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High demand right now, delivery expected by October 5
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AK Culturi-M Standard

Flagship reactor

AK Culturi‑M Standard

The 2 L phytoplankton reactor for reef keepers who want serious output: sterile sealed culturing, a light you can tune to the species, and the option to turn the same vessel into a copepod reactor.

Culture volume
2 L (67.6 US fl oz)
Feeds tanks to
750 US gal
Light
6 W RGB+CCT
Built
Texas, USA

$224.00USD

Pre-order. Expected to ship mid October. Order now and yours goes out with the first run.

Phyto coming soon...Live starter cultures, shipping from Texas shortly.

Ships with a US plug, for standard 120 V homes across the US and Canada. In Australia? The AU model lives on our AU store. Anywhere else, ask us for a foreign shipping quote and we will sort it out.

  • Runs on your own air pump
  • Harvest up to 2 L every 5 to 7 days
  • Pod Core ready
  • Free step-by-step Launchpad guide

Launchpad

New to culturing, or giving it another go?

Plenty of people write culturing off after one bad run with a jar and a bit of luck. Almost none of them were ever shown the part that actually matters, so we wrote it down. The Launchpad is our free, step-by-step guide.

The Culturi-M Pro walkthrough covers the same vessel, lid and light as the Standard. The one step that differs is the air: on the Standard, your own pump feeds the 4 mm line.

  • 40 min Setup
  • 5 to 7 days Cycle
  • 2 L Working volume
Open the Culturi-M Pro guide Browse the Launchpad
  1. Set up onceUnbox, fit the rigid tubing, sterilize, prepare your saltwater.5 steps
  2. The phytoplankton cycleFill, fertilize, add your starter, open the airflow, watch it darken, harvest, reset.7 steps
  3. The copepod cultureThe slower path, for when you want pods instead of phyto.6 steps

One light, three jobs

Tune the light to what you are growing

The Culturi-M carries a 6 W smart RGB and CCT LED, so the spectrum is yours to set. Each culture wants something different, and the unit does all three without a single extra part.

Phytoplankton thrives under bright white light. Full output, run long and steady, and the culture greens up fast.

Harvest up to 2 L every 5 to 7 days, enough to dose a reef aquarium up to 2,850 L at 10 mL per 100 L daily.

Set it once and leave it

Schedule the light from your phone, or just ask. The light unit pairs with the smart home you already run, so a culture cycle keeps itself honest whether or not you remember it.

Running

One vessel, whatever you are culturing

Total volume

2 Liters

Every 5 to 7 days

2,850 L tank

Nannochloropsis and Tetraselmis for pods and filter feeders. Isochrysis when larval fish and bivalves need the DHA. The starter culture and the light settings change; the hardware does not.

A full 2 L batch every 5 to 7 days doses a reef aquarium up to 2,850 L at 10 mL per 100 L daily. Harvest what you need, top the vessel back up, and the culture keeps going from the same starter.

The lid

Sealed against contamination, still open to you

A culture crashes when something gets into it. Feeding, harvesting, aerating and venting all happen through this lid, so the vessel never has to be opened.

The Culturi-M lid from above, showing the baster port, the tubing gland, the pressure-release valve and the AK badge
  1. Turkey baster portNew on the M. Harvest phyto, target feed, or move pods without breaking the seal or pulling the lid.
  2. Glass rigid tubing glandThe air line runs through glass, not soft tube, so it cleans properly and never goes cloudy.
  3. Pressure-release valveAir goes in constantly, so it has to go somewhere. The valve lets pressure out without letting anything back in.
  4. One-piece AK lidSeals, tubing cap and valve all land in a single molded lid. Fewer joints, fewer places for a culture to crash.
A Culturi-M vessel with the Pod Core insert seated inside itA copepod

Second job

Turn it into a copepod reactor

With the Pod Core

4x

Surface area

Same 2 L vessel

Drop the Pod Core into the same 2 L vessel and the reactor changes trade. The insert multiplies the surface pods can graze and breed on, so a culture holds far more of them in the same footprint.

Nothing else changes: same lid, same light, same bench space. Run phyto this month and pods the next.

View the Pod Core
The Culturi-M seen from the side, vessel seated on the light unit
Culturi-M, side elevation

In the box

  • 1x 2 L culture vessel
  • 1x AK Culturi lid, with seals, tubing cap connector and pressure-release valve
  • 1x Glass rigid tubing
  • 1x AK Culturi light unit, 6 W smart RGB+CCT LED, US plug
  • 1x 8 mm to 4 mm airline connector
  • 5 ft 4 mm flexible airline tubing
  • 1x Gate valve and check valve
  • 1x Rigid tubing cleaner
  • 1x Microfiber cleaning cloth
  • 1x Pipette or syringe

Specifications

Culture volume
2 L (67.6 US fl oz)
Harvest
Up to 2 L every 5 to 7 days
Suits reef tanks to
750 US gal
Dose rate
10 mL per 100 L (26.4 US gal) daily
Light
6 W smart RGB+CCT LED
Control
App and voice
Power
US plug, 120 V
Cultures
Phyto, macro-algae, copepods
Upgrade
Pod Core ready
Assembled size, W x L x H
5.9 x 5.9 x 12.6 in
Shipping weight
2.2 lb
Built
Texas, USA
Full product description

The AK Culturi-M Standard is a fully reusable 2-liter phytoplankton reactor that runs on the air pump you already own: no disposable culture bags, no recurring consumable kits. Add the AK Pod Core and the same vessel runs as a copepod reactor too. One device, two cultures, no second reactor on the bench.

  • Your own air. Feed it from any 4 mm airline. Filter the line with the AK Air Guard, or run a manifold off one pump and feed a whole row of reactors.
  • Reusable glass vessel. Clean and refill. No bag kits to buy month after month.
  • Smart RGB+CCT LED. Tunable 3000-6500K white plus full RGB, dimmable, app-controlled, Alexa and Google Home ready.
  • Modular pod upgrade. Add the AK Pod Core to convert it into a copepod reactor. Same vessel, same light, same airline.
  • Turkey baster port. Harvest phyto, target feed, or move pods without opening the lid.
  • 2L capacity. Yields enough phyto for a 750 gallon reef at 10 mL per 100 L daily, on a 5 to 7 day harvest cycle.
  • Made in Texas. Manufactured and shipped from the United States.
  • Launchpad guide. We publish every step at the Launchpad: water volume, dosing, lighting schedule, harvest timing, the lot.

Prefer the pump built in? That is the Culturi-M Pro.

1 year warranty

Hassle free, fast replacement for any light or seal issue. Send a quick video and we sort it out.

This product is 3D printed, manufactured on top-end printers. It is tried, tested and endorsed by many reefers for its convenience, including improved sterility over typical DIY setups, its appeal, and the included guidance that significantly contributes to everyone's success.

Round it out

Goes well with