Growing Your Own Pods

[PSU4ME]

Hi Everyone - looking for some help/experience on how I should go about this.

In my 120, i have a lot of pod eaters and I can't seem to keep them going in the tank. I have 6 wrasses and a mandarin and they like to eat

I'm growing tisbe pods pretty well but I am looking to see how to cultivate the larger ones, amphipods. I'm getting tired of the online vendors, the prices, the death rates, the customer service etc etc so I'm looking to see how I would breed them at home.

Questions would be:
- how to seed a starter
- tank size
- tank setup (liver rock, substrate, filtration etc)
- water temp
- salinity
- food source

I'm not sure if onlione vendors actually grow them or if they get them from the ocean. I know Paul B gets them straight from the ocean (please send some my way!).

Would love your inputs.

Thanks

 

[Mike Johnson]

Start a ten gallon tank and order your Amphipods from here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCu2c9XpuI&list=TLPbRSG44dnCN388bc_6eOXE1XD-GHtT31

 

[reefer gladness]

[video=youtube;NaCu2c9XpuI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCu2c9XpuI[/video]

This is a commercial setup but I've also seen really simple setups in a 5-gallon bucket too. Basically you just need some LR, macro algae, and food.

 

[Mike Johnson]

http://www.ipsf.com/podbreedingkit.html

 

[landshark]

how is the pod farm going did you order from http://www.ipsf.com/podbreedingkit.html

 

[PSU4ME]

I have a 5g tank with a good copepod population in it now. Adding ulva and a ball of chaeto when my reefcleaners.org order gets in. I also grow my own phyto for food. Running no heat with a IM 8w led light.

Trying this before I buy from ipsf.

 

[DianaKay]

Bryan, do you not have a refugium?
If not, maybe it's time to add one for keeping that many pod eating fish.

 

[PSU4ME]

Diana,
I do but for whatever reason I can't keep them. I think the water is too clean (which us my goal). I've loaded that refugium many times, nothing sticks

 

[Akshay]

What substrate do u have in the fuge? Try large to medium coral rubble..

 

[DianaKay]

Diana,
I do but for whatever reason I can't keep them. I think the water is too clean (which us my goal). I've loaded that refugium many times, nothing sticks

I think you should not give up on your refugium as a good place to grow your pods.
What's in Your's? Do you have something in there that would be eating them?
How big is your refugium? You might just be missing a component that could be a quick fix to growing pods within your system.

I have a 5in. DSB in mine along with a couple pieces of LR & Chaeto.
I've been told that the reason mushroom corals don't reproduce in my tank is because my water may be too clean. Yet I have a pod population in my refugium that is using the same tank water. I bet you can too!!

 

[PSU4ME]

My refugium is a lifereef refugium and i think it is about 16 gallons. I keep out all crabs and snails except for the little colonista snails that always seem to find their way. It is plumbed off of the return line and i have a small koralia in there for additional flow. Lit by a CPR light fixture but i also have an IM 8w led light I may switch it out for.

I have tried a 6" DSB
Barebottom
LR rubble
And today i'm running the garf grundge sand (different sizes) with some LR rubble.

While i'm not giving up on it, it certainly isn't functioning like I want it to be and the Pod retailers out there are not great and it is getting expensive so I need to do something!

 

[DianaKay]

You have the same refugium that I have.
Here's what I'd suggest....keep a substrate that they like to live in and some LR.
Getting some LR from a healthy established tank that has pods living in it already might be cheaper than buying more pods. Feed your pods every few days (not everyday).
I use sinking pellets & when I put them in....little roaches (Amphipods) start to scurry for them.
I also have used the dirty filter pads from my DT in the refugium to let them eat the fish poo off. I started doing this because I was seeing way too many of my live pods stuck to it. You don't have to do these enough to pollute your refugium but pods need NASTY & they can't get it in a sterile tank. Just ask Paul B.
How deep is your "garf" stuff?

 

[mikecc]

Diana,
I do but for whatever reason I can't keep them. I think the water is too clean (which us my goal). I've loaded that refugium many times, nothing sticks

Might want to slow down flow thru it.

 

[DianaKay]

Also, I'd add some snails....they POO as they eat film algae.
The pods need poo and any poo will doo :LOL:
You need some chaeto as well...it's like a jungle gym for them to play in

 

[DianaKay]

Might want to slow down flow thru it.

I don't think my flow is too much, the pods need to move into the DT also.
I don't run the fine filter pad very often so that more of them make it to my DT.
I have 3 tiny powerheads (just added the 3rd one a week ago) running in my refugium.
I think Bryan needs more algae & a steady poo source. "The circle of Life"

 

[PSU4ME]

My flow without the koralia was incredibly slow because any faster and it started throwing bubbles back into my sump. I added a small koralia and its barley enough to get a tumble going so I think it is sufficient.

I agree that it is probably the food source - didn't want my refugium becoming a nitrate trap so maybe i went too far. I ordered 2 helpings of ulva and 1 ball of chaeto from reef cleaners so i plan to go after it again with botht he refugium and the external refugium as well.

I added exhausted ARM ca reactor media to the substrate as well.......My last shot at this will be going back to the 5-6" DSB before i rip it out.

 

[mikecc]

I was in re to PSU4ME flow rate.

+1 on all the rest tho, excepting differentiating between flow thru and flow within.

Im on pg10 of his reef chronicle. Aint yet got the tank in house yet, but stand is stained, but I see so far that flow thru is provided by off shoot of return line and a spray bar. Cant wait for the end.

 

[PSU4ME]

I was in re to PSU4ME flow rate.

+1 on all the rest tho, excepting differentiating between flow thru and flow within.

Im on pg10 of his reef chronicle. Aint yet got the tank in house yet, but stand is stained, but I see so far that flow thru is provided by off shoot of return line and a spray bar. Cant wait for the end.

Hahaha, keep reading!

 

[PSU4ME]

My flow through the refugium isn't very fast (which is the way its supposed to be) but I added the koralia because i needed to use the flow from the return to go over the surface and it left very little to no flow in the bottom 2/3rds of the tank.

I'm sure there is a way to get this moving but I also want to be careful with my sps babies

 

[mikecc]

Do you want to grow pods in tank or out of tank? In tank is best, IMO, depending on rate of pod preditation in MT. Nothin eating pods in my tank. They all over. Day and night. Big and little. Got to have a safe place for them. A refugium is ideal, you would think. for pod protection.

I've heard of people wrapping rubble in plastic gutter guard mesh type stuff and make like little pod motels, and toss them in back under a rock or something and let them hide in that. Even rotating a couple of made up sets thru your MT and refugium. to keep it loaded.