Venting flasks

[calvin_orchidL]

Hi all,

So I'm getting ready to replate soon...and I've noticed that the mother flasks that are ventilated are a little less robust than the ones that were tightly sealed. I'm assuming it's a humidity escape issue, since the agar is slightly cracked in the ventilated flask. I'm curious as to whether or not I should be ventilating the replate flasks, or using sealed flasks (I have access to both).

Thanks!
-Calvin

[Gin]

I have read both pro and con on venting the re-plate flasks most have been pro vent, the reason was for exchange of gas once they have leaves ect .
I am also interested in what others have to say . Good Luck with them Gin

[Pippin]

I use vented (3M Active bandaid). If you put fewer plants in a flask and replate more often, you should be OK with the unvented.
How big are your vent holes? Mine are 1 mm covered with bandaid on the outside only. I use 1 qt masson jars for the replate flasks.

[maitaman]

When you replate you are starting your plants on chlorophyll/CO2 cycles. If the flask isn't vented there is no input of CO2 and the plants will often go into shock when you compot them. Chadam did tests for three years before I wrote the book and I can say very definitely that replate flasks should be ventilated.

[adriponic]

Well well well

To vent or not to vent? There is how it goes for me duringthe last 15 years... I used to have all an array of culture vessels (test tubes with cotton plugs or screw caps, babyfood jars, conical flasks of various sizes, rubber corks and a lot more) and I vented and then stop
venting and then restart venting and so on.

Since five years ago I threw away all these culture
vessels and standardised on cheap microwave plastic
cups of 800ml. I now use these as mother flask as well
as replate flask and for tissue culture too. Only one
size and you know what? they are stackable and
unbreakable.

I do not vent and wrap around the covers and rims with
cling film. 800ml is pretty lot of air inside to safely last
over 1 full year. Now coming to the carbon issue ... the
plants are carbon fed by the sugar in the media. Quite
true they face difficulty when deflasked and have to
get the carbon from co2 in the air, the more so they are
now sugar deprived.

So i always run a second replate flask when they are
big enough to go outside. At that time I would not crowd
the new flask which is now a sugar free one, some big
phals will go a max of 6 per sugar free flask.

The plants are lightly sprayed with a fungicide and
the flask covered without cling film around for about 10
days. The next 10 days the cover is lifted and pushed
off about 1/3 opened and the next 10 days or more the
lids are completely removed, after which the plants are
removed from the grow room to outside SH under shade
with plastic tents for humidity.

The thing is I have not vented any flasks during the past
5 years and have not noticed adverse results. But I
would admit that maybe results could have been far
better were the flasks vented, save for contamination
getting through the vents or drying of the media.

There are many roads leading to Rome!

[newflasker]

All of my flasks are venting. When I autoclave there is no deferential pressure between inside and outside. When I sow seeds or grow tiny seedlings I seal the holes by pieces of plastic tape. When seedlings are big enough then take the tape out. By that way, I can control flask as venting or unventing the way I want, just using a piece of plastic tape. Cheers.

[Royal]

I vent everything too, and for the same reason - pressure release. I pierce the lid with a nail and paint the rough edge with clear fingernail polish (a tip I picked up on the OB). I use the Nexcare 'sterile spots' -- pretty much the same as Pippin, just a different brand.

I've never had any dry that much. Maybe the vent is too large. Only gas exchange is desired, so it should be more like a 'pore' and not really a 'vent'.

[newflasker]

Royal, I use Nexcare too, cheap and good and look good too. Great men have the same great ideas right? Hahaha. Use a drill to have perfect round holes.

[Royal]

Ahh, I'll have to try the drill!

Another good thing about Nexcare, is that they are waterproof and withstand the autoclave a many times.

[calvin_orchidL]

Thanks for all the replies. I realize the large flasks I'm planning on using are vented anyway, so I may just use some parafilm to cover up the venting. Maybe I will vent one and not vent another to observe what happens following replating and also how the fare following deflasking (if they make it that far!!) thanks again!