Appendix 10 Chemical sterilization procedure

Materials:
– Sodium Hypochlorite (12 %) solution or commercial grade chlorox.
– Sodium Thiosulfate (1 N) solution.
– Glass bottle with screw cap.

Procedure:
Prepare 1 N sodium thiosulfate by dissolving 158.1 grams sodium thiosulfate with de ionised or distilled water. Store in glass bottle.
For sterilizing container with seawater:
1. Fill container or flask with filtered seawater.
2. Add 1 ml of chlorox (or sodium hypochlorite) per liter of seawater.
3. Stir or bubble and allow to sit for a few hours.
4. Close flask with lid or rubber stopper.
5. Neutralize chlorox with 1 ml of sodium thiosulfate per litre of seawater. 6. Stir or bubble.
7. Seawater and container are ready to be used for algal inoculum or other purpose.
8. You will probably need to pour out some of seawater for algal inoculum. But filling the entire container initially allows for complete sterilization.