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AK Culturi-M

Flagship reactor

AK Culturi-M

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
Feeds tanks to
2,850 L
Light
6 W RGB+CCT
Built
Australia

A$218.00AUD

A$257.00Save 15%

Ships with an AU plug, for standard 240 V homes only. In the US or Canada? The US model lives on our US store. Anywhere else, ask us for a foreign shipping quote and we will sort it out.

  • Free step-by-step Launchpad guide
  • Harvest up to 2 L every 5 to 7 days
  • Sterile sealed culturing
  • Pod Core ready

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, and the Culturi-M has its own walkthrough inside it.

You tick off one step at a time, it remembers where you got to, and you pick whether you are running phyto or pods. No jargon, no guesswork, and nothing you need to buy to read it.

  • 40 min Setup
  • 5 to 7 days Cycle
  • 2 L Working volume
Open the Culturi-M guide Browse the Launchpad
  1. Set up onceUnbox, fit the rigid tubing, sterilise, prepare your saltwater.4 steps
  2. The phytoplankton cycleFill, fertilise, 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.Own path

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 Litres

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 moulded 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, AU plug
  • 1x 8 mm to 4 mm airline connector
  • 1.5 m 4 mm flexible airline tubing
  • 1x Gate valve and check valve
  • 1x Rigid tubing cleaner
  • 1x Microfibre cleaning cloth
  • 1x Pipette or syringe

Specifications

Culture volume
2 L
Harvest
Up to 2 L every 5 to 7 days
Suits reef tanks to
2,850 L
Dose rate
10 mL per 100 L daily
Light
6 W smart RGB+CCT LED
Control
App and voice
Power
AU plug, 240 V
Cultures
Phyto, macro-algae, copepods
Upgrade
Pod Core ready
Shipping weight
1 kg
Built
Australia
Full product description

The AK Culturi-M is our 2L flagship phytoplankton reactor - engineered for reef keepers who want serious phyto output and the option to convert to a copepod reactor with our Pod Core attachment. Sterile sealed culturing, smart RGB+CCT light scheduling, and Australian-made build quality.

What’s new vs Culturi-S

  • 2L phyto volume: double the culture capacity for more consistent, larger harvests.

  • Larger overall unit: built to suit the bigger vessel while keeping the setup clean and purpose-built.

  • New turkey baster port: quick, no-fuss harvesting for phytoplankton, or effortless target feeding and pod handling when culturing copepods.

  • Optional Pod Core upgrade: a purpose-built insert that boosts internal surface area by up to 4x, giving pods more room to graze, breed, and thrive (sold separately).

Why you’ll want it

The Culturi-M is for people who already know the value of home-culturing and just want more of it: more phyto on hand, easier harvesting, and a smarter path into pod culturing without turning your bench into a DIY science fair.

Whether you’re culturing phytoplankton, macro-algae, or copepods, the Culturi-M gives you full control of lighting conditions to match the species you’re growing.

  • Phytoplankton thrives best under bright white light.

  • Macro-algae responds best to strong red and blue spectrums.

  • Copepods reproduce best under very low white light.

Upgrade your culturing game with the AK Culturi-M: smart and seriously effective.

Box Contents

  • 1x 2L Container

  • 1x AK Culturi Lid (including seals, connector to tubing cap, and pressure-release valve)

  • 1x Glass Rigid Tubing

  • 1x 8mm to 4mm Airline Connector

  • 1x AK Culturi Light Unit with 6W Smart RGB+CCT LED (AU plug, app and voice controlled)

  • 1x Rigid Tubing Cleaner

  • 1x Microfibre Cleaning Cloth

  • 1.5 metres 4mm Flexible Airline Tubing

  • 1x Gate valve

  • 1x Check valve

  • 1x Pipette (or syringe)

  • Starter Culture (Optional)

  • F/2 Fertiliser (Optional)

  • Air Pump (Optional)

1 year warranty

Hassle free, fast replacement for any light, pump 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

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