To convince Mrs TampaMark to agree to the new tank, I promised we would get a mandarin. We talked about the need to wait to establish a nice pod population before bringing one home, and she is in full agreement. The tank has had water in it for two months now and I want to begin establishing my pod population. I have the main 180 gallon display that is plumbed to a 40 gallon breeder sump. The drains from the display go into an area that has two filter socks that then dump the water into my protein skimmer chamber. There is a return pump chamber and one extra chamber that is currently empty. It is roughly 9x17 inches in size. That is where I want to cultivate my pods.
My goal is to establish a healthy pod population that can be easily exported to the display. My original plan was to use this chamber for a refugium. I know I could put some chaeto in there that would provide a nice environment for pod growth, but I'm having second thoughts on whether I need a refugium (I know it is early, but my nitrate and phosphate levels are low, and we are not wanting a lot of fish), and I'm not sure how easy it would be to transfer pods to the display. I made some DIY pod hotels outs of corrugated plastic that would be easy to transport back and forth to the display, and am wondering if putting some live rock or sand and the hotels would be a better option. I could alternate the hotels back and forth between the sump and the display every couple of days.
I am looking for thoughts on the best way to encourage pod growth without running a refugium. My ultimate goal would be to create an environment where the pod production keeps pace with the appetites of my fish. Is this possible? What should I be thinking about that I am not? I am always impressed with the knowledge of R2R members and don't want to reinvent something that has probably been done many times before. Thanks for any advice/ideas/suggestions you can offer.
My goal is to establish a healthy pod population that can be easily exported to the display. My original plan was to use this chamber for a refugium. I know I could put some chaeto in there that would provide a nice environment for pod growth, but I'm having second thoughts on whether I need a refugium (I know it is early, but my nitrate and phosphate levels are low, and we are not wanting a lot of fish), and I'm not sure how easy it would be to transfer pods to the display. I made some DIY pod hotels outs of corrugated plastic that would be easy to transport back and forth to the display, and am wondering if putting some live rock or sand and the hotels would be a better option. I could alternate the hotels back and forth between the sump and the display every couple of days.
I am looking for thoughts on the best way to encourage pod growth without running a refugium. My ultimate goal would be to create an environment where the pod production keeps pace with the appetites of my fish. Is this possible? What should I be thinking about that I am not? I am always impressed with the knowledge of R2R members and don't want to reinvent something that has probably been done many times before. Thanks for any advice/ideas/suggestions you can offer.