Disease free pods and Chaeto

[chicago]

After a few tank wipe outs and tear downs over the past 40 years is it safe to simply trust the manufacturers of pods in a bottle. I mean generally > I am not referring to any specific make.
I realize ick needs fish.. so how are these pods in a bottle populated and produced. Do we let the bottle sit as if going fallow. Am I simply paranoid now.
Same for Chaeto.
My thoughts to settle the paranoia is to get ten gallon tank, a light, a bottle or two of pods , some chaeto algea and let sit in the 10 gallon tank for three months.. and then put into a new refugium..

 

[SoreninKL]

I've tried the same with ulva and chaeto and both times the algae just died. good luck with your project and you not alone, I'm paranoid too

cheers

 

[jaws789832]

Don't quote me on this but I would assume that most companies that are breeding Pods don't do it in a system with fish. That would be kinda counterproductive as the fish would eat the pods and the pods don't need anything from the fish they eat phytoplankton, which is an algae), so I would assume that the pods would be fish disease free. as for chaeto (and all macro algae), now that is a different story and I have been asking companies if it is truly disease and pest free an no one gives me a straight answer. I have been asking for a disease and pest free algae for a seahorse tank and everyone says I should QT it just like a fish but as Sorenin said I haven't had much luck keeping it alive in a QT tank that isn't set up with the right lights and I don't want to spend the money just for a small piece of chaeto (or other macro).

 

[chicago]

ok.. I hear you... my thoughts exactly.. I guess... my point is cross contamination is pretty easy... one net.. one wrong syphon tub and and in one wrong tank and there we go again.. I am an example of that..

 

[Humblefish]

I wouldn't trust pods in chaeto, because that obviously came from a tank with a high nutrient load (fish) to help grow it. I've tried chaeto in fishless systems and it always eventually dies.

However, when I asked @AlgaeBarn how they cultured their pods, they assured me it was being done in a fishless environment. I have no reason to doubt them, having used their pods many, many times without any disease outbreaks ever occurring.

 

[lagatbezan]

I'm in the same boat looking to add chaeto to my sump but am afraid I will introduce ich, velvet or even uronema which can live without a host ;Nailbiting even if I qt the chaeto for a few months.
@Humblefish Can Chaeto be treated with cp in a qt?

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish Can Chaeto be treated with cp in a qt?

Negative, CP is a strong algaecide and will kill it.

Best way to QT chaeto (and other macroalgae) is isolate it to a fishless environment for 16 days. If you suspect it has pods, use a coral dip before placing in your DT.

 

[coweyes298]

Just chime in. I got the order of chaeto and ulva from Algaebarn this morning. By looking at their provided bag I could't tell if there is pods inside the chaeto. I then did 3 rinse for each chaeto and ulva with discarding the rinse water each time. Followed by a bayer dip then rinse at the end. By checking the bayer water and post rinse water after bayer dip, I couldn't find any amphipods body. There is almost nothing coming out of the bayer/rinse water as well, except tiny amount of dust like (perhaps it is pods body) which I would say less than 10 of them.

Right now I put the chaeto and ulva into 5 gallon bucket which has water just collected from my coral QT tank. This coral QT tank is at 62 days mark of the last coral introduced. I put a heater and lit it with a 5000K led light bulb. Starting the clock for 16 days QT.

I have ordered chaeto from other places and they all came with lots of amphipods and worms. Algaebarn's chaeto is the cleanest stuff I have ever seen, couldn't find an amphipods dead body after bayer dip.