Culturing copepods

[kilnakorr]

Hi

After a few tries I seem to be able to culture phytoplankton, without issues and would like to culture some pods also.
However, after viewing videos and reading about it I have some questions and issues.

It seems straight forward:
Add pods to container, with air (slow bubble rate), feed phyto.

My issue is mostly, that the phyto will just go to the bottom and/or die in a day or two as the slow bubble rate doesn't keep it suspended.

How do you keep both pods and phyto happy, so you don't end up with dirty, yellow water after a few days?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

They don't care about bubble rate, the bubbles are in one corner of the tank/container (I use 1 gallon tupperwares from the dollar store), the bubbles wont bother them, they will just go to other corners.

I use an airstone which really helps keep the phyto suspended. The green stuff (nanochloropsis) is pretty good at staying suspended, thats what I use. Phyto feast is dense and just sinks to the bottom. I've not tried with other types of phyto.

it is surprisingly straightforward.

 

[kilnakorr]

They don't care about bubble rate, the bubbles are in one corner of the tank/container (I use 1 gallon tupperwares from the dollar store), the bubbles wont bother them, they will just go to other corners.

I use an airstone which really helps keep the phyto suspended. The green stuff (nanochloropsis) is pretty good at staying suspended, thats what I use. Phyto feast is dense and just sinks to the bottom. I've not tried with other types of phyto.

it is surprisingly straightforward.

I am using nano phyto, but could try using an airstone. Just read that some pod types likes stuff like reefroids more than phyto.

Will try adding airstones and see if that works better.

Do you have a sponge or similar for them to hang on to?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

nothing, my tanks are empty. They will eat reef roids, but I have never tried reef roids cause in my opinion it would ruin the water too fast. But I could be wrong, maybe I'll try it to see what happens. I've tried flake food and crushed pellets, I always find better results with nano phyto

 

[kilnakorr]

nothing, my tanks are empty. They will eat reef roids, but I have never tried reef roids cause in my opinion it would ruin the water too fast. But I could be wrong, maybe I'll try it to see what happens. I've tried flake food and crushed pellets, I always find better results with nano phyto

I'll try running it simple for now.
One week in tomorrow, and still plenty of movement. Not sure what to expect yet, but I believe I should see plenty of pods in a week or two.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Hi

After a few tries I seem to be able to culture phytoplankton, without issues and would like to culture some pods also.
However, after viewing videos and reading about it I have some questions and issues.

It seems straight forward:
Add pods to container, with air (slow bubble rate), feed phyto.

My issue is mostly, that the phyto will just go to the bottom and/or die in a day or two as the slow bubble rate doesn't keep it suspended.

How do you keep both pods and phyto happy, so you don't end up with dirty, yellow water after a few days?

Simple is the way to go, here is an outline of my set-up......

i use a 3L glass jar. About 2.5L is fresh saltwater mixed to 1.020 and .5L is phyto. I also include something like filter floss for the pods to hide and breed in. I use rigid airline with an air pump to provide some turnover. Also, the tube should go to about the bottom of your container. This keeps the water from getting stagnent. The air is controlled with a valve to reduce the flow. About 5 bubbles per second. I also use a light on a dimmer. Remember your not trying to culture phyto so the light doesnt need to be full power. Its okay if it doesnt stay nice and green. The pods will feed on it regardless. I set the light on a timer for 16hrs.

Every 7 days i harvest and split the pods. I have had this going for about 3-4 months and always yield large amounts.

If you have instagram i have posted about my phyto and pod journey there. @doubleadeejay

 

[elysics]

I have a one liter bottle with a mix of different pods and have had it for months and months.

I dump 60% or so by feel into the tank, refill 40-50% with tank water through a coffee filter and then top up with phyto. Simple air hose going into the bottle, probably 20-40 bubbles per second, hard to count, not really moving the surface at all though, unlike the phyto container which is moving like a strong boil

If the bottle turns from green to yellow or brown, I repeat, which is every 4 days or so

After those 4 days, the bottle is exploding with life, no need to more complicated

Sieving the pods and not dumping the water into the tank is probably better, but I'm too cheap to buy the sieves and don't want to go clean them every time

 

[kilnakorr]

Simple is the way to go, here is an outline of my set-up......

i use a 3L glass jar. About 2.5L is fresh saltwater mixed to 1.020 and .5L is phyto. I also include something like filter floss for the pods to hide and breed in. I use rigid airline with an air pump to provide some turnover. Also, the tube should go to about the bottom of your container. This keeps the water from getting stagnent. The air is controlled with a valve to reduce the flow. About 5 bubbles per second. I also use a light on a dimmer. Remember your not trying to culture phyto so the light doesnt need to be full power. Its okay if it doesnt stay nice and green. The pods will feed on it regardless. I set the light on a timer for 16hrs.

Every 7 days i harvest and split the pods. I have had this going for about 3-4 months and always yield large amounts.

If you have instagram i have posted about my phyto and pod journey there. @doubleadeejay

Thank you for the details.

I have a one liter bottle with a mix of different pods and have had it for months and months.

I dump 60% or so by feel into the tank, refill 40-50% with tank water through a coffee filter and then top up with phyto. Simple air hose going into the bottle, probably 20-40 bubbles per second, hard to count, not really moving the surface at all though, unlike the phyto container which is moving like a strong boil

If the bottle turns from green to yellow or brown, I repeat, which is every 4 days or so

After those 4 days, the bottle is exploding with life, no need to more complicated

Sieving the pods and not dumping the water into the tank is probably better, but I'm too cheap to buy the sieves and don't want to go clean them every time

I do have pod sieves in various sizes.
My concern is mostly, adfing to much phyto, which will die and kill the culture.

A picture of my setup:

Phyto on top, and pods in the bucket below, not getting direct light.
Hard to tell without light, but would you add more phyto to the pods? Looks yellow to light green.

 

[elysics]

Thank you for the details.

I do have pod sieves in various sizes.
My concern is mostly, adfing to much phyto, which will die and kill the culture.

A picture of my setup:

Phyto on top, and pods in the bucket below, not getting direct light.
Hard to tell without light, but would you add more phyto to the pods? Looks yellow to light green.

My pod culture is not much greener than that either, just a bit. What color does yours get when it's "finished"? If it's clear or pale yellow then you can add more. There's a bit of leeway with how much algae dieoff it takes to crash the culture, sometimes mine turns brown rather than yellow when i add a bit more than usual with eyeballing, that's where i would stop raising the dose, but i haven't tried going further either, never had a crash

 

[kilnakorr]

My pod culture is not much greener than that either, just a bit. What color does yours get when it's "finished"? If it's clear or pale yellow then you can add more. There's a bit of leeway with how much algae dieoff it takes to crash the culture, sometimes mine turns brown rather than yellow when i add a bit more than usual with eyeballing, that's where i would stop raising the dose, but i haven't tried going further either, never had a crash

I only tried one time before, and pods died.
I do think it was because of to many dead pods from the start, but can't say for sure.
It seems I just have to go be feel, and see how it turns out.

 

[kilnakorr]

So, it seems my pod culture died. Could very well be from bad phyto, I used (store bought).

I just started two new cultures, and wonder if anyone could comment. Something I should change? (more water, more phyto?)

Pods in each side and new phyto culture in the middle.

Close up, pod population in each culture (sorry for the orange look).

 

[GARRIGA]

I've struggled with algae settling to the bottom. Considerng two options. Using an udergravel filter with coarse gravel such as Reborn which might help with keeping alkalinity and PH from crashing to both provide a home for the pods along with keeping the algae suspended. Second option is using a magnetic stirrer at low speeds to keep the water moving. Not sure how that would impact the pods. Doubt it affects the algae.

 

[kilnakorr]

I've struggled with algae settling to the bottom. Considerng two options. Using an udergravel filter with coarse gravel such as Reborn which might help with keeping alkalinity and PH from crashing to both provide a home for the pods along with keeping the algae suspended. Second option is using a magnetic stirrer at low speeds to keep the water moving. Not sure how that would impact the pods. Doubt it affects the algae.

Same here.
I do wonder if I should provide more light also.
The phyto could be dying quickly if very little light is used.
The picture in previous thread is only for showing the colors, as I have previously kept them on the bottom without direct light.

 

[GARRIGA]

Same here.
I do wonder if I should provide more light also.
The phyto could be dying quickly if very little light is used.
The picture in previous thread is only for showing the colors, as I have previously kept them on the bottom without direct light.

With green water I leave the lights on 24/7. Pods don’t care. The issue is contamination and lack of nutrients. Former can’t be avoided and latter can be supplemented. Why it’s best to run several cultures because it’s not if they will crash but when. Speaking strictky of the algae. Pods can be sustained indefinitely assuming you started with and maintain one strain. Otherwise competition might eliminate one and you end up with the most capable. Why when I restart my cultures I’ll have pod specific and likely just Nano algae since that can be obtained quickly should catastrophe hit.

 

[kilnakorr]

With green water I leave the lights on 24/7. Pods don’t care. The issue is contamination and lack of nutrients. Former can’t be avoided and latter can be supplemented. Why it’s best to run several cultures because it’s not if they will crash but when. Speaking strictky of the algae. Pods can be sustained indefinitely assuming you started with and maintain one strain. Otherwise competition might eliminate one and you end up with the most capable. Why when I restart my cultures I’ll have pod specific and likely just Nano algae since that can be obtained quickly should catastrophe hit.

I get contamination and crashes will happen at some point.
Although nutrients can be added, are the flow enough to keep the phyto suspended, without the pods getting tossed around?
I seem to go from green to yellow water in a single day.

 

[GARRIGA]

I get contamination and crashes will happen at some point.
Although nutrients can be added, are the flow enough to keep the phyto suspended, without the pods getting tossed around?
I seem to go from green to yellow water in a single day.

Haven’t tested either method. What I used to do was use the no clog air stones which have bigger bubbles but algae would still accumulate in the bottom.

Never had a culture go yellow in one day. Sounds like lack of nutrients and possibly CO2. Algae will strip carbon from alkalinity in the absence of CO2. I’m thinking of adding fish that won’t eat the pods yet contribute abundant CO2.

Nutrients isn’t just about nitrates and phosphates. Certain trace elements needed such as iron. At some point something becomes a limiting factor. Why I’ve experimented with fish in the past and fed heavily with quality food. However that didn’t work well with pods. Tested this theory with freshwater algae, daphnia and Oscars. Greenest water I’ve maintained long term. Daphnia were kept in check and Oscars tripled in size. Fed 8-10 times daily. Still had issues with PH and my alkalinity kept dropping.

Upcoming test will be Nano algae, pods and unknown fish. Still working out the latter. I’ll manage alkalinity just like any other tank. Only one way to find out is experiment or copy another’s success. I just enjoy pricing my theories.

 

[kilnakorr]

Haven’t tested either method. What I used to do was use the no clog air stones which have bigger bubbles but algae would still accumulate in the bottom.

Never had a culture go yellow in one day. Sounds like lack of nutrients and possibly CO2. Algae will strip carbon from alkalinity in the absence of CO2. I’m thinking of adding fish that won’t eat the pods yet contribute abundant CO2.

Nutrients isn’t just about nitrates and phosphates. Certain trace elements needed such as iron. At some point something becomes a limiting factor. Why I’ve experimented with fish in the past and fed heavily with quality food. However that didn’t work well with pods. Tested this theory with freshwater algae, daphnia and Oscars. Greenest water I’ve maintained long term. Daphnia were kept in check and Oscars tripled in size. Fed 8-10 times daily. Still had issues with PH and my alkalinity kept dropping.

Upcoming test will be Nano algae, pods and unknown fish. Still working out the latter. I’ll manage alkalinity just like any other tank. Only one way to find out is experiment or copy another’s success. I just enjoy pricing my theories.

True. If only pods and phyto was easy to buy here. I have to order most internationally, so it isn't cheap and shipping takes time.
This also makes 'copying' difficult, as things aren't the same here and in US/other parts of Europe.

 

[GARRIGA]

True. If only pods and phyto was easy to buy here. I have to order most internationally, so it isn't cheap and shipping takes time.
This also makes 'copying' difficult, as things aren't the same here and in US/other parts of Europe.

Can create green water from just adding miracle grow and sun light. Takes a few days. Set up several jars and cycle through them. Pods easy to move by shining a light in a corner when lights out or just remove half the water with them oriented away from the syphon and top it off with fresh deep green.

Try finding a source of f/2 algae food. Several have copied that formula. Used by labs works wide. Fritz has a copy. Can refrigerate it and keep cutting cultures keeping the algae alive indefinitely.

Doubt pods care what algae you feed them. Can also feed them dry spirulina and yeast in an emergency plus they’ll eat fish food.

 

[Reefing102]

Not sure if it will help, but I’ll tag @hollback. Last I knew he’s been quite successful with culturing pods

 

[kilnakorr]

Can create green water from just adding miracle grow and sun light. Takes a few days. Set up several jars and cycle through them. Pods easy to move by shining a light in a corner when lights out or just remove half the water with them oriented away from the syphon and top it off with fresh deep green.

Try finding a source of f/2 algae food. Several have copied that formula. Used by labs works wide. Fritz has a copy. Can refrigerate it and keep cutting cultures keeping the algae alive indefinitely.

Doubt pods care what algae you feed them. Can also feed them dry spirulina and yeast in an emergency plus they’ll eat fish food.

Already have f/2 for my phyto culture. No issue making phyto