Prepared Media Media Kits Media Add-Ins

Salinity Type

Freshwater Brackish Saltwater Hypersaline

Media Type

Defined Media Undefined Media

BG-11 Medium | Available in UTEX-prepared 1-Liter and test tube volumes, or in our new Media Kits for 10L or 100L total volumes.

Food for your algae

90+ Available

Media pages provide the chemical components, concentrations, and preparation details for media used at UTEX. You may also download the safety datasheet (SDS) on the media's respective page.

Available in test tube volumes, 1-Liter volumes, and in our new Media Kits for large volumes (10L+)!

Media Search

Defined vs. Undefined - What's the difference?

Defined Media Type

Defined media are ones where every chemical component and its concentration are known exactly.

+ Reproducible
+ Good for experiments
+ Known nutrient limitations
+ Easy to modify for experiments
+ Used in physiology, biochemistry, growth studies

- Some algae grow poorly
- Might be missing unknown growth factors

Undefined Media Type

Undefined media contains components whose exact chemical composition is not fully known. These often include natural extracts like soil, peat, pea, etc.

+ Many difficult/fastidious algae grow better
+ Might be beneficial for long-term maintenance
+ Mimics natural environment
+ Often improves recovery after shipping
+ Supports symbiotic bacteria

- Not reproducible exactly
- Chemical composition varies batch to batch
- Not ideal for controlled experiments
- Hard to study nutrient limitation