I know I have a copepod bloom but....

jaxteller007 · Jul 30, 2020

Ignore the dirtiness of the overflow. I'm going to shop vac them out this weekend. For the life of me, I can't figure out a way to keep stuff from just collecting in them though.
I know pods come in various sizes but these guys are big lol.

jaxteller007 · Jul 30, 2020

#reefsquad any ideas how to keep the overflows from collecting so much junk? I do overfeed but our guys vary rarely let any food settle, and I can't figure out why so much is staying in the overflows instead of being sucked down into the sump...

GBRsouth · Jul 30, 2020

jaxteller007 said:
#reefsquad any ideas how to keep the overflows from collecting so much junk? I do overfeed but our guys vary rarely let any food settle, and I can't figure out why so much is staying in the overflows instead of being sucked down into the sump...

How about stirring it up with a turkey baster to suspend the stuff long enough for it to get sucked down the drains?

jaxteller007 · Jul 30, 2020

GBRsouth said:
How about stirring it up with a turkey baster to suspend the stuff long enough for it to get sucked down the drains?

Gonna try that. Had a buddy tell me to try and block of the sunlight hitting it as well. Less algae growth in there hopefully equals less spots for the detritus to get stuck on.

Fishurama · Jul 30, 2020

jaxteller007 said:
Ignore the dirtiness of the overflow. I'm going to shop vac them out this weekend. For the life of me, I can't figure out a way to keep stuff from just collecting in them though.
I know pods come in various sizes but these guys are big lol.

Those are amphipods, basically a cousin to the copepod.
If you want to keep bigger particles out but dont mind cleaning out mesh filters, i'd recommend cutting mesh filters and placing them right behind the overflow. Take thme out and clean them every few days and you should be good. A lot of work though, most just let it build up and clean it, not even often id guess the average is like every 6 months to a year to some not doing it at all. Personally i dont clean mine and my tank is fine.

mesh filter example

Eagle_Steve · Jul 30, 2020

I used black acrylic and cut it to match my overflows. I then used some scraps cut thin and glued it to the bottom side in a few places. This keeps it from me knocking it off or sliding it out of place.

It helped a ton, but in the end, I adjusted the water level in my overflows down some to create more turbulence when the water fell in there. This solved almost all of it. The covers also dampen the noise and it is not even noticeable until they are removed.

jaxteller007 · Jul 30, 2020

Fishurama said:
Those are amphipods, basically a cousin to the copepod.
If you want to keep bigger particles out but dont mind cleaning out mesh filters, i'd recommend cutting mesh filters and placing them right behind the overflow. Take thme out and clean them every few days and you should be good. A lot of work though, most just let it build up and clean it, not even often id guess the average is like every 6 months to a year to some not doing it at all. Personally i dont clean mine and my tank is fine.

mesh filter example

Eagle_Steve said:
I used black acrylic and cut it to match my overflows. I then used some scraps cut thin and glued it to the bottom side in a few places. This keeps it from me knocking it off or sliding it out of place.

It helped a ton, but in the end, I adjusted the water level in my overflows down some to create more turbulence when the water fell in there. This solved almost all of it. The covers also dampen the noise and it is not even noticeable until they are removed.

I got some black poster board for now and new blackout curtains. The tank is kind of centered on a bay window so I'm sure lots of light was hitting them from the windows.
I'll try the mesh filters and I think I have some material that can cover the tops of the overflows. We will see if that makes any difference.

jaxteller007 · Aug 4, 2020

Bloom still going. I'm getting tired of it lol.

Eagle_Steve · Aug 4, 2020

jaxteller007 said:
Bloom still going. I'm getting tired of it lol.

A few Anthias or fairy wrasses would solve that problem lol.

But seriously, if all those specks are pods, that is a lot of pods. Bottle them up and sell them. One mans curse is another’s blessing.

jaxteller007 · Aug 4, 2020

Eagle_Steve said:
A few Anthias or fairy wrasses would solve that problem lol.

But seriously, if all those specks are pods, that is a lot of pods. Bottle them up and sell them. One mans curse is another’s blessing.

We're having to hold off on adding fish right now, wife just went back to work full time after being part time since March due to Covid. But Anthias are on the list for sure.

I can't figure out anything else they are. They are on the glass during night/low light hours and then once the "daylight" hours hit, they do what you see in the video. It's definitely not an algae bloom. They erratically "swim" in the water column during the day. If I could verify 100% what they are I would absolutely bottle them and sell/give them away just to clear out our water some haha.

Oh and you can see in a pic earlier in this thread we have some rather large amphipods as well lol.

Eagle_Steve · Aug 4, 2020

jaxteller007 said:
We're having to hold off on adding fish right now, wife just went back to work full time after being part time since March due to Covid. But Anthias are on the list for sure.

I can't figure out anything else they are. They are on the glass during night/low light hours and then once the "daylight" hours hit, they do what you see in the video. It's definitely not an algae bloom. They erratically "swim" in the water column during the day. If I could verify 100% what they are I would absolutely bottle them and sell/give them away just to clear out our water some haha.

Oh and you can see in a pic earlier in this thread we have some rather large amphipods as well lol.

I saw the gammarid amphipods. If you can get a few out, throw them under a magnifying glass and snap a pic of the ones that free swim, it would be helpful to ID them. There is even the possibility of it being brine shrimp. Not likely, but I have seen eggs love through all kinds of thing for them and then hatch. Again, would need a good pic of the little things to know for sure.

Eagle_Steve · Aug 4, 2020

I just realized that you are MTRC lol. Where are you located? You could snatch some out, and I could carry home and ID under the microscope for ya.

jaxteller007 · Aug 4, 2020

Eagle_Steve said:
I just realized that you are MTRC lol. Where are you located? You could snatch some out, and I could carry home and ID under the microscope for ya.

Antioch, almost on the LaVergne line. Shoot me a PM and I'll see how we can work that out. Would be cool to get a firmer idea of what in the world they are lol.