By mass, iron is the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth’s outer and inner core. Iron is essential to building strong systems, whether it be a human, mammal, or algae culture.
Iron is a major component of hemoglobin, a type of protein that carries oxygen. Just like our red blood cells need iron to carry oxygen, so do single celled algae. Just like humans, without enough iron, your spirulina culture won’t have enough oxygen moving around, which will lead the culture to a state of fatigue.
That doesn’t mean you should bombard your culture with iron. In fact, most spirulina feeding compositions only have very small portions of iron in them, but they contain other micro elements like magnesium, which help increase the overall iron content in spirulina.
Spirulina is rich in iron, magnesium and trace minerals, and is easier to absorb than iron supplements.
Or see how to make Ferrous Sulphate Acid for spirulina cultivation« Back to Glossary Index