r/phycology Feb 27 '20

Phycology, the study of Algae. This subreddit is not psychology, the study of human mind/behavior! (Not my photo just a generic public domain photo)

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66 Upvotes

r/phycology Oct 04 '22

Resources to learn more about Algae?

5 Upvotes

I am really curious about learning as much as I can about Phycology, any and all learning resources would be greatly appreciated. It just seems extra difficult for me to find anything specifically about algae. Microscope information welcome! Thank you <3


r/phycology 12d ago

Went fishing unknowingly in likely blue-green algae infested waters. Fishing pole is here in my apartment and has dried green stuff on it, is the blue green stuff dead and is it safe to have indoors?

3 Upvotes

Went fishing today and called it early after noticing the algae looked very bright green. Yes I understand you cannot know for sure without lab tests _but_ let’s say it was green blue algae, would it have died in an ambient temp/ indoor environment?


r/phycology 15d ago

Interested in Phycology. Should I pursue Botany or Microbiology?

3 Upvotes

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.


r/phycology 21d ago

School Chalk under an electron microscope. It’s almost entirety made up of fossilized shells of ancient single-celled marine plankton called coccolithophores (not oc)

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5 Upvotes

r/phycology Jun 17 '26

Some Bossiella cuts

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17 Upvotes

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).


r/phycology Apr 13 '26

Eisenia desmarestioides Herbalization

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20 Upvotes

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.


r/phycology Apr 07 '26

I love seaweeds

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4 Upvotes

r/phycology Apr 05 '26

Aerial photographer's hunt for salt lake 'Easter eggs' yields striking images in WA

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2 Upvotes

r/phycology Apr 03 '26

Is this dried algae that is Fluorescing under Longwave UV light?

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3 Upvotes

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


r/phycology Mar 11 '26

What algae is this?

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11 Upvotes

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


r/phycology Feb 24 '26

Seaweed at home

4 Upvotes

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


r/phycology Feb 22 '26

Scientific illustration of diatoms using AI

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0 Upvotes

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!


r/phycology Feb 09 '26

Algae Culture Media in Philippines

3 Upvotes

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.💚


r/phycology Feb 04 '26

Shame on him

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41 Upvotes

r/phycology Jan 25 '26

Probably kinda weird, but hopefully y'all can help... 😅

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16 Upvotes

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?


r/phycology Dec 24 '25

Early-stage research collaboration

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1 Upvotes

r/phycology Dec 19 '25

Help IDing this green algae/seaweed (Jamaica/Caribbean/Western Atlantic)

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2 Upvotes

r/phycology Nov 20 '25

Student-level way of identifying algae morphologically(and molecularly)

1 Upvotes

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><


r/phycology Nov 14 '25

[Academic Project] Building a Desktop PBR for Air Purification – Seeking Prototype Advice!

1 Upvotes

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!


r/phycology Nov 06 '25

Help identify algal species

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3 Upvotes

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


r/phycology Sep 25 '25

Anyone know what this micro algae is?

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5 Upvotes

r/phycology Aug 19 '25

Would you store your starter culture in a fridge freezer or deep freezer for a few weeks? 🦠

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2 Upvotes

r/phycology Aug 15 '25

Similar question but for seaweeds!? Would love to print and frame. Red seaweeds have some particularly fascinating life histories I’d love to have around the room.

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1 Upvotes

r/phycology Aug 12 '25

Any idea what type of growth this is in my pool?

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8 Upvotes

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.