Speaking of labs, maybe you could find some ideas here, to lessen crashes
http://newgoldenage.ca/Mushroom_Lab.htmI once almost attempted to cultivate portobello and oyster mushrooms for the hell of it (I like homemade/homegrown food, I used to make sausages and bacon before) but upon research, the project would require me to maintain an ultra sterile environment to prevent molds and other nasty things from contaminating the whole prop system.. So ayun, di ko na tinuloy. (at least for the meantime)
Anyway, if making a dedicated lab for plankton culture is not possible maybe you could try building something like this:
http://makeprojects.com/Project/Home+Mycology+Lab/242/1Like a sort of enclosure for the phytos/rotis, a glass cabinet with a small air filter or perhaps a shelf covered with plastic sheet or something like that?