jolson wrote:Suzy I like the way you are doing this mainly because It looks like you get much better circulation that way, no dead spots in the bottom corner of the bottles. ? how do you fill and empty them, do you cover the hole with a finger
It does get great circulation. I have found
tetralsemis wants to settle out of suspension, but if it stays in the water column, it grows wonderfully.
I use bleach in my water mix, and I try as much as a hobbyist can to keep the field sterile (ish). I mix up
5 gallons, then fill as many diet Pepsi bottles as I can at one time with that mixed water, using the regular opening on the top of the bottle and tubing that has been sitting in bleach. Those bottles sit under a shelve until I need them. When I want to start a new bottle, I turn the bottle over and place it in a base made from another DP bottle, just the cut off bottom. I then drill a small hole in the top (which really is the bottom). I add a rigid piece of tubing that has been soaking in bleach water and let it bubble over night to dissipate the bleach. The next day, I use the tubing from a growing bottle to siphon a portion of that bottles contents into the new bottle.
My theory is, the positive pressure in the bottles keep pathogens from entering.
It sounds like a PIA, but it only takes a few moments to get a few bottles cooking. But, this could only work if you are addicted to Diet Pepsi. I drink way more than I should so I always have empty bottles...