in tank refugium

[petemichelle]

i've started my 150 gal display tank, with about 30 gal for the sump underneath. I have started with dry rock so there was no life to start. I seeded amphi pods and cope pods in the display tank and sump underneath. from what I hear the pods in the sump cannot make it to the display as they would have to pass through the pumps to get back up top. so I was thinking about putting a in tank refugium in the display just for the purpose of reproducing pods to continually keep that population in tact after I add fish, hermit crabs etc...

has anybody have any experience in this area? I see they come with or without pumps. so do I want a large flow going through this refugium and blowing the pods out? or is it okay just to let the fans in the tank take care of the flow through the refugium. I have 3 vortech mp 40's.

How high in the display tank do you put the in tank refugium? if it is lower than the water line than how do you keep fish and other critters from getting in and raiding the chicken coop per say... ? do they come with a lid? it didn't look like any of them do.

if you keep it at the water line or above then what happens when you do a water change? I try to do a 20% water change every 2-3 weeks. that would bring the water line almost if not all the way below the level of the refugiums.

do you put sand and dry rock in there as well as the plants for the pods to eat. do you feed them as well with a pinch of food or just let them eat the plants you put in there. what kind of plants. I was planning on using cheato for the bottom sump but the place that sold me the pods sent me some Ulva Macroalgea for them. I don't know where to get more Ulva, so will they eat and thrive on cheato as well?

please help.... I want to do this before I add the fish and other life that may deplete the population that I have worked so hard to start. and by the way, how long before they really take hold, before I start adding fish.

any help would be great, even just partial suggestion on any of the questions I have... thanks again in advance.

 

[Ryan2428]

hmm following i would like to know as well

 

[tyler1503]

How high in the display tank do you put the in tank refugium? if it is lower than the water line than how do you keep fish and other critters from getting in and raiding the chicken coop per say... ? do they come with a lid? it didn't look like any of them do.

if you keep it at the water line or above then what happens when you do a water change? I try to do a 20% water change every 2-3 weeks. that would bring the water line almost if not all the way below the level of the refugiums.

please help.... I want to do this before I add the fish and other life that may deplete the population that I have worked so hard to start. and by the way, how long before they really take hold, before I start adding fish.

They should have notches cut into them so water can overflow into it and keep fish out, like the overflow leading to a sump. So you would put it so the waterline is high enough to overflow into the fuge.
When the water level drops, from water changes or whatever you will need to be careful of the suction caps (if it's not a clip on) as the suction may not be strong enough and it may fall off.
The population could take from weeks to months to take off, it's different for every system. However you may never get a dense enough population to fully sustain themselves and you might have to add more every few months or however long it will take.
Sorry I can't be much more help. I don't know a lot about refugiums.

 

[petemichelle]

but when I drop the water level during a water change to the point that there is almost no water, or no water at all in the in tank refugium, won't the critters inside die? I wish I could get someone with some actual experience to reply.

 

[tyler1503]

but when I drop the water level during a water change to the point that there is almost no water, or no water at all in the in tank refugium, won't the critters inside die? I wish I could get someone with some actual experience to reply.

They'll be ok exposed to air for a short period of time. The very same animals often get shipped as hitch hikers inside live rock which is normally just wrapped in wet newspaper. They will have more than enough moisture to last several hours in the water held in the refugium and trapped in the macro algae.

 

[lovecrzreef]

Following

 

[SantaMonica]

Pods can survive the pumps, especially when the pods are smaller. Of course it would be best to have no pumps, or what's called a positive-displacement pump, but you will get many pods anyways.

The bigger problems usually is just growing the pods.

 

[petemichelle]

Pods can survive the pumps, especially when the pods are smaller. Of course it would be best to have no pumps, or what's called a positive-displacement pump, but you will get many pods anyways.

The bigger problems usually is just growing the pods.

well can you give me any insight to growing the pods? I don't have any fish yet, just snails and a couple of hermits. also some worms. I've been buying and throwing pods in for the last 3 weeks. the place I bought them says 1000 per bag. I've thrown in 2000 first, then after a week threw in 8000, I don't think there were thousands of them as advertised but anyway there were quite a few. I've been adding phyto feast in every night. about 8 ml a night and also a pinch of marine food. in the sump I have the ulva macroalgea that they gave me for the pods to eat and hide in. I don't see any explosion of pods yet either in the display or the sump. it's been about 3 weeks. any suggestions or things to look for? any help would be greatly appreciated.

also do you think hermits or nassarius snails will do the pods any harm at this point?

 

[m0nk3y69d]

Following

 

[petemichelle]

I have though seen what looks like lots of baby miniature stars on the glass. I looked through my electronic microscope and the little appendages do move. do you guys think it's okay to clean the glass? will it kill them or just displace them for a while and they will reattach to something else? I'd hate to kill the critters that I am so hard trying to promote. I could use a little experienced advice, also as to how long the will stay babies and then leave the glass.

 

[SantaMonica]

The stars on the glass are probably asterina's; they are not pods. You can keep them around, or not.

Large pod populations usually come in the darker algae-rich sections of fuges, and as some of our customers find out, the darker sections in their algae scrubber.

A dark-algae growth area can have 20 or 30 amphipods of 1/3 inch length, in just a few square inches. Ponds run from light.