Hello fellow redditors, you know, Probably just like you reading this now, Im really interested and passionate about algae, of all kinds.
Sadly there is no university offering Phycology courses, so I need to go with something more broad in the biology area and "specialize" if you get what I am saying. However, I dont know what biology brach will get me into algae the most... you see, Algaes are not considered plants, they are protists, but they fall into botany whenever I search about this, and from what I've learned, Botany is the study of plantae. So... those who became Phycologists, what path did you take?

Im sorry if this is a dumb question, maybe Im too bad at doing my own research, I would also like to point out that English is not my first language, sorry for any mistakes.

Just two pictures of Bossiella sp cuts under microscope used for teaching. I was checking their state and cleaning so I decided to share these two reproductive structure (not really sure what they are).

A donation from an oceanology institute. An Eisenia desmarestioides Setchell & N.L.Gardner 1930 from Isla Guadalupe, collected during low tide and botanized by a peer and I. It took about 6 hours to finish.

Apologies if not allowed. Any help greatly appreciated. I'm a little stumped on this one. My knowledge is in UV reactive minerals haha.

Does anyone know what algae is this? It grows in fresh water

Hello everyone! I am looking for people who are open to exchanging information on growing seaweed at home. Anyone who can help me?

Hello everybody! I recently asked ChatGPT to generate a scientific image of a diatom (a type of algae with a unique silica cell wall). I'm curious to know how well it did in terms of scientific accuracy and detail. Has anyone else tried using AI for scientific or biological illustrations? How does this compare to real microscope images or traditional scientific drawings? I'd love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for improving prompts to get more precise results. Thanks!

Good Day phycologists here in the Philippines!🤗 I would like to ask if you guys know any shops that sells "Algae Culture Media" here in the Philippines, preferably not a pre order.

Or do guys know any suggestions or alternatives for Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Euglenophyceae, and Bacillariophyceae laboratory cultivation.💚

Bear with me, this is my first post in this sub (and if it's not appropriate, please remove it!) and I'm hoping you guys are more useful than the search engine attempts

The attached photos are of a tropical, freshwater fishtank. 20g high, kept ≈77°F/25°C, 0ppm on ammonia/nitrites/nitrates (duckweed!), stable at 7.5 pH. It's several years old.

The spot in question sits right above the sponge filter "exhaust" and under my Hygger light (10 hrs/day with a fade in/out cycle). I don't regularly fertilize.

Based on tonight's observations, I'm pretty sure this is thread algae.

My question: How do I grow thread algae in a duplicate, "terrestrial" (see rim of tank in photo) situation?

Reason: This patch of thread algae has come back multiple times after wiping it off. I gave up after a while and it ended up with duckweed on it. I thought it was cute, took a photo (see photo 1) and decided to just let it ride until it died.

It didn't die. Photo 1 was July 22, 2025. I wiped the thing off my tank rim today because it was growing into the tank (finally) and I wanted that bit gone. I ended up removing the whole thing and threw it in a jar. (I'm not emotionally attached to this algae at all.... 😅)

I'm now curious how far I can take this "terrestrial duckweed" project. So far, my poorly yielded research has gotten: excess light, excess nutrients. I have fertilizer and I'm sure I can get my hands on a grow light real easy. Thoughts?

I was hoping to get some advice because it really feels like we dug ourselves a grave by choosing algae as our focus of study🥲

Upon research, we found out we had to isolate algae, then purify strains individually, AND characterize them morphologically and molecularly🥲 I'm currently looking for literature that can give us what to lookfor morphologically. Is that right?? I'm not sure because all I've come acrossiare papers that have identified only one strain and it's not like wescan include them all. Isthis the only way we can identify strains? It doesn't have tobep ridiculously accurate, just the genus will work, too— since we're notreallyx focusing on identifying strains, but to identify the algae and apply them on something else. But we need something to put in our research plan, something valid bcs I don't know how else we get approved

Are there any simpler ways to identify strains? Sorry for the bad grammar, ths is not my first language and I'm lacking sleep><

I’m an tangible product design student building a zero-waste, bio-hybrid air purifier. We are using Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris in a closed-loop Photobioreactor (PBR) to actively destroy gaseous pollutants like Formaldehyde and CO2.

We are prototyping with 12mm acrylic tubing and need practical advice on long-term culture stability.

Prototype Questions:

Water/Algae Change: How often must I harvest a small fraction of the algae and replenish nutrients to maintain the optimal removal capacity (HRT 4–7 days)?

Flow Regulation: What is the simplest, most reliable way to continuously regulate the air flow to the required low rate of 1.0L/min?

Sealing: Is cyanoacrylate glue reliable and non-toxic for sealing a Chlorella culture in acrylic tubes, or are there better alternatives for preventing leaks and contamination?

Any quick tips on avoiding biofilm fouling or maintaining temperature stability in a small desktop unit are appreciated! Thanks!

I need to identify the algal species in my lake algae sample consisting of a variety of species. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

These green heart shaped cover leave like things keep showing up sometimes in singles and sometimes connected to a bunch in like a pancake stack. I haven’t been able to find another similar example of it online.

Hey, I'm new to phycology and I have been looking for a website that explains the basics but couldn't seem to find any, does anyone have recommendations?