When working with microbial fuel cells, would you just need to add a bit of sewage sludge to the anodic chamber? (If so, in what ratio?) or would you need to culture on a solid medium and then sub culture?
If you use sewage sludge, you have a wild mixture of many different bacteria, viruses, amoeba, etc. Your experiment will unlikely be reproducible, since the composition of the sludge will change over time.
You need to find a way to stabilize your "culture". Try coming up with culture conditions that allow you to at least enrich your starting material to contain microorganisms that are beneficial for your purpose.
E.g., when testing a source, like your sludge, for its ability to decompose a compound, for instance released during an environmental contamination, a liquid culture system is used, whereby the culture is exposed to the contamination. The conditions re chosen to make the growth dependent on this compound. Over time, the culture will change to contain mainly microbes that are specialized and efficient in decomposing this compound.
Before working extensively with sludge, make sure you get all the right vaccinations. You will be exposed to many disease-causing microbes and viruses from the sludge.
Achim Recktenwald in that case, what medium would be appropriate to use for the isolation?
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