Sieve for culturing pods

[rueric]

Looking to culture Apex pods.. What size sieve is good to continue the culture?
Also, any ideas on a good/cheap DIY sieve?

Thinking of just finding some of the mesh and slapping it between two PVC pipes.. can't find the mesh for cheap though

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

actually I have the same problem, I'm trying to figure out how to make a sieve to catch tisbe pods. Last night i ordered 50 micron mesh tea bags from amazon, 100 pieces for $18, I plan to use this to make a sieve and catch the tisbe pods.

I do also culture apex pods, and up to now I have been using a regular brine shrimp net, but I think it is 100 microns, and some of the apex pods do get through, I usually strain twice to try to get them all, but I think the 50 micron sieve will work much better.

anyway thats my best idea up to now, I hope someone can provide some other idea's. There are different size sieves on ebay that would work perfectly but very expensive to ship to Canada.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

If you go to Ebay, you can find Chinese sellers that have nylon mesh in all micron sizes, sold by the meter for very little money. A few years ago I purchased a bunch of mesh from a US based seller and it was fairly expensive. Recently when I needed some mesh and forgot that I already had some on hand, I went to Ebay and bought 5M of it for around $10.

Using a PVC pipe and a fitting to trap the mesh in between is the best method of making a sieve. The pre-made ones you can purchase use this design. The hard part is securing the mesh so it does not pull out.

Dennis

 

[rueric]

If you go to Ebay, you can find Chinese sellers that have nylon mesh in all micron sizes, sold by the meter for very little money. A few years ago I purchased a bunch of mesh from a US based seller and it was fairly expensive. Recently when I needed some mesh and forgot that I already had some on hand, I went to Ebay and bought 5M of it for around $10.

Using a PVC pipe and a fitting to trap the mesh in between is the best method of making a sieve. The pre-made ones you can purchase use this design. The hard part is securing the mesh so it does not pull out.

Dennis

can you send me a link for one? not sure which ones.. or which size for that matter.. trying to understand the purpose of straining the apex pods for future cultures.. do i need adults to continue populating?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

can you send me a link for one? not sure which ones.. or which size for that matter.. trying to understand the purpose of straining the apex pods for future cultures.. do i need adults to continue populating?

Sure, here is the link to the vendor I used. 35-250 Micron Hole Fine Filter Mesh Nylon Fabric Net Material Strain 2M Quality

When you are straining pods, you select the mesh size to only catch the adults. You want the younger pods to remain within the culture to become the next generation of adults. You need to research the adult size of Apex pods to select the correct size of mesh.

Dennis

 

[rueric]

Thank you! Just ordered some 110 ones.. hopefully that would be a good size.

What is the preferred method to get the mesh to stick between the two PVC pipes? some sort of putty or glue?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

The 'manufactured' commercial ones I have use cyanoacrylate glue to affix the mesh to edge of a PVC pipe, which is then inserted into a slip union. This allows different sizes of seives to be stacked. E.g. a larger mesh above the finer mesh to remove detritus while letting your pods through with the adults being collected in the finer mesh.

Dennis

 

[mtfish]

Thank you! Just ordered some 110 ones.. hopefully that would be a good size.

What is the preferred method to get the mesh to stick between the two PVC pipes? some sort of putty or glue?

What I do is find a slip fittings in the size of PVC pipe you want to use. Say you use 2 inch pipe. Buy a 2 inch slip connector. Then take a 2 inch pipe and cut a very then sliver (like 1/8 inch). Put your screen on top of the slip fitting and push the sliver into it, hold the screen tight. This way you can also use more than one size screen by stacking them on top of each other to catch different size pods. Hope this makes sense.