Aqua Medic plankton reactor Manual De Instrucciones página 7

1. Introduction
For the nutrition of many fish larvae, living plankton is a pre-condition. But also for feeding many invertebrates,
esp. sponges and corals without Zooxanthellae, living Plankton is the only choice. The plankton reactor is a
simple system for producing plankton in a natural food chain. If the food chain shall be realized completely, you
need 2 reactors:
The plankton light reactor for production of microalgae and the plankton reactor for production of zooplankton.
Both reactors differ only in the lighting. As it is recommended to use them together, they are described together
as follows:
In the first stage, microalgae are produced with light and CO
animals. The growth rate of the algae in the plankton light reactor is enormous. With optimum supply of light,
CO and nutrients (plant fertilizers) the biomass of the algae may increase 4-fold during 24 hours.
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The algae are used for feeding the 2
reactor. Here, rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) are the best choice. Rotifers have an enormous growth potential. If
they are supplied with enough algal food, they can double their biomass in 4 days. A quarter of the culture can
be harvested every day. The microalgae can, however, also be used for raising brine shrimp. If fed in the right
quantity, they are fully grown in 10 - 14 days and can be fed to bigger fish.
Species spectrum:
In the plankton reactor, many different species of marine and freshwater algae and many species of zooplankton
from salt and fresh water may be cultivated.
The main emphasis is for sure saltwater. Here, the microalgae Nannochloropsis spec and Dunaliella spec have
been proved to be suitable. The zooplankton with the highest growth rate is for sure the rotifers of the genus
Brachionus. In saltwater, Brachionus plicatilis is the best suited candidate.
For freshwater, we recommend algae of the genus Scenedesmus or Chlorella and rotifers of the genus
Brachionus, especially Brachionus rubens. Inoculums of these species, you get from your local dealer.
Algae production in the Plankton light reactor
For mass production of microalgae in the plankton light reactor, you have to create the same environment as
for the growth of water plants in aquaria:
- suitable illumination
- sufficient nutrient supply (esp. nitrogen, phosphorous, iron and trace elements) supply with CO
- sufficient water movement: This is of special interest because the microalgae are kept in suspension by the
water movement. In completely quiet water, they would sink to the bottom in some days.
- suitable temperature: set up in a warm place, optimum is 20 - 28°C.
In the plankton light reactor these conditions can be fulfilled.
The reaction pipe is transparent, the diameter is calculated that the illumination of 1 x 18 W is enough. The light
is concentrated into the algal culture with a special reflector. Also, the culture is warmed up by this. For the
nutrient supply of the algae, we recommend the fertilizer for water plants floreal + iod combined with the iron
fertilizer ferreal + spureal of the Aqua Medic program.
The reactor is aerated from below so that the algae stay in suspension. We recommend to ensure high growth
rates to add CO into the aeration nozzle. You can use a standard CO
2
Medic.
Zooplankton production in the plankton reactor
For producing zooplankton in the plankton reactor, the same conditions are valid as for the algae culture:
- sufficient water movement
- right temperature (20 - 28 °C)
- sufficient oxygen supply
- enough of the right food
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Operation Manual ENG
nd
stage of the food chain: the zooplankton. This is produced in the plankton
. They can be fed directly to many filter feeding
2
unit, we recommend CO
2
2
complet of Aqua
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