Use copepods to cycle a tank?

[saltyfish24]

Rather than spending money on bottled bacteria, or waiting a long time for dry cycle with ammonia, what do you think about using copepods to cycle a tank? So you spend $50 on a mix of copepods and bottle or two of phytoplankton. Instead of buying bacteria in a bottle.

• Copepods are able to survive high ammonia levels that happen during cycling [link]. You can use the ammonia produced by the metabolism from copepods to cycle the tank.
• Some (most?) people would find cycling a much more enjoyable process if they're growing pods in the main tank, rather than buy bottled bacteria or waiting a long time to dry cycle.
• Once the tank is cycled and you're ready to add fish, you also have a large pod population to feed the new fish.

I'm not the first to come up with this idea. I read an older thread from like a decade ago, where a newbie posed this question. But the responses to that thread were along the lines of "just cycle the way that's been proven to work". Which seems very disappointing as far as responses go. I hate buying products to achieve a goal, which seems to be a big part of the saltwater hobby. I'd much rather buy copepods, which I want anyways, and use them to achieve the goal synergistically.

I don't think I've come across anyone influential, like BRStv or other reef tank influencer, really talk about using pods to cycle a tank. Is there any issues with the idea? It seems great to me.

 

[PotatoPig]

If you want budget bacteria ask your LFS for some spare shells from their hermit crab tank and toss them in.

This will also almost certainly put pods in the tank also.

$50 for pods is a very expensive way to cycle a tank very slowly.

 

[ReefWithMe]

I cycled with tigger pods and avoided an ugly stage
Grated I have m own pod and phytoplankton to feed them

 

[JulesH]

My tank was initially left lights off for three months with no wildlife apart from copepods and a dose of ammonia. When I did turn the lights on and add wildlife I skipped the ugly phase, lucky I guess?

 

[Lavey29]

You can cycle a tank without ever putting anything in it to start but will take like 4 months to finally cycle. Pretty much the same with pods

 

[fishywishy]

Why spend $40 on copepods to cycle a tank for a month when you can buy ammonia and bacteria for just $10 and complete the cycle in a week or two?

Additionally, unless you have a sump setup with algae or a dedicated refugium, most of the copepods are likely to die due to a lack of food.

 

[RockRash]

I'm just about ready to ready to fill my tank. I'm going to be using fritz turbo start 900. I plan on adding pods from algae barn right after the cycle.

 

[Miami Reef]

Add some live rock; it doesn’t have to be much.

You get bacteria, coralline, micro fauna, and pods!

 

[saltyfish24]

Why spend $40 on copepods to cycle a tank for a month when you can buy ammonia and bacteria for just $10 and complete the cycle in a week or two?

Additionally, unless you have a sump setup with algae or a dedicated refugium, most of the copepods are likely to die due to a lack of food.

If you intend on getting pods anyways, it won't be a waste of money - you'll be buying the copepods anyways. It would just end up being a smarter way, because you're cycling with the pods and increasing the population.

Where do you get bacteria for $10? They're like $16 to $22, and you have to buy the ammonia to feed the bacteria.

I'm not sure how long it would take to cycle a tank with copepods. I don't think you know either - the 1 month is just a guest right? Maybe it's even longer, since it's probably about the same length of time as cycling with just ammonia. Even cycling with pods takes longer than cycling with a bottled bacteria, I'll bet most people would enjoy watching their pod population more than cycling with bacteria.

Part of the point of this post is to actually say that the are nuances to cycling with pods isn't well understood. You mentioned refugium. It's probably not a good idea to use macro algae when cycling because the macro would compete for the ammonia that the nitrifying bacteria need, and might slow the cycle. It might be better just to feed phyto. I don't know the answer to that. I think it deserves study and experimentation.

 

[saltyfish24]

My tank was initially left lights off for three months with no wildlife apart from copepods and a dose of ammonia. When I did turn the lights on and add wildlife I skipped the ugly phase, lucky I guess?

The pods can't live in the dark without adding phyto, or something for them to eat. They don't consume ammonia right? I'm not sure how your method works.

 

[saltyfish24]

If you want budget bacteria ask your LFS for some spare shells from their hermit crab tank and toss them in.

This will also almost certainly put pods in the tank also.

$50 for pods is a very expensive way to cycle a tank very slowly.

If you're planning on pods in the future anyways, it's not an extra cost, and it's saving you from buying the bottle of bacteria. Live rock has its disadvantages. Sure, you'll be adding nitrifying bacteria, but also whatever other pests the LFS has. The way pods are cultured decreases (by a lot) the chances of introducing unwanted stuff in your tank right off the bat. If you don't care about the pests, then it works for you. But it's not for everyone.

I guess you can also add a bottle of bacteria to speed things up.

 

[saltyfish24]

I'm just about ready to ready to fill my tank. I'm going to be using fritz turbo start 900. I plan on adding pods from algae barn right after the cycle.

What if I someone more educated about things explained to you that you can add the pods and phyto right away when you're cycling, and make the couple weeks that you're cycling a more interesting time? And that when you add fish, you'll have a big pod population and you can watch the fish have a great start in your tank by feasting on the pods?

That sounds like a lot more fun than cycling with just bacteria only.

 

[Lavey29]

What if I someone more educated about things explained to you that you can add the pods and phyto right away when you're cycling, and make the couple weeks that you're cycling a more interesting time? And that when you add fish, you'll have a big pod population and you can watch the fish have a great start in your tank by feasting on the pods?

That sounds like a lot more fun than cycling with just bacteria only.

It's gonna take a lot longer to cycle then a few weeks with just pods and dead rock only.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

If you're planning on pods in the future anyways, it's not an extra cost, and it's saving you from buying the bottle of bacteria. Live rock has its disadvantages. Sure, you'll be adding nitrifying bacteria, but also whatever other pests the LFS has. The way pods are cultured decreases (by a lot) the chances of introducing unwanted stuff in your tank right off the bat. If you don't care about the pests, then it works for you. But it's not for everyone.

I guess you can also add a bottle of bacteria to speed things up.

Yeah but you'll eventually run into those pests anyway. Why not get your feet wet early and learn what works before you get to the point where encrusting coral turned 2 rocks into 1?

 

[saltyfish24]

It's gonna take a lot longer to cycle then a few weeks with just pods and dead rock only.

He was talking about using fritz bacteria to cycle, and then adding pods after cycle. I was suggesting maybe just add the pods right away before along with the fritz during cycling, and use phyto to feed the pods. So the cycling part would take the same amount of time - it would just be more fun. And create a tank with a large pod population for the first fish to dig into.

 

[saltyfish24]

Yeah but you'll eventually run into those pests anyway. Why not get your feet wet early and learn what works before you get to the point where encrusting coral turned 2 rocks into 1?

Some people have an attitude that you're going to get ick anyways, so there's no point in QTing. That's been the attitude for a long time until maybe just recently with more emphasis on doing QT correctly.

I don't think pests are inevitable or just something that happens. A lot of the methods for dealing to certain pests require a big tank, or getting fish/inverts that don't do well in nano tanks, or are not the animals you desire. I'm not a fan of the all-pests-are-inevitable camp.

 

[EricR]

You can cycle a tank without ever putting anything in it to start but will take like 4 months to finally cycle. Pretty much the same with pods

I was going to say 6 weeks to cycle with no bacteria added,,, but maybe proximity to the ocean has some effect on timeline?
*anyway, I never added live anything to my first small tank to start and it just happened (cycled)

 

[Lavey29]

He was talking about using fritz bacteria to cycle, and then adding pods after cycle. I was suggesting maybe just add the pods right away before along with the fritz during cycling, and use phyto to feed the pods. So the cycling part would take the same amount of time - it would just be more fun. And create a tank with a large pod population for the first fish to dig into.

I still think it will take longer if you are relying on pods to be your ammonia source for the nitrifying bacteria. They probably produce a tiny amount of ammonia. It will eventually cycle but will take longer.

 

[PotatoPig]

If you're planning on pods in the future anyways, it's not an extra cost, and it's saving you from buying the bottle of bacteria. Live rock has its disadvantages. Sure, you'll be adding nitrifying bacteria, but also whatever other pests the LFS has.

You won’t keep pods out of your tank even if you try. They come in on rocks, on corals, on snails, on crabs, on macro algae and so on. They’re endemic in the entire supply chain.

The only feasible way would be a FOWLR only system, from dry rock, with no CUC, where everything spends an extended period in Copper before going in.

If you’re unwilling to risk pests from even the shells in the hermit tank then you’re setting yourself up for major challenges in a CUC free system.

 

[taricha]

cycling with pods, or hermits etc would work. they all have a metabolism that produces ammonia. But if you use live phyto, it might culture up in the tank and consume all the available ammonia. preserved phyto shouldn't be a problem though.