YOU CAN BUILD AN OPEN-SOURCE ALGAE PHOTOBIOREACTOR WITH A BUILT-IN FLUOROMETER
An open-source bench photobioreactor built around a culture flask and a 3D printed frame, with its own fluorometer for measuring photosynthesis.
by Harvey Bates
ScienceOpen-hardware
Built withRaspberry PiTeensy3D printing
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a weekend-plus
- license
- CC-BY-SA-3.0 (hardware), AGPL-3.0 (software)
- repo
- repo ACTIVE85 stars
●●●●○ · a weekend-plus · CC-BY-SA-3.0 (hardware), AGPL-3.0 (software) · 85 stars · repo ACTIVE
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
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COMPAREE VERDICT
Phenobottle is a single-vessel photobioreactor built around a culture flask in a 3D printed frame. A Raspberry Pi 3B+ runs the system with a Teensy 3.6 handling the hardware. RGB light strips grow the culture at up to 200 microeinsteins, a four-colour actinic LED set (466, 532, 593 and 626 nanometres) drives the fluorometer, which samples at 8 microseconds and 12 bits, a magnetic stirrer mixes, a bubbling motor aerates, and a peristaltic pump moves liquid through the measurement cuvette. The repository is unusually complete: models, board files, bill of materials, firmware and Python control code. This is for someone who already knows what a photobioreactor is for and has the lab skills to run one — the code assumes you understand optical density readings and culture dynamics. The single biggest trap is expecting a multi-vessel system; this runs one culture per unit. The documented build is the v0.1.1 release, while the main branch already carries work-in-progress v0.2 electronics, so download the release rather than cloning master. If you need to run algae cultures under controlled light and measure what they do, and you are comfortable with Pi-plus-Teensy builds, this is a legitimate path.
IN THE REPO
GOOD TO KNOW
- —STL and STEP models for frame, lid, flask cap and magnetic stirrer are present.
- —The v0.1.1 release includes ready-to-order gerber sets and PDF schematics for the main Teensy board and the RGB control board; the KiCad project on the main branch belongs to the unfinished v0.2 redesign.
- —Hardware bill of materials published, firmware included, schematic as PDF.
- —Hardware is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported, software is AGPL v3.
- —Both licences permit commercial use with attribution and share-alike requirements.
- —The documented build is release v0.1.1; v0.2 (more environmental controls, extra sensors, a GUI) is in progress on the main branch.
Parts to buy
12 itemsFrom our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Videos
Raspberry Pi based Photobioreactor
Footage of the build running, published 2020
More builds like this
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Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the full README and hardware documentation (Download the v0.1.1 release rather than cloning master — the main branch carries work-in-progress v0.2 files)
- 2.Review the hardware bill of materials(Confirm Teensy 3.6 availability and LED wavelengths before ordering)
- 3.Send the gerbers to a board house(The release includes gerbers for the main Teensy board and the RGB control board plus PDF schematics; the KiCad files on the main branch are for the unfinished v0.2 design.)
- 4.Print the frame, lid, flask cap and stirrer(STEP files are available if you need to adapt dimensions)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- The published, documented build is the v0.1.1 release from 2020. The main branch already holds work-in-progress v0.2 electronics and firmware, so download the release rather than cloning master — as the README itself advises.
- This runs one culture vessel per unit, so it is not a like-for-like replacement for commercial multi-vessel cultivators; you would build several units for parallel cultures.
- The firmware assumes familiarity with optical density readings and culture dynamics — this is not a learning-algae-basics project.
- Teensy 3.6 is recommended but availability varies — confirm before ordering other components.
- No build cost is published in the repository, so budget carefully and expect the Teensy, pumps and PCB to dominate.
- LED wavelengths are specified at 466, 532, 593 and 626 nanometres — generic RGB LEDs will not work.
How does this compare to a commercial photobioreactor?
Commercial multi-cultivators run several vessels at once with vendor software and support. Phenobottle runs one flask per unit and you build it yourself, but it gives you controlled RGB growth light (up to 200 µE), optical density and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements for that culture. To run parallel cultures you build several units.
What is the total build cost?
No cost is published in the repository. The Teensy 3.6, peristaltic pump, 12V pump, actinic LEDs and PCB fabrication will dominate. Budget is in the $$ range, but order incrementally if you are unsure.
Can I use a different Teensy?
The documentation recommends the Teensy 3.6. The 3.5 and 4.1 are mentioned as compatible, but the 3.6 is the tested reference.
What level of lab experience do I need?
You need to understand algae culture basics, optical density readings and aseptic technique. The hardware does not teach you those; it assumes you already know them.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
Four actinic LED colours at specific wavelengths, a built-in fluorometer, and a single culture flask. What algae culture would you run first?
Harvey Bates
Harvey Bates published Phenobottle as an open-source photobioreactor for algae research, described in Algal Research in 2020. Version 0.1 was released that year, and a v0.2 with more environmental controls is in development.
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DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM1mo agoedited
Practical notes from our verification: the repository has STLs, the circuit Gerbers, a hardware bill of materials and firmware, and the README recommends downloading a release (v0.1, then v0.1.1 in October 2020) rather than cloning the main branch, because version 0.2 is in progress there and its files may not work as planned. The licences sit in files with non-standard names, which is why GitHub does not detect them automatically: a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence for hardware and AGPL v3 for software, both permitting commercial use with attribution and share-alike. The single biggest surprise is that there is no build cost anywhere in the repository, so you will need to price the Raspberry Pi, Teensy, pumps, LEDs and PCB fabrication yourself before committing. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.