Glowing Algae Water Fountain

I would be curious to see what the vibrations from a speaker would do if you placed a bottle of the stuff on top of one.

He's an example of that being a nerd aint so bad after all...

The ending was hilarious! Cool video.

I’m going to dub this his most underrated video. Super cool & something most could actually mess around with.

You ever see those visual audio models that have flames match sine waves of a sound? This would be awesome to do with bio-luminescence and sound waves in the dark!

I always watch this video over for the pee scene. gets me every time.
However, I really want to make one and embed UV LEDS into the pool at the bottom to recharge the little buggers in the morning, that way I have a really cool fountain AND happy plankton. The only remaining question it how would I breed them?

I love the pocket gods/ double rainbow reference at the end.

This is a really well produced video and thanks for the info and ideas. This is in our local water in the summer months it is at it's peak and I'm going to see if I can bottle it and bring it home! Thanks again for the idea!

I wish he'd told us how long the fountain's glowing lasted. Also, would the algae recover their superpower if exposed to a cloudy day outdoors?

hoW COOL WOULD IT BE IN A WATER SPEAKER

2022 Mark Rober would so make a giant outdoor rock garden with a two story waterfall and a thousand gallons of bioluminescent water, then have a nighttime barbecue/garden party for all his friends and family.

You remind me of my science teacher so much! He's always wondering how things work and coming up with creative methods to do things.

Can the algae be revived of you put it back in the jar and set it out in the sunlight?

Your old videos are actually really amazing!

so glad you are putting videos up again!

Finally! A new video. I was dying from due to a lack of your videos! But now I feel better.

This is so chill Mark! I just found you thanks to Smarter Every Day and your vids are awesome. Thanks for having such a cool brain!

Hahaha! That was fantastic! It's so bright! Vivid! Thankyou.

thats awesome, i did not care much about it but you explain it in a enlighting way.

He’s come so far in the few years!

Thank You for uploading ..... Totally worth the wait for your videos

Lovin the format!

fascinating and funny. a very underrated video Mark.

he has changed so much over the years.

You inspire me everyday!

Oh oh oh AAAOOH it's so bright

You are seriously the best youtuber ever!!!!! 😊

Aim am watching this in 2020 from San Diego where that is in the ocean lighting the waves up at night

Love this!!!

That's really awesome, Mark!

You are probably my favorite youtuber!

Great videos man. makes me laugh all the time. You're the COOLEST!

You make science so fun :)

Lol!! Double Rainbow reference? Great video!

Can u set up an energy source for the allge to stay living like a uv lamp or heat lamp or something of that sort? Or just stick the fountain in a sunny window while at work with like a clear glass back so any allge in the pump still gets energized?

Awesome!!!!!

Omg!!! So funny. I had forgotten all about the double-rainbow guy!!

You could create a partitioned aquarium that would continuously circulate them between a resting and charging spot as well an active spot with fish and water churning

Double Rainbow ref had me rolling

#21 of the binge and imma put this in my room

720p and still looks amazing how is that? Everyone else’s videos in 720p look well pretty crappy.

Hi love your channel! I bought bioluminescent dinoflagellate medium from the link below.. I know it needs to be agitated to glow, but do I need to add a chemical or do something with the liquid before it becomes activated? Having trouble getting it to work..

Congrats on the one million subscribers!!!!

Awesome!

LoL - LOVE the Ending - awesome stuff dood!

Amazing what nature can produce!

Cool Ctr on the fridge I remember primary!

Bright idea :)

must get some now! word!!

Great vid!

Wait, what really happens when you drink it

very cool, very!!

YOU ARE SO FREAKING CREATIVE!!! :D

very cool

Nice CTR

Perhaps if the fountain were in a pond that doesnt pull the entire algae organisms through various cycles per minute? make it big enough so that a whole rotation of the pond water takes a 12 hour shift, enough so they'll have time to rest, multiply, and restore energy?

This is genius! I will never ever use the lights when I go to the toilet again!

They must be going crazy on their way through the pump....

If vibrations are enough to agitate the liquid, then setting up an elaborate wine glass presentation with loud bass music could be the coolest thing ever. Think of it, already perfectly synced up, flashes varying in intensity based on the loudness and frequency of the music.

This would be great for parties!

LIT UP THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

What camera and camera settings did you use to video it so well?

Bout time!!!

Cool

what if you put it in an outdoor fountain or if your desk fountain was near a window that had direct sunlight? Would the Algae recharge as it were?

Awesome idea where did you get the little zen fountain?

i could do this in a chocolate fountain. awsome

that ending was the best

Where did you get that water fountain from? I can't find any too similar to it and i like it

Do they survive on tap water or do they need some special treatment on the water to stay alive? And do regular fluorescent bulbs give off light in the frequencies the algae needs? Oh, and are they harmed if the light cycle is inconsistent?

would be cool to see if you could get it to react to sound waves.

Okay, so I'm thinking it would be possible to place the fountain on top of an enclosed reservoir that contains the LED lighting needed to feed the algae during the day, turned off using an outlet timer (or similar) when appropriate to let the algae know it's nighttime. Sounds plausible? Only one way to find out!

If your fountain was in some sunlight during the day would that replenish the algae's glow.. or does it simply only have a certain lifespan?

Your videos are cool! Arturo sent me here

Wow, what an ending!! lol!!

Can you mix it with water too or does it have to be just the fluid provided?

Im definetely drinking that now

how long will it take to stop producing light and what happens if you drink it?

Is there a way to keep a colony of them living for longer if they get nutrients and sunlight?

You know, a simple solution (though it takes work) would be an aquarium.
This species is marine, so you'd need a marine setup. I'd suggest a 10 gallon so you could add a small piece of live rock and still have plenty of sand for the algae to grow in that can be blown around at night by pointing the powerhead downward. If it's a good piece of live rock, you likely won't need to add any livestock, as there'll be 'hitchhikers'. A good light fixture would provide the necessary 'sunlight'.

Since it stops glowing because of not enough energy from sunlight, if i put an artificial light near it to give out energy?

Sir can you update the link I want to buy one of those

Is it agitation, or pressure?
Is an aquatic Ruben's Tube possible?

Do you think I can use it in a watercooled pc?

Hmm, and if the fountain is overkill 24/7 agitation (I'm not familiar with growing algae beyond very brief research), I suppose the outlet timer could also exchange the fountain for an aquarium-pump during the day to more gently do the job.

Your videos are great. Informative and entertaining. Glad lifehacker shared your watermelon trick so I could find and watch all your videos today. Yeah I should've been working....

Thats so cool.. by the way I like the last part of the video so funny.. :)

i have a fish tank, 50 gallon i believe, if i poured this stuff in it will fish survive? can it be mixed with regular distilled water, or tap? will it work in a 2000 gallon pond in my backyard? this might be the coolest stuff ever haha

If I put this in a small fountain would it be fine going through the water pump?

Double Rainbow!

mark im going to order it what size is the bottle your holding thanks

Nice ending.

Dinoflagellates!!!

Would it a problem with cleaning the fountain?

ive been wanting to do this so bad! i really want to make like an aquarium to keep it alive

@jesse108 Oh nice to see you again...yeah I'm still modeling part time

Could you not add something to the water that would cause a mild reaction which would in turn "activate" the algae, but of course without killing it? The only slow-ish element I can think of is calcium, especially in small quantities.. but then you would have to have some sort of controlled release mech for the calcium pellets. I dunno; just an idea.

Ok so I am guessing "growth medium" is just food for the algae right, so if you added this to a backyard pond with koi and turtles, would it in theory be able to glow indefinitely? Would it harm the animals?

Apparently you can buy "Algal Growth Media" (on the same website, link is down in the product description) and add it to the alga to keep them alive.

can you give me a new link that works? the link to buy the algae doesn't work anymore. thanks :D