Spirulina Update

So far I feel there is no evidence of growth in my first ever experimenta spirulina farm...of course there is the possibilty that there are no live cells in that brand I bought despite it being dried via that 40 degree Ocean Chill process....but cyanobacteria are VERY tough critters. So I am inclined to think the issue may be the pH of the nutrient solution as many sites say a pH between 9 and 10 is ideal. (and I have no pH strips and am too cheap to buy them). Plus I love to do things, be it cooking or creating artwork or experiments like this, by the seat of my pants and informed intuition. So in a few minutes I will add 1/2 cup garden lime (calcium hydroxide) to raise the pH further, plus add a level teaspoon of the dried spirulina. Since potent iodine tablets are used to sterilize drinking water when camping, I wonder if that 32.5 milligram iodine tablet I added to the initial nutrient solution could be the culprit but I doubt it as that is a very low amount. I will keep folks posted. I WILL persist in this effort until I am routinely growing and harvesting fresh spirulina! John