DIY Pods??

[DoubleDoor]

Does anyone have a recommended way of starting a new inexpensive pod population out of the main tank/sump?

 

[lapin]

Dollar a gallon petco 5 or 10 gallon tank. Air pump and stone to keep the water moving. Phyto for food. You can grow your own phyto or just use something like Phyto-feast.
Put the tank inside the house to keep the temp warm and stable.

 

[doubleohwhatever]

The first time I tried this I failed miserably. The second time I tried I followed some guide I found online and it mentioned keeping the temp around 82F. I think the first time I had it set at 78 or something. Anyway, that seemed to be the trick for me.

 

[143MPCo]

Get yourself a box of drinking straws rubber band them together and put them in a moderately-higher flow area of your sump, you also need to feed them periodically, phytoplankton, and fish waste should encourage them to prolifically throughout the straws.

Once there at discernible numbers you can harvest them by simply running water through the straws into some sort of a container or a fine mesh fish net.

Also if you don’t wanna use rubber bands, which I’ve never had a problem with, you can use plastic zip ties to hold the straws together.

 

[DoubleDoor]

So that would provide a home for the pods and then harvesting should be simple but I have a few questions.
What is a good media for feeding them like what brand is better for long term storage?
And about how many straws should you use for this just looking for an estimate.

 

[143MPCo]

So that would provide a home for the pods and then harvesting should be simple but I have a few questions.
What is a good media for feeding them like what brand is better for long term storage?
And about how many straws should you use for this just looking for an estimate.

I prefer PHYTO2 as it’s s a nutritious planktonic feed designed to fulfill the natural food cycle of the sea within your aquarium. But there are quite a few out on the market, I recommend you research each to see which one you prefer best just, go light on the feedings as they do contain some sort of phosphate and other nutrients in order to keep the plankton alive. If you go with PHYTO2 you will also be required to refrigerate it to prevent spoilage and extend longevity of the organisms.

As for how many straws you should use that will completely depend on the usable space that you have within your sump.

 

[pdisner]

Ok, I would like to recomend a few things. Ive been growing copepods of every type, as well as rotifers. Im breeding fish, so these are the standard first foods. Normally, Id like to tell people to grow their own phytoplanktonk, but its easier said than done. I use a concentrated phyto product which is preserved and can last in frig for months. I feed BOTH my rotifers and some species of copepods as well with it. You can read about it at www.reedmariculture.com where the also have some excellent pdfs to give you the basic information on copepods, rather than wasting your time with all the anecdotal advise, that may or my not work. For instance, there isnt just one species of phytoplankton, and each animal thrives on a SPECIFIC species of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton isnt just on or a couple of species. There are numerous ones, as well as fresh and saltwater species in addition to that! Copepods are the same way, having THOUSANDS of species in fresh and saltwater (mostly salt), however some being parasitic and carnivorous towards live fish. There are some inexpensive, simple ways to culture various species of copepods and two main species of rotifers without much effort at all, expecially if youre already familiar with the basics. Its really problem at all. Im glad work with someone on a one-on-one basis to advise you on how to run a nice, cheap culture that you can then use to feed your reef using your copepods and rotifers you've cultured yourself, and then learn how culture a bunch of live strains of nannochloropsis, isochyrsis galbana, tetraselmis, and dunnaliella to name some of the popular few. They are awesome science projects for demonstrating marine ecosystems. Very cool. I am so fascinated by this. Fragging corals got a little boring for me and needed more stimulation. I still so that, but i have moved my efforts to breeding. But I constantly keep up some great dense clutures, so if you need a hand at all getting started let me know.

 

[pdisner]

Does anyone have a recommended way of starting a new inexpensive pod population out of the main tank/sump?

Does anyone have a recommended way of starting a new inexpensive pod population out of the main tank/sump?

It depends on what type of copepod you would like to culture. Is it for Mandarin Dragonettes?

Dollar a gallon petco 5 or 10 gallon tank. Air pump and stone to keep the water moving. Phyto for food. You can grow your own phyto or just use something like Phyto-feast.
Put the tank inside the house to keep the temp warm and stable.

So what species of phyto are you recommending people spend their money on? Do they have live phyto at Petco? So whats "phyto2'? Are all copepods the same? Do all copepods east the same thing.

 

[lapin]

So what species of phyto are you recommending people spend their money on?

To culture pods I would say phyto-feast. It is avail at almost every LFS in my area. Worked for me on getting my 20 gallon fuge/pod tank going. I have tons of pods and dont feed it much any more.
If you are raising a particular species you should find out what works best. Dont feed your freshwater pods, saltwater phyto.

Do they have live phyto at Petco?

I dont know. I only buy cheap little tanks from them. My guess would be no.

So whats "phyto2'?

Single species live culture in a salt water solution.

Are all copepods the same?

Nope. Maybe 10,000 different ones.

Do all copepods east (sp) the same thing.

Nope, Some like diatoms some like phyto some like detritus.