Do you NEED a refugium to keep copepods alive and multiplying?

[BanZI29]

I can not keep Chaeto alive no matter what I do. I was able to grow it great before I upgraded my tank. Even with the same setup as my old tank. it just dies off within a months time.
I do add copepods to my tank about once a month because I do have a mandarin.
Is there any other home to give to copepods to keep them happy and multiplying?

 

[BanZI29]

Forgot to say that I have a 40Gal AIO and params:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 14
Ph = 8.12
Calcium = .460
Phos = .11
temp = 77°
running Chemipure in a small reactor and a skimmer.

 

[AstroCoral]

No, you don’t need a refugium for copepods. Just get one of the 3D printed copepods hives/homes/hotels - that will allow them to be protected and multiply.

 

[BanZI29]

No, you don’t need a refugium for copepods. Just get one of the 3D printed copepods hives/homes - that will allow them to be protected and multiply.

they make those?? KEWL . where can I get one? and will it work in an AIO with a available chamber where my chaeto used to live / Die?

 

[Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Verified Sponsor]

I can not keep Chaeto alive no matter what I do. I was able to grow it great before I upgraded my tank. Even with the same setup as my old tank. it just dies off within a months time.
I do add copepods to my tank about once a month because I do have a mandarin.
Is there any other home to give to copepods to keep them happy and multiplying?

You definitely don’t need a fuge to keep a sustained pod population. They help your colony grow faster by giving them a space safe from predation, but you can definitely have a vibrant pod population without one.

P.S. Live rich in the sump is great for them to colonize. Not as good as chaeto probably, but very good.

 

[BanZI29]

You definitely don’t need a fuge to keep a sustained pod population. They help your colony grow faster by giving them a space safe from predation, but you can definitely have a vibrant pod population without one.

P.S. Live rich in the sump is great for them to colonize. Not as good as chaeto probably, but very good.

What is Live Rich? and I have an AIO with an available chamber.

 

[AstroCoral]

they make those?? KEWL . where can I get one?

You can find them just about anywhere, Etsy, BRS, Saltwateraquarium.com, eBay. Just make sure the 3D print is using reef-safe filament.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I found that I have many different "hotels" in my tank. For example, I have ceramic media in a couple different places in my sump. Each one of those has it's own pod population. As does any type of mesh material I put in the tank. Last week I pulled a bag of charcoal out of my sump, I had to flush the coal and sift through it as I guess pods got in there when they were tiny and grew up and couldn't get out. It was super infested (in a positive way).

 

[StubbyAcro]

My tank is 66-gallon bare bottom reef tank with no refugium. I have 25kg of live rock in the display. Even with 4 damsels, my mandarin goby is still alive after 6 weeks of not feeding live baby brine shrimps and I still see copepods on the glass at night. I think it’s important to have enough rocks if you want to keep a dragonet. I know 6 weeks is a short time frame but I’m just here to share my experience.

Here’s a few suggestions to boost your pods population:

• Remove filter sock
• Add more rocks
• Add pythoplankton
• Add rock rubbles/crushed corals/plastic scrubbers in the sump
• Feed the sump

Regarding chaeto, have you tried dosing iron?

 

[PotatoPig]

If it helps - You don’t need Chaeto to provide a home for pods. If you just put a bunch of rock in that chamber then the pods will happily live there and reproduce before getting scooted up to the DT by the return pump.

My sump has a central chamber with egg crate elevated an inch by small PVC pipe sections and a bunch of broken down rock on top about 3” thick, with baffles set up so water comes in low, distributes along the clear area under the eggcrate and then rises up through the rock. Lots of rock surface to provide homes for pods.

What type of pods are you trying to seed?

 

[BanZI29]

My tank is 66-gallon bare bottom reef tank with no refugium. I have 25kg of live rock in the display. Even with 4 damsels, my mandarin goby is still alive after 6 weeks of not feeding live baby brine shrimps and I still see copepods on the glass at night. I think it’s important to have enough rocks if you want to keep a dragonet. I know 6 weeks is a short time frame but I’m just here to share my experience.

Here’s a few suggestions to boost your pods population:

• Remove filter sock
• Add more rocks
• Add pythoplankton
• Add rock rubbles/crushed corals/plastic scrubbers in the sump
• Feed the sump

Regarding chaeto, have you tried dosing iron?

• Remove filter sock I use filter floss in 1 chamber, no socks
• Add more rocks sadly no more room
• Add pythoplankton dosed every other day
• Add rock rubbles/crushed corals/plastic scrubbers in the sump I do have porus media rocks under my filter floss.
• Feed the sump no sump, AIO

I did get a bottle of Chaeto grow but never tried it. should have thou. I for got about it till it was too late

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Adding FE really helped me out. I was shocked at how much my tank was consuming it. I may wind up putting it on a doser eventually.

 

[BanZI29]

Adding FE really helped me out. I was shocked at how much my tank was consuming it. I may wind up putting it on a doser eventually.

wow. just looked at my recent ICP test and yea, Iron is at 4.63ppb. they suggest 20ppb

 

[StubbyAcro]

Then feed the AIO chamber. I believe mechanical filteration would reduce the pods population considerably. If I were you, I would remove the floss and make sure the pods can move in and out of the AIO chamber without getting blocked by obstacles that they cannot get around.

 

[RedoubtReef]

My first tank was a SeaClear 40 gallon all in one. I was in a similar situation. As I upgrade to a bigger setup and eventually plumbed in a 75 gallon refugium to my 80 gallon display, the results were very positive. So, I'd say incorporate as large a refugium as possible for your setup that includes sand/mud and macro.

 

[o2manyfish]

They will live in all the nooks and crannies of your rock work and multiply and flourish. They just need time (and some starters) to get going.

Every year there are new pod suppliers and more and more varieties of pods to purchase. Once to twice a year I buy an assortment of new pods and add them to the tank - Even with a flourishing population, because you never know what new flavor you might be adding.

One of the most surprising places I found the Pods flourishing was on the frag racks in my outdoor frag tanks. Here is black eggcrate in full blast of the sun. With clear room underneath for the fish to hunt. And the frag plugs and racks are just covered in pods 24 hrs a day.

Dave B

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

You don't need a fuge, and you don't need one of those 3-d printed things either. As long as you have vaguely porous rock, they'll be there. There will be more with a fuge, but you don't need one to have pods. I've found that the pods in my tank glow under a blacklight after lights out, you can try doing that to check your population levels.

 

[Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Verified Sponsor]

What is Live Rich? and I have an AIO with an available chamber.

Sorry, I meant live rock.

 

[cdnco2004]

You can also get Pod Hotels, that provide a safe place for the pods to breed and live in your DT.

Pod Hotel on Amazon

 

[BanZI29]

Sorry, I meant live rock

AHH. Kewl. i have the porous media rock in my filter chamber. I might move it over to the empty chamber.