Growing copepods in refugium

Andynz2000

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Set up my refugium with a little bit of chaeto today. My main question is do I need consistantly feed my copepods phytoplankton? I dosed my sump today with phytoplankton and I’m adding copepods later in the week. Do they multiply then go through the return?

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Sean Clark

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"My main question is do I need consistantly feed my copepods phytoplankton?"

Will your system support a healthy Copepod population? I do not know anybody that supplementally feed Copepods with anything. If you have a healthy system then you will not need to feed your Copepods anything.
 

Jay'sReefBugs

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Set up my refugium with a little bit of chaeto today. My main question is do I need consistantly feed my copepods phytoplankton? I dosed my sump today with phytoplankton and I’m adding copepods later in the week. Do they multiply then go through the return?

4DAA605E-0068-4837-ADC4-F282A865FE55.jpeg
Do you need to dose phytoplankton...No ....Should you yes . Phytoplankton has way more benefits then just feeding copepods. Your whole reef system benefits from it . The goal is to mimic a natural reef .
 

Sean Clark

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And by healthy system you mean some natural algae growth for them to feed on?
Need is a pretty strong word. Do you need salt in your system to keep a salt water aquarium? Yes. Do you need to dose phytoplankton? No. I am quite confident that there are more people out there that do not dose anything to feed their pod population than there are people that do.

A healthy system is just that, healthy. Stable parameters with good biodiversity. I personally would not judge the health of a system by how well it grows algae.

Your pods will be fine. Feed them if you like. You definitely do not need to. Be careful not to over do it and pollute the tank with excess feeding.

To date, I have never heard a single pod complain.
 
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Andynz2000

Andynz2000

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Need is a pretty strong word. Do you need salt in your system to keep a salt water aquarium? Yes. Do you need to dose phytoplankton? No. I am quite confident that there are more people out there that do not dose anything to feed their pod population than there are people that do.

A healthy system is just that, healthy. Stable parameters with good biodiversity. I personally would not judge the health of a system by how well it grows algae.

Your pods will be fine. Feed them if you like. You definitely do not need to. Be careful not to over do it and pollute the tank with excess feeding.

To date, I have never heard a single pod complain.
Should I dump the whole bottle of the copepods in the refugium? And by overfeeding you mean specifically the phytoplankton right
 

Sean Clark

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Should I dump the whole bottle of the copepods in the refugium? And by overfeeding you mean specifically the phytoplankton right
I would put half in the refugium and half in the tank. People suggest that you add pods at night time when the fish are sleeping so they have time to find a nice hiding place to settle in without getting eaten.

I was referring to overfeeding the phytoplankton yes. The idea really applies to anything you add to the tank. Try not to over do anything. Start slow and observe.
 
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Andynz2000

Andynz2000

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I would put half in the refugium and half in the tank. People suggest that you add pods at night time when the fish are sleeping so they have time to find a nice hiding place to settle in without getting eaten.

I was referring to overfeeding the phytoplankton yes. The idea really applies to anything you add to the tank. Try not to over do anything. Start slow and observe.
Great thanks for the quick replies Sean!
 

Jay'sReefBugs

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Great thanks for the quick replies Sean!
Agree with Sean here do it a lights out turn the pumps off for 20-30 minutes this gives them a chance to get into the substrate. And yes be careful with the phyto . Even tho it's extremely hard to over dose it to the point of causing damage to your system you don't want to dump the whole bottle in it . I just had a customer dump a ENTIRE bottle of phyto at one time into his system ‍♂️ . I normally recommend 10-15ML per 25 gal and adjust to your liking after . There's no right or wrong amount it's all personal preference. Just don't dump the entire bottle in that's wrong lol
 
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Agree with Sean here do it a lights out turn the pumps off for 20-30 minutes this gives them a chance to get into the substrate. And yes be careful with the phyto . Even tho it's extremely hard to over dose it to the point of causing damage to your system you don't want to dump the whole bottle in it . I just had a customer dump a ENTIRE bottle of phyto at one time into his system ‍♂️ . I normally recommend 10-15ML per 25 gal and adjust to your liking after . There's no right or wrong amount it's all personal preference. Just don't dump the entire bottle in that's wrong lol
My refugium is set up now, my copepods are arriving in a few days, should I add the phytoplankton in the sump first?
 
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Andynz2000

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I would put half in the refugium and half in the tank. People suggest that you add pods at night time when the fish are sleeping so they have time to find a nice hiding place to settle in without getting eaten.

I was referring to overfeeding the phytoplankton yes. The idea really applies to anything you add to the tank. Try not to over do anything. Start slow and observe.
Also is some aragonite substrate and chaeto good enough for the copepods to live in or so I need some sand in the refugium too?
 

homer1475

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Dump in the pods, then some phyto. Not the other way around. Think of it this way.....

You don't feed your tank with no fish in it, do you? Then why feed the pods without any pods in there? Phyto is more beneficial then just pod food, so no reason not to add it right now. But if the main goal is to feed pods, then add the pods first, then feed them.

The chaeto is plenty sufficient for the pods, although some sand and rocks are beneficial, certainly not needed, but beneficial.
 
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Another question I had was: do I just wait until thery multiply in numbers in the sump and let them naturally migrate into the display via the return pump?
 
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Sean Clark

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Another question I had was: do I just wait until thery multiply in numbers in the sump and let them naturally migrate into the display via the return pump?
I'll bet that you start to see them on the glass of the display tank within a day or two. If you glass already has a slight film on it, then leave it be for the next few days and you will start to see the pods on the glass. Cleaning the glass won't hurt anything, but my experience is that they are more likely to show up on glass that is not freshly scraped clean. They will do their thing while you are not watching so that you have a never ending supply of pods.
 
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Andynz2000

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I'll bet that you start to see them on the glass of the display tank within a day or two. If you glass already has a slight film on it, then leave it be for the next few days and you will start to see the pods on the glass. Cleaning the glass won't hurt anything, but my experience is that they are more likely to show up on glass that is not freshly scraped clean. They will do their thing while you are not watching so that you have a never ending supply of pods.
Ahhh I’m so excited!
 

Sean Clark

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Ahhh I’m so excited!
Your refugium media looks pretty fresh so adding that Phytoplankton in small doses daily or every other day like Jay'sReefBugs said earlier will help them get started for sure.
 
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Andynz2000

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Your refugium media looks pretty fresh so adding that Phytoplankton in small doses daily or every other day like Jay'sReefBugs said earlier will help them get started for sure.
Will do. Thanks man. Yeah the media has been there since the start of the cycling about 3months old.
 
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Andynz2000

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Your refugium media looks pretty fresh so adding that Phytoplankton in small doses daily or every other day like Jay'sReefBugs said earlier will help them get started for sure.
sorry one more question, ive got my fuge light on reverse cycle for 8 hours. Is that a good duration for the amount of chaeto in there?
 

Sean Clark

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sorry one more question, ive got my fuge light on reverse cycle for 8 hours. Is that a good duration for the amount of chaeto in there?
It looks like you have a golf ball size ball of chaeto from Algae Barn. Like most things there is not one right answer to your question. The light schedule you have sounds good to start. It will take a while to get that ball of chaeto going strong, and that is also dependant on your Nitrate and Phosphate levels. Be patient, keep an eye on those Nitrates and Phosphates, and turn your lighting time up or down accordingly to raise or lower them.
 

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