Indo pacific farms?

ReefWithCare · Aug 21, 2018

Anyone ever order from them? I was looking for other stuff than copepods. They sell a number of things but their website is all sketch with no real pictures and no shopping cart system.

I don’t see any pictures and their combo packs are a little confusing. Also had a question on their snails and if some of these things need to be QT’ed because I got the impression some of this stuff was wild not true aquaculture

reefwiser · Aug 21, 2018

All their stuff is aquacultured in their giant clam farms. I have bought from them for years. The owner is the person responsible for faint clam farming. So all of the items they sell are just stuff that goes along with the clam farming.

ReefWithCare · Aug 21, 2018

reefwiser said:
All their stuff is aquacultured in their giant clam farms. I have bought from them for years. The owner is the person responsible for faint clam farming. So all of the items they sell are just stuff that goes along with the clam farming.

I know it’s silly to ask - but do I need to worry about pests or parasites with their inverts? Several of the inverts they sell I don’t think you can QT like worms so I was wondering. They haven’t responded to me.

reefwiser · Aug 21, 2018

I have never had any issues with anything I have bought from them. Qt’ing this kind of stuff would defeat the purpose of the purchase. [emoji3]

ReefWithCare · Aug 21, 2018

reefwiser said:
I have never had any issues with anything I have bought from them. Qt’ing this kind of stuff would defeat the purpose of the purchase. [emoji3]

Ya I know - just had to ask lol.

What about the snails [emoji848]

reefwiser · Aug 21, 2018

Snails are good [emoji3]

ReefWithCare · Aug 21, 2018

reefwiser said:
Snails are good [emoji3]

So I don’t need to QT the snails?!?

reefwiser · Aug 22, 2018

I wouldn't I have never had an issue with snails. Coming from a aquaculture farm they are on top of any predatory snails as it would hurt their main crop of Clams

ReefWithCare · Oct 8, 2018

Hi All,

So I emailed them back in August - they never responded back. I emailed them again last week and no response. I also tried to call them and got a response saying the phone had been disconnected. Are they still in business? I'm trying to get some questions answered before I order and not getting any customer service :mad:

reeferfoxx · Oct 8, 2018

I'm not sure about recent activity on IPSF but I've ordered brittlestars, bristleworms, and pods. All packaged well and arrived alive to the Midwest. The ordering is a unorthodox but seemed simple overall.

ReefWithCare · Oct 8, 2018

reeferfoxx said:
I'm not sure about recent activity on IPSF but I've ordered brittlestars, bristleworms, and pods. All packaged well and arrived alive to the Midwest. The ordering is a unorthodox but seemed simple overall.

It seems very odd that they wouldn't answer any incoming inquiries. I'm trying to figure out ship timing so I can ensure I'm home and trying to get some answers on the inverts because I have active dinos and I don't want the dinos to just wipe them out. I need the live sand activator stuffs to get my biodiversity up, but the snails and hermits concern me as they could become Dino food.

I have Ostreopsis Dinoflagellates. Since I put carbon in the tank the Dinos haven't killed the copepods or amiphods. The initial outbreak of dinos wiped out my pods before I added carbon into the system.

dodgerblew · Oct 8, 2018

I as well have been a customer for years. I agree with everything stated above and always have good communication with Gerald.

reeferfoxx · Oct 8, 2018

ReefWithCare said:
It seems very odd that they wouldn't answer any incoming inquiries. I'm trying to figure out ship timing so I can ensure I'm home and trying to get some answers on the inverts because I have active dinos and I don't want the dinos to just wipe them out. I need the live sand activator stuffs to get my biodiversity up, but the snails and hermits concern me as they could become Dino food.

I have Ostreopsis Dinoflagellates. Since I put carbon in the tank the Dinos haven't killed the copepods or amiphods. The initial outbreak of dinos wiped out my pods before I added carbon into the system.

I understand the concerns you have. With ostreopsis, as long as nutrients are maintained, carbon, and a UV sterilizer, you shouldn't see any invert deaths. In fact a properly fitted UV can remove ostreopsis within 48 hours. It's probably the easiest dino to eliminate/reduce.

ReefWithCare · Oct 8, 2018

reeferfoxx said:
I understand the concerns you have. With ostreopsis, as long as nutrients are maintained, carbon, and a UV sterilizer, you shouldn't see any invert deaths. In fact a properly fitted UV can remove ostreopsis within 48 hours. It's probably the easiest dino to eliminate/reduce.

Well I put in a order just now and hopefully will hear something back.

I do have a 40W Aqua UV in this 125G tank and carbon running around 180GPH. Dinos do stay around likely due to lack of nutrients as I have been able to keep them up but they did drop to zero again (Phosphate only) last week

reeferfoxx · Oct 8, 2018

ReefWithCare said:
Well I put in a order just now and hopefully will hear something back.

I do have a 40W Aqua UV in this 125G tank and carbon. Dinos do stay around likely due to lack of nutrients as I have been able to keep them up but they did drop to zero again (Phosphate only) last week

Gotta keep nutrients up. Were your dinos ID'd?

ReefWithCare · Oct 8, 2018

reeferfoxx said:
Gotta keep nutrients up. Were your dinos ID'd?

Yes - via microscope. I am continually dosing phosphate to keep them up. Nitrates haven't been too bad - they stay low but not at zero. I test Nitrates (Redsea & API Kit) and Phosphates (Hanna Checker) weekly. Use NO3 for Nitrates and Neophos for Phosphates. I added a tang during the initial outbreak which actually helped a lot keeping the nutrients up and had to dose less because of it. Was thinking of dropping in the rabbitfish I have in QT at the end of the month to add more nutrients to the water. Both are messier fish and I can feed Nori to the Rabbitfish - Nori helps with Phosphates

. The Kole Tang I added only eats Mysis and film algae in the tank.

reeferfoxx · Oct 8, 2018

ReefWithCare said:
Yes - via microscope. I am continually dosing phosphate to keep them up. Nitrates haven't been too bad - they stay low but not at zero. I test Nitrates (Redsea & API Kit) and Phosphates (Hanna Checker) weekly. Use NO3 for Nitrates and Neophos for Phosphates. I added a tang during the initial outbreak which actually helped a lot keeping the nutrients up and had to dose less because of it. Was thinking of dropping in the rabbitfish I have in QT at the end of the month to add more nutrients to the water. Both are messier fish and I can feed Nori to the Rabbitfish - Nori helps with Phosphates . The Kole Tang I added only eats Mysis and film algae in the tank.

Ok sorry for all the questions. How is the UV plumbed? I'm a little surprised you haven't seen the dinos go away yet unless it really is a nutrient factor. Many reefers report zero ostreopsis after 3 to 7 days.

ReefWithCare · Oct 8, 2018

reeferfoxx said:
Ok sorry for all the questions. How is the UV plumbed? I'm a little surprised you haven't seen the dinos go away yet unless it really is a nutrient factor. Many reefers report zero ostreopsis after 3 to 7 days.

The UV is plumbed in the sump. It pulls from the first chamber and returns in right to the second baffle exit that goes to the return chamber. It is plumbed with the inlets facing up like the instructions said.

You have to keep in mind this is a 100% dry rock + 100% dry sand start. I have added pods and phyto and some coralline flakes, but nothing else. It's a massive unit (40" in length) and barely fits in the sump (Sump is 48") & cabinet lol.

Greybeard · Oct 8, 2018

Is this a different outfit from Indo Pacific Sea Farms (IPSF)?

IPSF has been around for decades. I've ordered 'stuff' from them many times, and have always been happy with the quality of the products they sell. Yes, their website is a bit primitive. Oh well. They're _NOT_ some fly-by-night company.

Used to be Garf, Inland Aquatics, and IPSF were the primary sources for DSB fauna and detrivore critters. Inland is gone, GARF is still around, but without Leroy, it's just not the same (I'm still hoping for a comeback!). IPSF is the last of the breed, really.

And yes, their founder Gerald Heslinga has done a huge amount of work in popularizing farming of tridacnid clams, a project that carries huge potential for improving sustainable ornamental fisheries. He did an excellent presentation at last year's MACNA.

ReefWithCare · Oct 8, 2018

Greybeard said:
Is this a different outfit from Indo Pacific Sea Farms (IPSF)?

IPSF has been around for decades. I've ordered 'stuff' from them many times, and have always been happy with the quality of the products they sell. Yes, their website is a bit primitive. Oh well. They're _NOT_ some fly-by-night company.

Used to be Garf, Inland Aquatics, and IPSF were the primary sources for DSB fauna and detrivore critters. Inland is gone, GARF is still around, but without Leroy, it's just not the same (I'm still hoping for a comeback!). IPSF is the last of the breed, really.

And yes, their founder Gerald Heslinga has done a huge amount of work in popularizing farming of tridacnid clams, a project that carries huge potential for improving sustainable ornamental fisheries. He did an excellent presentation at last year's MACNA.

It's the same IPSF. In the two times I tried reaching out to them I never heard back

. Well, I did order --- so maybe they will respond now that I want to give them money