Considering dosing pods, any suggestions?

[gotmesalty77]

So my tank has population of pods but it seems to have started to drop off. I figured it wouldn't hurt to add a boost to my refugium. Any recommendations or tips?

 

[Dempsey941]

I hear Algae Barn pods are some of the best in the business. I cannot imagine a scenario where adding pods will hurt you.

 

[Katrina71]

Rusalty.com and @hollback both have extremely healthy pods!

 

[Bbfishb81]

I've used many different types of pods. IMO it doesn't hurt to add a few different types of pods or rotifers.

 

[Bbfishb81]

I've used many different types of pods. IMO it doesn't hurt to add a few different types of pods or rotifers

 

[AlgaeBarn]

So my tank has population of pods but it seems to have started to drop off. I figured it wouldn't hurt to add a boost to my refugium. Any recommendations or tips?

Can you tell me more about your setup and we can get you a custom solution?


We are a big fan of diversity at AlgaeBarn, so our 3 species mix 5280 pods would likely be a great addition to your aquarium.

5280 Pods

Each 16oz portion of 5280 Pods contains 5280+ LIVE Tigriopus, Tisbe, and Apocyclops Copepods ranging from nauplii to adult sizes. 5280 Pods is great for seeding new tanks and refugiums, boosting existing populations, or feeding finicky fish & inverts such as Mandarins, Seahorses, Anthias...

www.algaebarn.com

You will want to supplement with phytoplankton, that is likely one of the reasons they are dropping off. Give me some background on recent changes and we can work through it.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

I hear Algae Barn pods are some of the best in the business. I cannot imagine a scenario where adding pods will hurt you.

Much love! We are huge fans of continuous improvement, we are always trying to push the bar. We did huge capital investments last year and this year to significantly improve quality! With a little bit of luck, we will be able to do another capital push at the end the year as well as another capital push in 2020, but we are eagerly waiting for the bank to approve! We are working towards some HUGE wins for aquaculture and the hobby next year!

 

[Dempsey941]

Recommends Algae Barn having never purchased a product.
Spends 45-60 minutes reading their website.
Makes purchase.
5 minutes later, Algae Barn comments on my recommendation

 

[gotmesalty77]

Recommends Algae Barn having never purchased a product.
Spends 45-60 minutes reading their website.
Makes purchase.
5 minutes later, Algae Barn comments on my recommendation

Did you bring the tinfoil hats? I forgot mine lol

 

[Jeeperz]

Reef nutrition Tigger pods are my favorite. I've used algae barn pods but not sold on them. None of their pods are as large as the reef nutrition Tigger pods and they don't seem to populate like the reef nutrition tiggers. You can barely see them in the 5280 mixed bottles.

 

[sde1500]

FWIW I don’t think adding pods will do much on its own. The tank can only support so many. Adding more would only be a temporary boost unless you also feed phyto for them to sustain on. Algae barn and Reef nutrition are both excellent sources.

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Podyourreef.com and algaebarn are the only two I've tried, and am very pleased with both. Podyourreef gave me a freebie 20oz. Not sure if that's the norm or not, but it made my day.

 

[NS Mike D]

FWIW I don’t think adding pods will do much on its own. The tank can only support so many. Adding more would only be a temporary boost unless you also feed phyto for them to sustain on. Algae barn and Reef nutrition are both excellent sources.

agree, before spending money on new pods, see if you can sustain your population by dosing phyto. The alternative can get expensive. If you're not trying to feed a mandarin or other inhabitant that requires pods, don't sweat the drop in population. I can't see any in my tank, but my mandarin healthy appearance confirms they are there, and when I do rock work I can see them scurry. I presume the ones that swim out in the open are quickly picked off.

Reef nutrition Tigger pods are my favorite. I've used algae barn pods but not sold on them. None of their pods are as large as the reef nutrition Tigger pods and they don't seem to populate like the reef nutrition tiggers. You can barely see them in the 5280 mixed bottles.

+1. I was an Algae Barn subscriber until I discovered my LFS carried the Reef Nutrition Tiggers. In addition to saving on shipping, and while I was content with the 5280, the difference you noted was undeniable.

Lastly, Reef Nutrition live phyto is a think soup that requires a few drops a week, and because it's so concentrated, the bottle takes up very little fridge space.

 

[gotmesalty77]

agree, before spending money on new pods, see if you can sustain your population by dosing phyto. The alternative can get expensive. If you're not trying to feed a mandarin or other inhabitant that requires pods, don't sweat the drop in population. I can't see any in my tank, but my mandarin healthy appearance confirms they are there, and when I do rock work I can see them scurry. I presume the ones that swim out in the open are quickly picked off.




+1. I was an Algae Barn subscriber until I discovered my LFS carried the Reef Nutrition Tiggers. In addition to saving on shipping, and while I was content with the 5280, the difference you noted was undeniable.

Lastly, Reef Nutrition live phyto is a think soup that requires a few drops a week, and because it's so concentrated, the bottle takes up very little fridge space.

I had what I thought was a large population but after dosing chemiclean i only see a few here and there. I can still see them at night in DT as well. I figured the larger population might help with dinos as well. I will look into phyto

 

[Reef Nutrition]

I want to thank all the hobbyists here that recommended Reef Nutrition copepods and phytoplankton. We've been producing and selling copepods and phytoplankton for nearly 15 years and have managed to maintain quality and consistency throughout. Being the largest producer of marine microalgae concentrates doesn't come easy and we appreciate when others notice.

For everyone's amusement, here is a customer-provided video of our Tigger-Pods:

Here is a link to this product for more information: https://reefnutrition.com/product_tigger_pods.php. We also have another copepod product - Apex-Pods - for those of you looking for more biodiversity from us. https://reefnutrition.com/product_apex_pods.php

And, here is a link to our phytoplankton product - Phyto-Feast: https://reefnutrition.com/product_phyto_feast.php. We are running a promotion on this product. If you buy any bottle of concentrate directly from us, you get a free bottle of Phyto-Feast. Here is the landing page for the promotion:https://reefnutrition.com/promo/concentrates/

Again, I want to thank those here that mentioned our brand and products. We truly appreciate it.

Best,
Chad

 

[Stang67]

Any luck with adding Phyto?

 

[ectoaesthetics]

Hey there. I culture pods and try to keep my pod pop in the tank super high as well. Honestly the two biggest things I do to keep my pod population up is 1: dose phyto. I use a mixed phyto (Reef Nutrition’s Live phyto blend) and 2: use a smaller sized frozen fish food. I will try to shoot a shot of what my glass sand or rock looks like as my pod population is crazy! However adding pods from culture to my tank seems to do very little in terms of adding to my population.

I am also a huge fan of adding my phyto to the refugium when my feed mode is on. I dose the quantity that I would dose for my whole tank directly into the fuge where it is solid green for a long while during the daily feed. I will also purposefully add small particulate food at the same time on occasion (like BRS reef chili etc).

Updated: Photo and video attached. This is not me taking photo or video at some great “high time” this was simply taken just now to add to the post. The video is blurry but all the pods can be seen scurrying in the sand. They are not just numerous they are also very diverse. I also have weird little larval hydroids of some sort that populate my glass and rocks. They are a larval form of something and seem not to bother anything in the tank.