Back to: Hatchery Equipment

While it doesn’t necessarily fall under the category of equipment, nutrients are an essential part of every hatchery operation. GreenWave has tested two types of nutrients in the past:

1. Provesoli’s Enriched Seawater (PES)

2. Guillard’s F/2 nutrient media

Provesoli’s Enriched Seawater (PES)

PES is the nutrient additive preferred by scientific labs and some commercial hatcheries as it yields consistent results, has the specific vitamins that are beneficial for sugar kelp growth, and presents little contamination risk. However, PES is expensive to produce and requires lab-grade equipment for storage, handling, and mixing. Typically, PES comes as different components that need to be carefully measured and mixed before adding to your tanks. Pre-mixed solutions are available, but they’re costly at a commercial scale. We’ve included some additional instruction on making your own PES in the Preseason Preparation Course.

Guillard’s F/2 nutrient media (F/2)

F/2 is commonly used in microalgal cultures, especially in shellfish hatcheries. It isn’t typically used for macroalgae cultures, but a few studies have shown very positive results. F/2 is much less expensive than pre-mixed PES and is simple to store and use in hatchery operations. You can administer it directly to your tanks.