Little white bugs

[gorrita]

Do copepods grow in FOT

 

[AcroNem]

Yep, should have pods in there as your system matures. Might not see as many as a reef system fed phytoplankton or other tiny foods but pods should be there.

 

[gorrita]

Stupid question,what happens in a water change do I loose them

 

[divewsharks]

You might lose some of the free swimmers or if you clean your substrate. In reality unless you have fish actively feeding on them before they can reproduce; it would be really hard for you to even make a dent in their population.
They are a really good food source for many fish, so encouraging their growth is something you may want to look at (if not already).

 

[Lionfish Lair]

What is FOT?

 

[gorrita]

Haha FO no live rocks

 

[Lionfish Lair]

LOL!

 

[gorrita]

You might lose some of the free swimmers or if you clean your substrate. In reality unless you have fish actively feeding on them before they can reproduce; it would be really hard for you to even make a dent in their population.
They are a really good food source for many fish, so encouraging their growth is something you may want to look at (if not already).

Since I have no refugium or live rock,they just showed up . What's the best way to keep them going

 

[AcroNem]

Feed phytoplankton to your system, just a broadcast feed. I like the reef nutrition and brine shrimp direct paste.

 

[gorrita]

Thanks for your insight

 

[AcroNem]

Another way to keep them going (along with feeding them) is to have something for the adults to live in. Do you have any rock in your system? If there's any in there it will help,

 

[divewsharks]

Since I have no refugium or live rock,they just showed up . What's the best way to keep them going

do you have any rock (whether or not purchased as live rock or not) in the tank? sand?

 

[gorrita]

I dont but I've been thinking about it

 

[gorrita]

Crushed coral for the bed

 

[JEREMY82]

As systems mature more critters will appear,pods will feed on junk in sand, bed , live rock, fuge ,macro algae, lot of ways to keep em going.u just want to look out for pests,Google usually has pretty good sources for pests.then u know what u don't want in your system

 

[divewsharks]

what kind of fish do you have?

 

[gorrita]

what kind of fish do you have?

Percula clown ,yellow tang,hippo tang royal gramma,6 hermit crabs,3 emerald crabs,3 turbo snails,and one cleaner shrimp. Numbers are on the money.

 

[tautog83]

any reason why you dont use rocks? best filter out there

 

[gorrita]

I know , but wont I have to get a special light for LR. Trying to keep cost down and still enjoy a nice tank

 

[divewsharks]

I know , but wont I have to get a special light for LR. Trying to keep cost down and still enjoy a nice tank

you don't need any special light for the rocks. Really you don't need any light, you could put them in a dark tub and they will be just fine. You only need special lighting for corals.
The rocks in addition to providing natural filtration for the tank, are a great place for the copepods to colonize and grow. They also create structures that are hiding places for timid fish and such.