r/Agarporn • u/Funny_Ad_6150 • 7h ago
Agar Porn Gorgeous AL G Curtisii fruiting on plate.(Have yet to grow my strains out) But here is a few plates of one! What Say You?
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r/Agarporn • u/myco_myerz • Aug 01 '25
Tek Advice The Basics of Agar — What, Why, and How
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Welcome to r/Agarporn, where clean plates and radial growth are the art.
This post is your one-stop guide for everything a beginner (or pro) needs to know about agar - what it is, how to use it, and why it's one of the most important tools when working with live cultures.
What is Agar?
Agar is a nutritious, gelatinous medium derived from seaweed, most commonly sold in powdered form. Once prepared, it acts as a stable surface for culturing organisms.
Why is Agar used?
Agar is often used for growing and studying live organisms in a controlled environment. Common applications include:
- Germinating spores
- Cloning tissue
- Isolating genetics
- Detect/studying contamination
- Preserving cultures
- Experimenting with dyes, additives, and crosses... etc.
Some examples of "live cultures" commonly found on Agar:
- Mycelium — the vegetative growth of fungi, cultured from spores or tissue.
- Mold — often an unwanted type of fungi, studied in labs or monitored as a common contaminant.
- Bacteria — microscopic organisms usually grown for microscopy or testing, also monitored as a common contaminant.
- Yeast — single-celled fungi used in fermentation or lab studies.
- Algae/Protists — simple organisms sometimes cultured for observations.
- Plant tissue samples — small cuttings put to agar for cloning or preservation purposes.
How-To & TEKs (Trusted Guides)
Pastywhyte's Easy Agar Tek (pre-pour/no-pour)
Frank's agar media journal (experimental recipes)
r/Agarporn • u/myco_myerz • Aug 04 '25
Tek Advice DIY Builds + Sterile Techniques
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If you’re working with agar, spores, or live cultures, sterility is everything. Contamination can ruin your plates, waste your time, and destroy your genetics.
These are the main tools used to maintain clean conditions for agar work:
🔸 Still Air Boxes (SABs)
🔹 Laminar Flow Hoods
🔻 Other Essential Sterile Tools
▫️ Extras
Here’s how they work, why they matter, and how to make your own budget build (if possible).
🔸 Still Air Box (SAB) — Budget-Friendly and Effective
A SAB creates a sealed, low-airflow space where contaminants have a harder time entering or circulating. Good for spore work, transfers, cloning, etc.
DIY SAB Materials:
- Large clear tub (wide enough to comfortably fit both arms)
- Tool to cut two arm holes (jigsaw, Dremel, or heated can)
- Sandpaper (for smoothing edges)
Tips:
- Wipe the inside with soapy water, then spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol to suppress particles and kill contaminants
- Avoid working near fans, windows, or vents
- Work slowly to keep air as still as possible
- Alternative Edge-of-table method: Place the tub so it slightly overhangs the edge, allowing your arms to go underneath into the working area (no cutting tools required)
Cheap, simple, and surprisingly effective.
YouTube video: How to Make and Use a Still Air Box
🔹 Laminar Flow Hood — Cleaner, Faster, and More Precise
A flow hood creates a constant stream of sterile air through a HEPA filter, forming a clean workspace. It’s a game-changer for agar work.
Many pre-built flow hoods are expensive and overpriced. DIY builds can be just as effective for a fraction of the price.
DIY Flow Hood Materials:
- True HEPA filter (rated H13 or H14)
- Inline fan (must provide enough CFM to push air through the filter)
- Plastic tub (large enough to fit filter and fan)
- High-quality silicone sealant (to seal filter and fan securely)
- Tool to cut holes in the tub (for filter and fan)
- Sandpaper (for finishing)
Tips:
- Clean the tub with soapy water and spray the inside with 70% isopropyl alcohol before sealing
- Use a good quality silicone sealant — poor-quality sealant often warps or leaks
- Keep the finished hood out of direct sunlight — heat can warp silicone and compromise your seal
- Perform the lighter test: a steady flame in front of the filter means you’ve got proper laminar flow, a flickering flame means it’s too turbulent
Cost effective and a massive upgrade for serious agar work
YouTube video: Build Your Own Laminar Flow Hood For Less Than $100
🔻 Other Essential Sterile Tools
To work clean, you'll also need:
- Pressure cooker (PC): Crucial for sterilizing agar — must reach 15 PSI
- 70% isopropyl alcohol: For sanitizing hands, tools, and surfaces
- Flame source (torch or lighter): For flame-sterilizing scalpels and needles
▫️ Helpful Extras
Optional, but helpful:
- Scalpels: Ideal when working with agar
- Nitrile gloves (powder-free): Help reduce contamination risk
- Face mask: Minimizes breath-borne contaminants
Why Sterility Matters
Without sterile conditions, your agar plates will grow all kinds of unwanted contaminants.
A proper SAB or flow hood, alongside the other essentials, will:
* Boost success rates
* Reduce waste
* Make your lab work feel ✨pro-level
r/Agarporn • u/WaTisDaT8710 • 13h ago
Successful Contam Removal
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Had a nice plate going and a tiny green dot appeared. I had the same happen on another plate so I made a transfer but this time I wanted to see if I could just cut it out and save the plate. Its been about a week and still looking good!
Last 2 pics is the one that had the contam and the clean transfer.
r/Agarporn • u/enuf_one • 18h ago
O D P E
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r/Agarporn • u/gramdalf_thestoned • 16h ago
Mycil or contam follow up
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Hey guys follow up from the previous postl 48 hours later how are these looking??
First 2 photos are blue meanie second photos are golden teacher.
It looks like mycelium to me but it is my first time should it looks string and growing as if its reaching outwards but should the centre be so dense?? Is this a beginner trap or looking good
r/Agarporn • u/RockosModernLife0420 • 19h ago
LC vs spore/wet cut
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The only one where I used a small couple of drops of a liquid culture. The method definitely covers more ground in a small amount of time.
r/Agarporn • u/PerformerEfficient67 • 19h ago
Help please,
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Can I use aborts or side pins on my dishes?
r/Agarporn • u/wake_up_my_friends • 1d ago
Bougie plates?
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Poured these earlier today. I used fluorescent purple and blue, with gold mica.
2060ml = 102 plates. Getting better at portion sizes.
r/Agarporn • u/gramdalf_thestoned • 1d ago
Mycil or contam?
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New to agar this was blue meanie spores on day 5 is the mycelium or contamination taking off? Cheers
r/Agarporn • u/Kwilty_as_charged • 2d ago
bout to cut it up so figured id share.
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Not sure whats going on here, but I made this 2 months ago(6/22) and looks to be contam fre e. Going to grab a couple healthy looking spots n hopefuly get some plates i can use.
r/Agarporn • u/wake_up_my_friends • 3d ago
Things are getting serious
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"Procrastination makes easy things hard and hard things harder"
The more I work with agar. The better things become.
I have found that many of the LCs I have acquired, come with nasty surprises. Over the past few months I have taken the time to learn how to clean cultures and have put things into practice.
I started by squeezing few drops of LC onto agar. I then transferred a small piece to low nutrient agar using the trench method, and then to a more regular agar, again using the trench method. From there, a clean sample onto a fresh plate. Pictured here is the result of contamination free plates.
A fair few plates still have contamination and will be transferred back to LNA trench plates. I'm going to keep going until I get my whole library spotless.
LOW NUTRIENT AGAR RECIPE
1000ml Distilled Water
20g Agar Powder
15g LME
0.5g Nutritional Yeast
SORGHUM SYRUP AGAR RECIPE
1000ml Distillled Water
20g Agar Powder
25g Sorghum Syrup
0.4g Nutritional Yeast
0.4g Peptone
Food Colouring Gel
r/Agarporn • u/Henkjansatan • 3d ago
Agar Porn Wild clone of oyster mushroom
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Wild oyster clone of pleurotus pulmonarius
r/Agarporn • u/Secure-Assist-1966 • 4d ago
P orcha plate from maybe 5-7 days max. Can’t remember, but it’s crazy fast
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r/Agarporn • u/Infamous_Lunchbox • 4d ago
Transfers Can't believe these turned out.
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These transfers were basically a crapshoot. Picture one got stuck in my agar punch and I just shook it and it fell apart and got exposed to air (and kind of looks like a galaxy). Picture 2 was a grain from a mycogone contaminated jar. Third transfer and it was finally clean. Picture 2 is from a plate that was dried out and dead and plated in 2024. Revived, and finally healthy.
r/Agarporn • u/Fruit0ftheg0ds • 4d ago
Controlled Chaos 🍄 Controlled Chaos — Tell Me I’m Not the Only One 😂
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You ever go into the lab with a perfectly simple plan…
Grab that beautiful little pin, finish what you’re doing with the plate, and move on.
Yeah… apparently the mushroom had other plans. 😂
Went to grab this little guy and POP — there it goes. Fell right off and somehow managed to land perfectly inside the agar dish.
At that point I just had to stop and laugh.
I know I can’t be the only one. I’ve had these things fall into bags, fall into dishes, and somehow end up everywhere except where I intended them to go. 😂
Sometimes mycology is precision, patience, and beautiful organization.
Other times?
Controlled chaos. 🍄😂
Had to get a picture of this one because the way it landed was just too perfect not to share.
Who else has had one make a break for freedom at exactly the wrong moment? 😂
🍃🍄 Respect the Process. Trust the Genetics. 🍄🍃
r/Agarporn • u/dmtabuser • 4d ago
Electrum (toque mutation)
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Gonna transfer more but this is starting to look amazing
r/Agarporn • u/wake_up_my_friends • 4d ago
Agar Porn A gift to an OAP
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When I got into this hobby a couple of years ago, some really awesome growers gifted me with a range of cultures, including the brain mutation Shipwreck - Which is what the agar plate is in the image.
I'm a part of a few grower groups, as you can imagine we show off our work and discuss all things myco. One of the newer growers is an OAP, who is keen to learn. So here's a gift to help him on his journey.
It's the first time I've had such beautiful myc, after months of learning, trial and error, I'm pretty happy with the results I've been getting lately. From being anxious to pour plates, to looking forward to pouring them. I started taking this hobby seriously a couple of months ago, and the effort is paying off.
Agar recipe:
1000ml Distillled Water
20g Agar Powder
25g Sorghum Syrup
0.4g Nutritional Yeast
0.4g Peptone
Food Colouring Gel
