Harvesting Copepods from an Algae Scrubber

Jake Martensen

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Howdy, I have an algae scrubber. Every week or two I take out the screen and cut off 90% of the algae. This yields at least a quart size baggie of algae loaded with copepods. I toss the algae in the trash but I hate losing all the pods that I could be putting in my tank. Anyone have a suggestion of how to harvest the copepods from the mass of algae before I toss it in the trash? I have put it in a pasta strainer in a bowl of tank water and swished it around and gotten a fair amount of pods but was wondering if others had suggestions. Thanks!!
 

vetteguy53081

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I get the same. Simply immerse the screen and agitate in in a shallow pan and poor thru a net over toilet and release the captured pods back to sump
 

Garf

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Amphipods or Copepods? What are they eating, decaying algae? Hardly ever saw anything apart from healthy algae on my waterfall.
 

afboundguy

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How big is your tank? If it's a large tank I wouldn't really be concerned too much as your set up is easily sustaining a population if they are there every time you clean the scrubber.
 

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