How To: DIY Amphipod Breeding Tank?

[RudyB]

First, Kudos that you are 12. I wished my 14 year old expressed himself like you do.
Question where do you have the tank that is having the issue. If you have a tank near a natural light source it could be causing your outbreak. I had my quarantine / pod tank near a window and it caused me to get algae. I found that using no substrate in that tank was the best option. That way nothing gets to decay. I also found that those body wash scrubbies (the little ones or the smallest you can find) to house the pods was the best. Easy to harvest as well. You just pick one up and shake it in your display tank, done.

 

[Elton20]

I believe you about the window thing but it doesn't make sense that my LFS has a greenhouse that grows coral, no algae. I've heard of the algae correlation with natural sunlight but I also get about 2-3 hours of natural sunlight on my tank and I don't get algae either. It has to do with your water chemistry.

 

[Tristan]

First, Kudos that you are 12. I wished my 14 year old expressed himself like you do.
Question where do you have the tank that is having the issue. If you have a tank near a natural light source it could be causing your outbreak. I had my quarantine / pod tank near a window and it caused me to get algae. I found that using no substrate in that tank was the best option. That way nothing gets to decay. I also found that those body wash scrubbies (the little ones or the smallest you can find) to house the pods was the best. Easy to harvest as well. You just pick one up and shake it in your display tank, done.

The tank is nowhere near a window. The male Molly in the 10g was being bullied by the female but I thought it was just pregnancy aggression. The male dies and I'm unable to find it. I have no CUC by the way. I only have a few stomatella snails and 2 lysmata wurdemanni shrimp and 1 fire shrimp.

The sand is very fine so it is unlikely any detritus or anything has gotten trapped in the sand bed. I also have C. prolifera in the display and it is growing like crazy but not helping to reduce hair algae growth.

 

[RudyB]

Unfortunately caulerpa eats the same thing that hair algae does (nitrates). You will need to cut down on feeding to see if it helps. Also nitrates gets drawn into the substrate where if it is deep enough you have the de-nitrefying bacteria breaks it down. Down side it stores it as well. You can siphon the sand with one of those siphon tubes just make sure you control the flow as it is fine sand and it will get sucked up. Wait a day and test for nitrates if they are down then you know where the problem was. If it is that then you have a choice, remove it or make it deeper(3" to 4"). On my display tanks I keep it at around 4" deep. That seems to work the best for me, but every tank is different.

 

[Tristan]

Unfortunately caulerpa eats the same thing that hair algae does (nitrates). You will need to cut down on feeding to see if it helps. Also nitrates gets drawn into the substrate where if it is deep enough you have the de-nitrefying bacteria breaks it down. Down side it stores it as well. You can siphon the sand with one of those siphon tubes just make sure you control the flow as it is fine sand and it will get sucked up. Wait a day and test for nitrates if they are down then you know where the problem was. If it is that then you have a choice, remove it or make it deeper(3" to 4"). On my display tanks I keep it at around 4" deep. That seems to work the best for me, but every tank is different.

Since I've started seeing hair algae I've only fed every other day 5 pellets. My sand bed goes from like a half inch to 4 inches front to back.

 

[Tristan]

Unfortunately caulerpa eats the same thing that hair algae does (nitrates). You will need to cut down on feeding to see if it helps. Also nitrates gets drawn into the substrate where if it is deep enough you have the de-nitrefying bacteria breaks it down. Down side it stores it as well. You can siphon the sand with one of those siphon tubes just make sure you control the flow as it is fine sand and it will get sucked up. Wait a day and test for nitrates if they are down then you know where the problem was. If it is that then you have a choice, remove it or make it deeper(3" to 4"). On my display tanks I keep it at around 4" deep. That seems to work the best for me, but every tank is different.

I just noticed that a large hair algae is suddenly gone and there is no trace of it in that particular area. And the caulerpa is growing like 5 new leaves everyday. It is about to go sexual which just makes it grow faster. My nitrates are 2ppm. I mostly have soft corals

 

[RudyB]

In my experience, caulerpa only goes sexual when you don't harvest it in time. If you keep its density to a moderate level and don't allow it to get overcrowded where it is at then it will not go sexual. If it is growing that fast then remove some and you will be fine.

 

[frogman_reefer]

I commend your knowledge!
My setup is simple and I have all sorts of junk in my breeding kit.

Calerpa, chaeto, bio balls, filter media. You name it, I feed rotifers, baby brine soaked in Selcon for a couple nights, I take skim-mate and will put a little in my 30 gallon trash can and they go googo for it.

All I have is a Sunset 60 wt led with air stones and a 125 gph pump to keep flow low. I have a preset heater to 78. But know it's not required.

Here is what my mess looks like. I'll include the video of my pods as well.

The reason for my pods.

 

[Tristan]

I commend your knowledge!
My setup is simple and I have all sorts of junk in my breeding kit.

Calerpa, chaeto, bio balls, filter media. You name it, I feed rotifers, baby brine soaked in Selcon for a couple nights, I take skim-mate and will put a little in my 30 gallon trash can and they go googo for it.

All I have is a Sunset 60 wt led with air stones and a 125 gph pump to keep flow low. I have a preset heater to 78. But know it's not required.

Here is what my mess looks like. I'll include the video of my pods as well.

The reason for my pods.

Wow. Nice setup. Your dragonet looks really fat

 

[frogman_reefer]

Wow. Nice setup. Your dragonet looks really fat

Not as much as I would like. Ever since I got my CBB. It's thinned up a lot. The primary reason for raising my own pods. Trying to get him nice and fat.

He is huge however!!!

 

[frogman_reefer]

Size comparison.

 

[domination2580]

I just noticed that a large hair algae is suddenly gone and there is no trace of it in that particular area. And the caulerpa is growing like 5 new leaves everyday. It is about to go sexual which just makes it grow faster. My nitrates are 2ppm. I mostly have soft corals

If you have anything in your tank that eats nitrates. You truly don't have 2 ppm. The caulerpa is hiding the test since it uses it up. So your nitrates are still being introduced somehow, whether it be extra food, decaying fish or detritus, or even the wrong Kelvin of light. The more white you go the more algae will bloom depending on how long the lights are on for.

 

[Tristan]

If you have anything in your tank that eats nitrates. You truly don't have 2 ppm. The caulerpa is hiding the test since it uses it up. So your nitrates are still being introduced somehow, whether it be extra food, decaying fish or detritus, or even the wrong Kelvin of light. The more white you go the more algae will bloom depending on how long the lights are on for.

At that time I didn't have a lot of caulerpa growing and the intensity of the light wasn't that bright. At that time I was acclimating my corals to a new LED light I got.
And I did have a dead fish in the tank I couldn't find.

 

[domination2580]

At that time I didn't have a lot of caulerpa growing and the intensity of the light wasn't that bright. At that time I was acclimating my corals to a new LED light I got.
And I did have a dead fish in the tank I couldn't find.

What's the flow and how many water changes?

 

[frogman_reefer]

IT'S FEEDING TIME

 

[Tristan]

What's the flow and how many water changes?

200 GPH
25%-30% water changes weekly

 

[Tristan]

IT'S FEEDING TIME

Nice. I feed mine a mix of shrimp pellets, mysis, feeder fish, liquified algae wafers, blanched vegetables.
For the feeder fish I get FW feeder fish cause there's no SW feeder fish at any LFS.

 

[domination2580]

Won't they eat spuralina powder? Or is that just copepods?

 

[Tristan]

Won't they eat spuralina powder? Or is that just copepods?

That's more toward copepods but when you have really tiny amphipods they will usually eat that. Amphipods eat more solid foods than phytoplankton.

 

[frogman_reefer]

That's more toward copepods but when you have really tiny amphipods they will usually eat that. Amphipods eat more solid foods than phytoplankton.

That's why I add the phyto, rotifers and zooplankton to keep the Copepods happy