it s a sy to s wh y Sp ir ul in a is a go od pl ac to st ar

12 t. So if you or somon you know wants to gt involvd, what is ncssary? Noing mor an a sunny window, som sort of transparnt containr, and a kit of supplis. If you want to assmbl your own kit, w can st you up wi spirulina startr, growing tips, and any or quipmnt you might want. Som FAQs about growing alga at hom: How long dos it tak to grow from kit wi 1 litr startr bottl, until I can start harvsting from my tank? Grow-up procds in stags s instructions; you put half contnts of bottl into on quartr of tank (2.5 gallons for a 10-gallon tank) to start wi, which rsults in a vry in cultur at first, which will ickn ovr tim. Aftr a coupl of wks, alga should b ick nough at you can doubl cultur volum, n aftr a wk or so, doubl again, so at tank is full. Onc tank is full, alga ar ick (3cm Scchi or lss, s blow), and ph has bn at last 10 for 24 hours, you should b abl to harvst. This procss can tak from 3 to 6 wks.

13 AlgaLab DIY Spirulina Grow Kit Can I harvst multipl tims? Onc you hav a riving cultur (which typically taks a fw wks), you can harvst from it rgularly (how oftn dpnds mostly on how much light alga gt, mor bttr); ach tim you harvst, you add a littl Mak-Up Mix to cultur to mak up for nutrints at ar takn out in harvstd alga. What kind of watr should I us to mak grow mdium? W us tap watr, filtrd rough activatd carbon (such as a Brita) or rough a cramic filtr (such as a Brky). Alga ar quit snsitiv to chlorin (which is why it s usd in first plac!), so tap watr is only usabl if chlorin has bn rmovd which can b don using products sold for fish aquariums. Th afor-mntiond filtrs, and d-chlorination, lav minrals in watr, which is gnrally a good ing; if you want to us d-minralizd watr such as distilld or rvrs osmosis watr, or if your watr is particularly soft, you may gt bttr grow if you add som combination of 0.1 g/l magnsium sulfat, 0.5 g/l potassium sulfat, and/or 0.1

14 g/l calcium chlorid (or lim or plastr). That said, w hav yt to har of anyon having troubl growing in non- or dchlorinatd drinking watr of any kind. How much Spirulina will I b abl to harvst from my tank, how oftn, and for how long? If you follow instructions and us provid propr tmpratur, ph, and nutrints, yild will dpnd mostly on hours of bright light tank rcivs. This gnrally mans sunlight. (S blow for a discussion of artificial lighting.) In a sou-facing window wi plnty of dirct sun xposur, you can gt roughly a tablspoon of liv Spirulina harvst from a typical 10-gallon tank vry or day. Two or r such tanks (or biggr) can fit in a window for daily harvst. For how long? If propr amount of mak-up mix is addd back to tank aftr vry harvst, nutrint balanc can b maintaind for a high lvl of grow for about four to six mons, at which point ph will hav risn too high (11+) for good grow. At is point you simply mix up a nw batch of mdium, harvst all your Spirulina, and immdiatly put m in nw mdium. Aftr a coupl of wks your cultur should b full, dns, and rady for harvst again, rady to start 4-6 mon cycl. So, you nd nough startr mix to rnw your cultur vry 4-6 mons, ough it s a good ida to kp som on hand in cas anying ls might go wrong wi your mdium (ough is is unusual). Thr is no rason why you shouldn t b abl to kp going is way indfinitly. Th formula for startr and mak-up mix ar in instructions if you want to mak your own.

15 How do I us Mak-Up Mix? As dscribd abov, mak-up mix is usd only at harvst tim (or whn rmoving dad alga). Add an amount of mak-up mix proportional to harvstd alga on taspoon of mix pr tablspoon of harvstd alga, plus a dash of iron juic. This maks up for nutrints lost in harvstd alga, us nam. How do I kp my Spirulina aliv whn I go on vacation? Can y b parkd for a whil? Th trick is to slow down ir mtabolism by lowring tank tmpratur. This can b don simply by turning off hatr. Th tank should also b kpt from strong dirct light during is tim as wll, alough it dos nd som light. If kpt in is way, it should b fin for svral wks or mor. Whn bringing it back from is stat, rais tmpratur and light in stags, ovr a fw days, and alga will b fin. Can I us artificial lights to grow my alga? Som alga-nauts hav had good rsults from using artificial illumination, but it s wor rmmbring at dirct sunshin is about 100x brightr (~100,000 lux) an light in what would b considrd a vry wll artifically-lit room (1000 lux). It s hard to compt wi sun. If using artificial lighting, it s smart to tak advantag of hat gnratd by light fixtur as wll. S blow for a discussion of optimal color for an artificial light sourc. Do I nd to tll you to b vry carful about combining watr and lctricity? Watch for dripping watr going along powr cords

16 kp plugs high so you won t gt shockd! What ar hal bnfits of ating Spirulina? Too many to mntion hr; tak a look around Wb for a mor complt pictur. In a nutshll, bcaus it lacks a cll wall or any or indigstibl componnts, Spirulina is a supr-concntratd, highly availabl nutrint sourc, which nhancs nutrition of any food atn wi it. Spirulina is about 65% complt protin, and rmaindr is packd wi anti-oxidants, ssntial omga-3 fatty acids, and or compounds wi halful anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancr proprtis. As a blu-grn alga, its nutritional valu is uniqu, sinc blu-grn alga split volutionarily from grn plants approximatly a billion yars ago. My xprinc wi Spirulina (I at about 15 grams a day) is at it gratly improvs my stamina, raiss and lvls out my mood, and spds up all kinds of haling. Th first two ffcts ar consistnt wi clinical studis at show a larg rduction (up to 50%)in glycmic indx of foods atn wi vn a small amount (2.5%) of Spirulina. Is liv Spirulina bttr for you an powdr or pills I can gt at hal food stor? All studis of hal bnfits of Spirulina hav bn on dad, powdrd stuff. I bliv at liv, frsh vrsion of such a highly prishabl food would hav suprior proprtis, and is is my xprinc, having atn bo. Purvyors of powdr claim at y tak vry prcaution to prsrv nutritional proprtis of alga, but what would you rar at, a frsh blubrry, or a

17 powdrd blubrry? How long dos liv, frsh Spirulina last? How can I prsrv it? Frsh Spirulina, onc rmovd from prsrving alkalin nvironmnt of tank, is lik raw ggs in its prishability it should b atn or rfrigratd wiin an hour or so of harvst. It will last in fridg for up to r days. If frozn, it lasts indfinitly; if dhydratd (and kpt dry), it will last for about a yar, longr if kpt in an airtight containr. It s not hard to tll if it dos go bad it smlls lik rottn ggs. Is r an optimal artificial light to us for growing Spirulina? As a gnral rul, a plant or alga (or anying ls for at mattr) absorbs wavlngs (colors) at ar not prsnt in its apparnt color, which is mad up of wavlngs at it bouncs out wiout absorbing. So, chlorophyll of grn plants absorbs mainly rd and blu light, and bouncs out grn light. Grn plants nd bo rd and blu light to riv. Blu-grn alga, such as spirulina, hav spcial accssory pigmnts calld phycocyanins and allophycocyanins, which allow m to captur mor rd and orang light (and to a lssr xtnt yllow and grn) an grn plants. Thy do hav chlorophyll (only slightly diffrnt from grn plants chlorophyll), so y also us blu light. For s rasons, ordinary grow lights, which ar optimizd for grn land plants, ar not particularly good for growing Spirulina or or blu-grn alga (ough y will work). A light wi mor rd and orang light i.. a warmr

18 color would b mor fficint for grow, as a highr fraction of light will b absorbd. Anor approach would b to us whit light supplmntd by a rd-orang light sourc (paking at nm), to hit phyco-pigmnts bttr. I hav usd warmr colord compact fluorscnts wi som succss, but havn t don any sid-by-sid tsting. In gnral, ough, color of light sourc is not as important in my xprinc as gtting nutrints and tmpratur right, and providing LOTS of light, which is a lot asir using sunshin! Rlatd Rading: Total Nutrition Mak your own Hommad Multivitamin and Minral Formula (wi Spirulina and chlorlla) Alga-Growing Nuns In Cntral African Grow Spirulina For Malnourishd Childrn Hal Bnfits of Klp Th Wird Sustainabl Foods W Could All B Eating Soon Alga-Growing Nuns In Cntral African Grow Spirulina For Malnourishd Childrn Hal Bnfits of Klp