Copepod questions

[SickBoyNH]

Forgive my Long-winded post (it's expected from anyone who knows me!). I have some questions about pods though that don't seem to be answered in much of the media I've found. Hopefully the answers can be useful to the masses. I got a bit lengthy as I've included tank information proactively that I suspect may be asked for to provide good answers. Please feel free to tag people with the major Pod sellers if you know who they are.

We are relatively new (7 months) reefers who are doing well so far! I credit our success much to homework, asking questions, and routinely following online media such as this, youtube series', and other sources

I only added my first corals about 6 weeks ago when we purchased several at Reefapalooza in NY. At the same time, added a Blue Maxima Clam.

I have been using phytoplankton and reef roids in relatively small doses 1-2 per week.

I read often about copepods and have a basic understanding or their benefits... correct me if I'm wrong, but that they are
*good food for fish
*good for algae control
*good for stirring substrate
*good for cleaning detritus
*generally good as a low-level link in the food-chain

Naturally, I am drawn now to populating my tank with pods. But, like with everything I do, want to do proper research of the pros and cons and understand exactly how they will affect my system. I have done my share of Googling and watched several videos. However, the content out there seems to focus heavily on the same positive aspects and fails to address some of my questions - perhaps because my concerns aren't valid.

My equipment may be important to the answers, so let me add that info before my questions:
We have a 15G column tank.
Fluval 106 canister
Decent air/waterflow generated by a fluval Q2 airpump w/ a 6" buried bubble bar.
No sump or refugium (nor realistic ability to add one)
No skimmer (only realistic ability to add one would be a HOB, which I fear would be an eyesore)
I am religious about maintenance and make up for the lack of skimmer with an aggressive water change routine. I change out about 4 gallons twice a week. When I do, I use the gavel cleaner to pull as much junk out as possible, I drain a bit of water from the filter hoses to remove trapped debris, and I rinse my filter media in the to-be dumped water.
Although I am still working on perfecting my routine, I have begun using the BRS 2-part dosing system and am attempting to be stable around 420 calcium, 8.5 dkh, and 1350 magnesium. (I am currently/temporarily exporting a couple of gallons a day to my QT tank, making it difficult to feel I have found true stability)

(tank inhabitants listed way down below)

OK, so my questions
*First, what are the cons? it seems much of the media out there is put out by people selling pods or people promoting their use. Does anyone know of reasons to avoid pods?
*What are their affects on nutrient levels? I understand they eat detritus, but if I in turn need to supplement more phytoplankton..... seems like it could be a net-wash?
*Assuming I buy from a reputable company, is there concern of undesirables coming with them?
*I have a small tank (15G). I'm guessing its likely that even a small bottle might be a lot. I would probably spread out the addition over a couple of days. But even so, is there such thing as too much? (obviously within reason).
*Can the dying off of a population end up counter-productive by increasing the decaying matter in the system rather than reducing it?
*How will my filtering limitations affect things? I've read that they are free-swimming during part of their life-cycle. Assuming I shut down my filter for a bit when I add them, will I end up filtering out too many during that free-swimming stage and ultimately cutting the life cycle?
*Although we've been fortunate enough to avoid troublesome infestations in our system, we're always watching for pests.... are pods identifiable enough that we'll know the difference if we were to end up with something more troublesome, or will it make identifying trouble more difficult?
*How effective are they at algae control? We added a nice Kessil when we added our coral and clam. We've since developed algae and are learning to control it without over-reacting. We're trying to be careful not to over-control it while keeping the tank and its aesthetic qualities happy.

Our current inhabitants are:
1 pair Orange Stripe Prawn Gobies
1 very small emerald crab
3 hermits
1 Nassarius Snail
1 very small pistol shrimp
8 small corals, all soft or LPS
1 Blue Maxima clam
a variety of small positive hitchhiker type starfish and bristle worms

We have a pair of small clowns, a trochus snail, and a VERY tiny squat lobster currently in QT.

 

[Diesel]

Thanks for doing the research as many hobbyist are to lazy
Now these lazy hobbyist can read it here.

The answer to your question is that the only con is if you don’t have a predator that eats pods they will produce in large numbers.
Corals will eat them but moderate, the fish you have will eat them but they ain’t pod hunters like wrasses or mandarins.

Short cap is..... put some pods in your system, they are part of the CUC

 

[Alexreefer]

Thanks for doing the research as many hobbyist are to lazy
Now these lazy hobbyist can read it here.

The answer to your question is that the only con is if you don’t have a predator that eats pods they will produce in large numbers.
Corals will eat them but moderate, the fish you have will eat them but they ain’t pod hunters like wrasses or mandarins.

Short cap is..... put some pods in your system, they are part of the CUC

I totally agree with diesel. I dont see anything that can go wrong with pods. They add biodiversity and help feed your corals and clams. I get my pods from Algae Barn but you can get them from other places even your LFS.

 

[Osidedude]

I am a hobbyist only so no selling here. I also belong to 2 Marine aquarist clubs SCMAS & SDMA both are great and I learn a lot from them. SDMA had Chad from Reef Nutrition speak at a meeting and I was hooked...literally! I grow my own pods (Rotifers, Apex & Tigger) I also grow my own brine and hope to start growing Phytoplankton in the next week or two. The only con and I use "con" loosely in the sense that any pod produces waste but the benefits far out way this small con. Your clam will definitely eat them but you will need to filter feed as I don't see the pods just crawling in to be eaten I do filter feed some of my corals pods, along with Oyster feast (Reef Nutrition product) and reef roids.

I will be interested to know if you can keep a pod population going in such a small tank and no sump (refugium) but as Diesel stated you don't have any pod hunters. I would go with a larger pod as some of your fish will go for them if they see them.

The pic is of my pod set up with each having a different to no filtration. I do clean 1 to 2 time a week and do a water change once a week (100%) but I live in San Diego area and get my water for free (Birch Aquarium)

Look forward to your future posts to see how it works out for you

 

[starypotter]

I agree with the above that pods are good, but you might want to consider just how you're getting them. If you don't want to get a pod eating fish, then I don't see why you'd need to spend the big bucks on buying a jar of pods. Whenever I add more ulva to my system, I always see a mini bloom of pods. When I got ulva from reefcleaners.org I got pods. Reefcleaners even sells pods for a whole lot cheaper than some other places. I think you could avoid the big price places especially without a specific need for them and in a small system like that. Just my .02

 

[40B Knasty]

I am about to take you to school here. So don't mind the long winded answer.
This all depends on the pods you care to get. So I will give you the best of my knowledge about 2 and quick sum up of a 3rd.
First you have Tisbe pods. These are the smallest of the pods. Algagen Tisbe pods I would recommend for starting a population for a new tank. These being the smallest. Most fish will not even see or have interest in having them. They can reproduce very well in a home aquarium. They are also one of the only pods that can handle being tossed threw an impeller like your HOB. They can reproduce 2 times in their life cycle. Having a clutch of eggs from 30-130 from each one of those chances to spawn. These have the least nutritional value, but still a very good clean up crew to get in all those nooks and crannies.

Then there is Cylopods. They are the next size up and just a little bit more of a nutritional value than the Tisbe.

Then there is Tigger pods. Keep in mind ALL pods from other companies are collected in different regions. The key is to find the one that can handle some pretty harsh environments. Reef Nutrition Tigger Pods are bigger than both the pods mentioned above. Fish will see these and eat them. Great food source and the nutritional value is Omega 3. Which is good for a fish's slime coat to help protect them from parasites like ich or velvet. The Reef Nutrition Tigger Pods are collected in tide pools in sunny California that rise and lower. Evaporation happens a lot when the Sun cooks these pools. So temperatures and salinity swings will happen. Making them the more resilient compared to most Tigger pods if not all of them. They can reproduce 10x in their life cycle. This could be up to 60 days. In each of the 10 reproduction times it can hold a clutch of eggs up to 30. So 30x10=300 from 1 female Tigger Pod. They only need to be inseminated once. They can store the sperm of a male Tigger pod throughout its whole reproductive life cycle. They make a better clean up crew being the bigger of the 3. They do not handle the impeller to a pump at all.
So there is pros and cons to each one. Most of these pods do not take off in population till about the 3rd week. The only con I see is the amount of water changes you do. This may cause a decrease in your population if you spend a lot of time sucking up the sand bed and running your hose along the rock work. Otherwise it is mainly a choice of which pod you choose. There is really no down fall to having any of them. Aside of the Pod of choice not being able to handle temperatures of your display tank or the impeller to get chopped up in.
I seen that you are increasing your bioload with 2 more clowns. You might want to invest in a good HOB Skimmer and beef up your biological media. Reef Octopus BH90 or BH1000. There is smaller skimmers out there. I do prefer those ones because the motor sits outside of the water column which will have no adverse effects on water temperature. Also keep in mind if adding one. Make sure you have enough space behind the tank to the wall to fit one. I did not see any mention of a powerhead or the amount of rock you have. Flow is important for your live rock to have. This is what keeps your beneficial bacteria alive and thriving for the breakdown of the nitrogen cycle. If your biolaod gets to aggressive after adding the 2 new fish. Which it will for a bit. You might want to consider beefing up the biological media part by adding a plate of Marine Pure. Of course it would need to be cycled first before it can be affective.
I have had a 20g with 6 fish and 22lbs of live rock. So I know about how space is limited. Don't think for a second an eye sore of a protein skimmer isn't worth its weight in gold. A true eye sore are from lack of nutrients export causing algae blooms and fish dying due to a bioload your tank can't handle.

 

[Jordan92595]

I am a hobbyist only so no selling here. I also belong to 2 Marine aquarist clubs SCMAS & SDMA both are great and I learn a lot from them. SDMA had Chad from Reef Nutrition speak at a meeting and I was hooked...literally! I grow my own pods (Rotifers, Apex & Tigger) I also grow my own brine and hope to start growing Phytoplankton in the next week or two. The only con and I use "con" loosely in the sense that any pod produces waste but the benefits far out way this small con. Your clam will definitely eat them but you will need to filter feed as I don't see the pods just crawling in to be eaten I do filter feed some of my corals pods, along with Oyster feast (Reef Nutrition product) and reef roids.

I will be interested to know if you can keep a pod population going in such a small tank and no sump (refugium) but as Diesel stated you don't have any pod hunters. I would go with a larger pod as some of your fish will go for them if they see them.

The pic is of my pod set up with each having a different to no filtration. I do clean 1 to 2 time a week and do a water change once a week (100%) but I live in San Diego area and get my water for free (Birch Aquarium)

Look forward to your future posts to see how it works out for you

How do you do a water change on your pods ? Wont you remove them in the process