Seeding Pods in a Pico Reef Jar??

[Blitz7737]

Check out my build thread for tank details, but basically staging to seed a population in a 2 gallon jar. It's smallllll. I am planning to order this, 16oz:


Planning to take one of the test tubes from an API test kit, put it into the pods container upright for like 5 minutes, let them find their way in, cap, move it to main tank to acclimate for 5 minutes, then open up and let them swim out. Maybe a few drops of the phyto on each event?

Thinking of doing this right after each water change and buffering with Biospira for tank safety.

Thoughts? Should I seed a larger volume? Any suggestions?

 

[Tired]

I think there are nets that are fine enough to catch adult pods. You could sweep a net through the pod culture to transfer them.
If you add live rock, you'll very likely get copepods.
I think it might be a bit tricky to get pods out of the test tube. Probably a good idea to rinse them out into the tank with a pipette.

 

[Blitz7737]

I think there are nets that are fine enough to catch adult pods. You could sweep a net through the pod culture to transfer them.
If you add live rock, you'll very likely get copepods.
I think it might be a bit tricky to get pods out of the test tube. Probably a good idea to rinse them out into the tank with a pipette.

I am trying to start the population in the main tank, so probably need all stages of the pod life cycle, not just adults?

We started with live rock, but an incredibly long and ammonia heavy nitro cycle probably killed most of the critters in our live rock.

Good point on rinsing it out too.

For our small 2 gallon jar, is a test tube at a time enough to start a population or should I seed with a larger volume? Only critters in the tank right now are two blue legged hermits and I don't want to be too aggressive with tank changes to throw off the stability.

 

[Tired]

A dozen adult pods would start off a population just fine. They breed fast, especially with no predators. Adult pods very quickly produce babies. I would expect that all the adult pods in that jar would do a better job of establishing the pods than however many adults and babies went into a test tube.

Or you could do both things, a net (if you can easily get one) and the test tube.

 

[Blitz7737]

A dozen adult pods would start off a population just fine. They breed fast, especially with no predators. Adult pods very quickly produce babies. I would expect that all the adult pods in that jar would do a better job of establishing the pods than however many adults and babies went into a test tube.

Or you could do both things, a net (if you can easily get one) and the test tube.

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions. Will keep you posted how it turns out.

 

[terraincognita]

from what I know pod populations can multiply fast. under proper conditions they can mature in 1-2 weeks and lay eggs.

are you concerned about cultivating enough?

I think for a pico you've planned to seed more than enough, enough for a 60G

You're probably going to run out of space for them rather than not have enough if that's your concern.

 

[Blitz7737]

from what I know pod populations can multiply fast. under proper conditions they can mature in 1-2 weeks and lay eggs.

are you concerned about cultivating enough?

I think for a pico you've planned to seed more than enough, enough for a 60G

You're probably going to run out of space for them rather than not have enough if that's your concern.

Enough is an odd word, lol. ;Cat

Tank is still fairly empty. We have the bits of brown algae/diatoms, few chunks of live rock, and 2 blue legged hermits. Even though the tank has been stable for months, we haven't evolved into green algae yet. With it being so small, we have had some hard swings in it (over losing a snail and some other hermits). Check out the build thread for more details!

SOOOO, mainly trying to bolster the biodiversity, add some more tiny critters to help as a CUC and keep it as stable as possible. The more I read about it, the more they sound like a valuable addition to our tiny ocean. Specifically the tisbe seems like a good candidate to help improve it as they seem to be better as a detritus cleaner (hoping to curb some of the film algae and brown gunkies).

I chose the algaebarn product as it is well reviewed, but definitely on the hunt and lookout for something smaller that is more fitting to our tank size. It would be nice to spend less too, haha. ;Pompus

 

[terraincognita]

Enough is an odd word, lol. ;Cat

Tank is still fairly empty. We have the bits of brown algae/diatoms, few chunks of live rock, and 2 blue legged hermits. Even though the tank has been stable for months, we haven't evolved into green algae yet. With it being so small, we have had some hard swings in it (over losing a snail and some other hermits). Check out the build thread for more details!

SOOOO, mainly trying to bolster the biodiversity, add some more tiny critters to help as a CUC and keep it as stable as possible. The more I read about it, the more they sound like a valuable addition to our tiny ocean. Specifically the tisbe seems like a good candidate to help improve it as they seem to be better as a detritus cleaner (hoping to curb some of the film algae and brown gunkies).

I chose the algaebarn product as it is well reviewed, but definitely on the hunt and lookout for something smaller that is more fitting to our tank size. It would be nice to spend less too, haha. ;Pompus

If you lived in L.A. I’d scoop some of mine and give em too you if you give me some back once they overflow

You have a 2G Pico. When cultivating pods you can make a 1G container so thick With pods you can hardly see through. I don’t think you want that many in your Pico?

Of course if there’s no food source they’ll rapidly die off, which in a Pico then maybe is even worse? You’ll just have to find a perfect balance, kind of like with everything in Pico/Nano I guess

 

[Blitz7737]

If you lived in L.A. I’d scoop some of mine and give em too you if you give me some back once they overflow

You have a 2G Pico. When cultivating pods you can make a 1G container so thick With pods you can hardly see through. I don’t think you want that many in your Pico?

Of course if there’s no food source they’ll rapidly die off, which in a Pico then maybe is even worse? You’ll just have to find a perfect balance, kind of like with everything in Pico/Nano I guess

Haha, faiiiirrrr.

That last statement is kind of what I am wondering the most about. With our tank so tiny, we are constantly watching it and trying to improve on it. Anything that can help the stability and ease our worries is a plus, so been assessing if a pod culture would be the right move.

Our mini fuge failed, so I want to return to that eventually, at that point they will definitely be a plus for fuge cleanup/tank cleanup, but been debating trying a small culture in the tank for extra stability.

Any change in a pico can be terrifying or exciting. Lol. Small steps are important on this scale. ;Cat

 

[terraincognita]

Never had a Pico, smallest I've gone is a 10G.

But now you make me wonder haha.

Ugh. I hate this hobby. I always want more.

Eitherway, just keep the cultivation separate from the tank, add little bits at a time, and see how it goes, until you can get it where you want.

Maybe you LFS will buy the pods or you can find some other local reefers that will buy the other extras .

Otherwise just shout out here for someone in your city to donate you 20 pods haha

Sorry on the mini fuge.

Honestly I'd try the fuge again in 6 months to a year. AFTER the pods are established.

It's hard to keep a fuge alive even on a 100G tank when it's new. I dont see why you coudn't keep it alive with a pico though, you can technically keep a fuge alive without a tank, but then it's not a fuge, it's a macroaglae tank and now you're feeding and dosing the plants intentionally.

 

[Blitz7737]

Never had a Pico, smallest I've gone is a 10G.

But now you make me wonder haha.

Ugh. I hate this hobby. I always want more.

Eitherway, just keep the cultivation separate from the tank, add little bits at a time, and see how it goes, until you can get it where you want.

Maybe you LFS will buy the pods or you can find some other local reefers that will buy the other extras .

Otherwise just shout out here for someone in your city to donate you 20 pods haha

Sorry on the mini fuge.

Honestly I'd try the fuge again in 6 months to a year. AFTER the pods are established.

It's hard to keep a fuge alive even on a 100G tank when it's new. I dont see why you coudn't keep it alive with a pico though, you can technically keep a fuge alive without a tank, but then it's not a fuge, it's a macroaglae tank and now you're feeding and dosing the plants intentionally.

Mr. Bubbles has been quite the journey! Learning every day with it.

That's a good point on asking someone local! Where my ABQ, NM pod collectors at? Lol. Worst to worst, the LFS has a small bottle of tigers we could try small population with.

And the mini fuge will be back when the time is right, just need to put some more development and safety into it before we try to link it next time.

Thank you for all the banter too! Raised some good thoughts! ;Cat

 

[terraincognita]

Yar, even local reefers with a fuge should have a healthy population of pods.

Tons of reefers in a major city like Alb I'm sure.

Try to get a post up in the Livestock FS/Trade forum. I'm sure you'll get a response. If not you tried right

 

[AlgaeBarn]

You can just remove a little water from the pico and add the pods entirely at one time. The water is just fine to add to the tank as it is freshly mixed right before shipping. If you have any other questions just please let me know ~Shaun K

 

[terraincognita]

Lol looks like you got one of the best authorities to answer.