1.Main appliance
The main appliances should be enamel washbasin (white is better), but not aluminum. Spare appliances are measuring cup, thermograph, ph value test paper, filtration fabric, and enamel tea tray.
2. First inoculation of Spirulina
The first inoculation should be carried out at dusk to avoid bright light. Because Spirulina is sensitive to bright light after being transported in a sealed container, at the first several days, Spirulina should be shade with some material, and then enhance the illumination intensity gradually. Spirulina may get algae albefaction if it receives strong sunshine, which is result to a low survival rate and output.
Attention: Spirulina cannot be put into tap water, or water with disinfector or other poisoned or polluted water, otherwise the cultivated Spirulina will die immediately.
Way of making growth medium:
(1) Dissolve the big pack of growth medium in water, and then pure in cultivating instrument.
(2) Dissolve the middling pack of growth medium in mild water, and then pure in cultivating instrument.
(3) Dissolve the small pack of growth medium in hot water, and then pure in cultivating instrument.
(4) Add water into cultivating instrument till the water level reaches 40L, aerial the cultivating instrument to stir the growth medium fully.
3.Backyard cultivation technology
(1) Spirulina must be cultivated in specific condition, and the ph value of the growth medium should be controlled between 8.5 and 11.5.
(2) The best temperature for the Spirulina growth is 20℃--38℃, the limited growth temperature of Spirulina ranges from 40℃ to 15℃. Experiment shows that Spirulina does die from cold, but it cannot be put in dark rooms in winter, because it needs sunshine at all seasons.
(3) Stirring is one of the most effective way of improving output. Long exposure under burning sun makes Spirulina photoshock, just like human’s sunstroke.
4. Collection and dry
(1) When being given sufficient sunshine and the water temperature reaches 25℃, Spirulina can be collected every one or two days. However, the collection can be carried out every three to seven days depends on the temperature and sunshine.
(2) When the light green growth medium turns to dark green, and the surface appear a thick cyan skin of paint, Spirulina can be collected. The best time for collection is in the morning, because the quality of Spirulina is good at this moment.
(3) Filter procedure (surface filtration or liquid filtration) should be adopted in collection. In the process of filtration, on the filtration fabric leaves Spirulina, which is called dense Spirulina solution. The filtrate will be back to the cultivation container, and add into new growth medium, and then can carry out a new cultivation.
(4) Dilute and clean the dense Spirulina with clean water, filter it again, when the ph value of the filtration turns to 7, dehydrate the Spirulina solution with the filtration fabric, the dehydrated Spirulina is called Spirulina mud。
(5) The water content of dehydrated Spirulina mud is still very high. Dry them under the sun by put them on tea tray covered with a paper to avoid flies. If the condition is available, dry them in an oven at the temperature between 60℃-70℃ till the water content is below 6%.
5. Change the growth medium regularly
Generally, after 25 to 30 times of collection, the growth medium should be changed to ensure that Spirulina could grow healthy without lose its nutritious ingredients.
(1) Move out 8L Spirulina solution from the cultivation container to a clean container. Use silk sieve cloth to filter the rest solution in the original container, pour the filtrate away and put part of the filtered Spirulina on the sieve cloth to the moved out 8L solution as Spirulina seed, the rest is edible.
(2) Make a new growth medium in accordance with the above-mentioned method.
(3) The moved out 8L solution should be poured into the new growth medium for the next circle of cultivation.
6. Spirulina preservation
Some of the Spirulina ingredients should be separated from air, such as leucocyan and carotene. Because these ingredients will lose 50% of nutrition within 15 minutes when they are exposed to sunlight. For the purpose of keeping the nutriment, Spirulina usually packed with Aluminum foil or preserved in a lightproof container.