Back to: Propagating Seedstring from Gametophytes

Generally, the cleaning and sterilization of all of your equipment in the nursery can be boiled down to four steps: scrub, sterilize, neutralize, and rinse. These steps differ slightly depending on what you are working with but are all imperative. Scrubbing helps to remove excess biomass or biofilm from the surfaces and allows for the sterilization to reach all the nooks and crannies. If something has a heavy biofilm, which can easily build up over the course of a nursery season, bleach may not penetrate through the film. Sterilization can be done using bleach, ethanol, steam, or UV; the method depends highly on intended use and space constraints. If you are sterilizing using bleach, it is important to neutralize using sodium thiosulfate. Rinsing with sterile seawater is important to make sure no residual chemicals are left on your equipment. Tank systems and cultures can be delicate and excess chemicals can have drastic impacts.

Cleaning Lab Supplies

Along with keeping your nursery clean, it is also very important to keep any smaller lab equipment clean. The general process for cleaning lab supplies like beakers, flasks, etc. is to scrub, rinse, steam, dry, ethanol, and rinse with sterile seawater. The steaming step can be done in an autoclave or any dishwasher with a steam setting. Soak the dishes in freshwater from the point of use up until washing, and always scrub and rinse equipment before putting them into a steam sterilizer or dishwasher. Once the items steam, leave them to dry in a clean space like a hood, and then store them in a clean cabinet or tote. Before using the equipment, spritz it with ethanol, wipe the ethanol, and then rinse with sterile seawater at least two times. Excess ethanol can have negative effects on kelp.