Outdoor pod breeding station.

[atoll]

Very cool!! So this is literally saltwater unheated and left outside?! No power to it whatsoever?

Correct

 

[atoll]

Is that mosquito larvae in there too?

Is that mosquito larvae in there too?

Just the odd dead fly or piece of grass I think.

 

[atoll]

I came across your genius posts about this earlier in the week and I’m hoping to get it set up and started today. Fingers crossed the weather stays good here in the west mids.
Would you still recommend banana peel to get it started?
I’m still a little unsure on the evaporation part. Do you fill the tub right to the top with saltwater so that when it rains it tops up what’s needed and the rest overflows?
Thank you for sharing and would love any feedback!

Thanks.
I have only ever used banana skin but I guess you could use the likes of a piece of letuce leaf etc.
Rain water although it will dilute the salt water dosent seem to bother the pods. They are very adaptable to salinity swings.

 

[atoll]

I'm curious about the banana peel that you advise to add in. Do you take it out after the water turns green or let it decompose in the bin? Do you think it would work in slightly colder climates? (I'm in eastern Canada, summers can get up to 30 degrees C but not usually more than 25C, and we have a lot of cooler days around 16-20C in the summer)

Once you get the water green then you can remove the banana skin. I add a little nitrate based plant fertiliser to give it a boost and some skimmate now and again from my skimmer which also gives then a boost.
My pods bust into life once late spring is here. Not sure of the temperature but I would guess they would slowly breed around 20c maybe a little higher. Temperature varies here a lot in the uk during the summer.

 

[UltraKelius]

I’m totally giving this a go!! Thanks for sharing

 

[atoll]

I’m totally giving this a go!! Thanks for sharing

Your welcome.

 

[john92708]

going to give this a try to supplement feeding my mandarin dragonets. thanks for sharing

 

[sixty_reefer]

Once you get the water green then you can remove the banana skin. I add a little nitrate based plant fertiliser to give it a boost and some skimmate now and again from my skimmer which also gives then a boost.
My pods bust into life once late spring is here. Not sure of the temperature but I would guess they would slowly breed around 20c maybe a little higher. Temperature varies here a lot in the uk during the summer.

2 weeks at a temperature above 13 Celsius is the start of spring in the uk, sometimes we have those requirements earlier in the year and trees get confused and blossom early

 

[atoll]

2 weeks at a temperature above 13 Celsius is the start of spring in the uk, sometimes we have those requirements earlier in the year and trees get confused and blossom early

Happening more and more as the years roll on.

 

[BurtG]

What is the sun exposure like where you have them setup? Full sun all day, half day, mostly shaded?

 

[atoll]

What is the sun exposure like where you have them setup? Full sun all day, half day, mostly shaded?

In the shade till mid afternoon.

 

[atoll]

Very warm here at the moment in the UK and my pods are breeding prolifically. Harvesting pods by the bucket full. What's not to like and so easy to do.

 

[Karen00]

Following on from my thread on how to breed pods outdoors during the summer months I thought I would make a pod breeding station.

I bought 2 x 3000 lengths of decking. The 3x2 for the legs I already had.
The clear 35ltr poly boxes with handles and lids I bought from ASDA, your Walmart for £8. UK Z pounds. The Screws I already had.

Simple cross frame construction with 3 of the lower cross pieces supporting the boxes. The lids I can use in winter should I decided as they are also clear.

She who.must be obeyed had been onto me to tidy that area up. Shes pleased now ..... for the time being.

So do you cover these at all to keep other bugs out? I'm in Toronto Canada and this would become a mosquito breeding ground in summer if it weren't covered (and probably other bugs as well).

 

[Karen00]

I used to do this large scale with tisbe and tiger pods. I used 55 gallon plastic drums and 60% light reduction netting over an old soft carport frame. Worked very well. Stir them every so often, feed phyto I was already making and then sell them to a company that sold pods on a larger scale. Surprisingly, evap and rain mix kept salinity pretty stable. Occasionally I would have to top off the barrels, but not that often.

You setup looks much nicer than mine did with barrels on the ground. Hats off to ya for making it look good.

Did you keep it covered to keep bugs like mosquitos out? I asked this of the OP as well. Where I am in Canada if containers like this aren't kept covered they become mosquito breeding grounds during the summer. I would like to try something like this because I have no more room in my house and I don't have a garage but bug (mainly mosquitos) would be my biggest concern. At the same time using the lids that come with these tires would probably roast the culture so maybe mosquito netting would work. I'm envious of folks like you and the OP that can keep serving like this going all year long. Where I am I would probably be able to do this until November the I would have to stop and do a smaller setup indoors.

Edit: I was just reminded mosquitos don't breed in saltwater so my question is did you find problems of bugs getting into the cultures if they're not covered?

 

[atoll]

So do you cover these at all to keep other bugs out? I'm in Toronto Canada and this would become a mosquito breeding ground in summer if it weren't covered (and probably other bugs as well).

I don't cover and mosquitos don't breed in salty water only fresh water.

 

[Karen00]

I don't cover and mosquitos don't breed in salty water only fresh water.

Doh... That's a good point!! LOL I thought maybe you lived in a wonderland where mosquitos didn't live. So you find you don't have to keep it covered just to keep bugs out?

 

[atoll]

Doh... That's a good point!! LOL I thought maybe you lived in a wonderland where mosquitos didn't live. So you find you don't have to keep it covered just to keep bugs out?

I just scoop any bugs out now and again but as it's saltwater they aren't attracted to it like freshwater. Being uncovered and a relatively large surface area I don't need to use an airpump as with other methods

 

[LeftyReefer]

I'm planning on doing this, and even found the exact same rectangular containers that the OP had... found them at Staples.

I have (2) bins like the OP has. I have (2) bottles of tigger pods on the way, which should be here tomorrow.

Can I simply add the banana peel and the pods to some used tank water and call it good? or does the banana peel need time to break down in the saltwater before adding the pods?

I also have some phyto feast (dead phyto) and some live phyto, when do I add phyto to the container?

Unless I'm told differently, I plan on adding a few drops of phyto feast, a few drops of live phyto, the banana peel, and the bottle of pods to the container of my used tank water... I will do this to both containers and try to maintain two cultures in case one crashes.

I guess I'm not clear if the culture needs time to "marinate" before adding the pods, or if it can all be added on day 1 ?

 

[fishface NJ]

So do you cover these at all to keep other bugs out? I'm in Toronto Canada and this would become a mosquito breeding ground in summer if it weren't covered (and probably other bugs as well).

I had a Rubbermaid tote outside. It started breeding mosquitos. I took it inside two days ago. We have 3 confirmed West Nile virus in my area.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Thanks to atoll again, mine has been brewing a week or two now and weather has been really hot in UK, as advised I'm going to wait for algae to go more greenish and temp to drop abit before adding pods
In regards to debris I have used an old pushchair rain cover I had lying around however there is still some debris floating which can be removed as it floats on surface