I'd like to start culturing copepods - I do have a refugium but I have UV on my return so I don't think many pods really make it out of the refugium into the DT. I also don't seem to build up much of a population in the refugium anyway. I have been buying more live pods fairly regularly to keep the population up and this is getting quite expensive so culturing them seems like a good option.
I'm aware of the simple method with a bucket/jar and an airstone, but this seems to require fairly consistent upkeep with a lot of water changes and very regular harvesting to avoid a crash. I'm wondering if it's possible to effectively culture pods in a small stable aquarium - ideally one that doesn't look too ugly either as this will be sitting next to me in my home office.
I'm picturing a 10 or 20L nano cube with a cheap clip on light, a small air powered sponge filter, coarse sand or crushed coral substrate and some kind of pleasant looking macroalgae like Caulerpa. I will still feed with liquid phyto or powdered spirulina but the macroalgae will provide an extra food source that will hopefully reduce the risk of underfeeding. Ammonia shouldn't be an issue as this will be a negligible bioload for the sponge filter + substrate.
Is this a good idea or am I just creating more maintenance for myself? My hope is that harvesting by scooping out a cup of water (either dumping it into the DT or filtering out the pods and just adding those) and then topping back up will be sufficient water changes to keep it stable, I'll just need to vacuum the substrate every now and then.
I'm aware of the simple method with a bucket/jar and an airstone, but this seems to require fairly consistent upkeep with a lot of water changes and very regular harvesting to avoid a crash. I'm wondering if it's possible to effectively culture pods in a small stable aquarium - ideally one that doesn't look too ugly either as this will be sitting next to me in my home office.
I'm picturing a 10 or 20L nano cube with a cheap clip on light, a small air powered sponge filter, coarse sand or crushed coral substrate and some kind of pleasant looking macroalgae like Caulerpa. I will still feed with liquid phyto or powdered spirulina but the macroalgae will provide an extra food source that will hopefully reduce the risk of underfeeding. Ammonia shouldn't be an issue as this will be a negligible bioload for the sponge filter + substrate.
Is this a good idea or am I just creating more maintenance for myself? My hope is that harvesting by scooping out a cup of water (either dumping it into the DT or filtering out the pods and just adding those) and then topping back up will be sufficient water changes to keep it stable, I'll just need to vacuum the substrate every now and then.