Large-scale culture of a tropical marine microalga Chaetoceros calcitrans (Paulsen) Takano 1968 at different temperatures using annular photobioreactors

Outdoor mass culture of microalgae in the tropical area is important to minimize its production cost. This study evaluates the growth of Chaetoceros calcitrans in 120 L annular photobioreactors at indoor temperature (Treatment I, 25 +/- 2 degrees C) and outdoor tropical ambient temperature, (Treatment II, 30 +/- 6 degrees C). Each treatment was done in duplicates. For both treatments, C. calcitrans was first grown in starter columns of 10 L capacity for a period of 7 days at 25 +/- 2 degrees C. After 7 days, the 9 L culture was transferred to the annular photobioreactors and subsequently brought to a final volume of 100 L by adding 20 L fresh medium every 5 days. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the dry weight of microalgae grown in natural light and those grown indoor. The results suggest that C. calcitrans can be grown in outdoor conditions, hence, saving time and microalgae production cost for the larviculture industry.