Any creative solutions for In-Tank Copepod Sanctuarys?

Im currently running a canister filter on my 40g cube and when I started with some LS and LR I had a very hefty copepod population. All over the glass.

I've seen them slightly decline after weekly vacuum and 10% water change with light sand vacuuming. Also included glass cleaning which knocked off the pods on the glass.

Parameters are in check with nothing glaring. I dont actively feed the Pods, besides frozen by-feeds breaking off and going into the water from regular feeding.


Id like to see some In Tank solutions set up with intentions to seed and sustain a healthy copepod population. I have a baseball size ball of cheato suctioned to my upper glass area, and a baseball size pile of live rock rubble at the bottom corner of the tank.


Any suggestions? If I seed with some of those big orange "tigger" pods, will they outcompete the existing but dwindling population?

Thanks for any input.

 

First of all, I don't believe tigger pods last very many generations in our tanks. I think it's best to stick to the ones that come with your live rock for the best proliferation.

I would set up a rubble pile somewhere in your tank where fish can't go and eat them. Secondly, it may take a little while for the populations to stabilize. I went through a few cycles/ growth spurts of pods before there was a consistent population.

Lastly, you can feed phyto and zooplankton. Giving them something to eat will help boost their numbers.


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Thanks. I'll work on building a chaeto/rock rubble thing and feed some plankton.

Whats an easy form of this feed?

 

Reefnutrition phyto feast not the live it is really concentrated And last 5 months


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I have small jars hidden in the back of my DT, which have sponges in them. They're crawling with the little buggers.

 

Have you tried looking into one of these?
CPR In-Tank Refugium - English

Looks like a way to keep things populated predator free, without actually having a sump.

 

Pods tend to come and go with the food supply. They tend to eat phytoplankto, diatoms, ciliates, bacteria etc... Most do not tend to survive in our tanks long, so the populations of copepods come and go with the blooms.

Diatoms and bacteria seem to be the most promising, as bacterial growth, it appears can be stimulated with carbon dosing. And diatoms are silicate limited in our tanks, so silicate dosing can help propagate them. Phytoplankton however, although possibly with some exceptions, such as some dinoflagellates, are mostly pelagic, therefore get filtered out and needs to be constantly added. Adding phyto is ok, but expensive, and can lead to nutrient issues if it dies off before being removed, which in my experience, even with the better brands, still occurs. This is especially problematic in smaller systems. Bacteria and diatoms tend to have a large enough benthic component to sustain their populations in our systems, if given enough required nutrients.



You can culture pods externally too, then the phyto etc.. will not pollute your tank so much. This is somewhat complicated and time consuming though.

If you have a fair amount of predators, which you may or may not, then to keep them in your tank, you'd need something to fend off the predators. A small rockpile, covered with some sort of container, like 1/2 of a 2 litter bottle, with small holes in it to let water flow through, would probably be the simplest. A HOB refugium, a bit more sophisticated and so on.

However, regardless, they will still die off if you don't feed them. For various reasons their reproduction can also become limited when using a single food source. So, a mix is best. Although, it seems that a mix could just be a few types of diatoms, or a few algae species etc... So, this may not be an issue unless you decide to culture them outside of your tank, with a single food source. In this case, make sure to purchase a mixed food source.

 

Thanks for the replies. Matter of fact I did look into the CPR in-tank refugium, and its really a great item that id like to try one day many good uses. They just want so much for it lol. (might make a perfect DIY project though)

Ill also look into the phytoplankon thing as i do have a couple filter feeders in there too.


Very interested in these small jars with sponges with pod colonies in them!

Any more info or examples of this?

 

It's just baby food jars, cleaned completely of residual food and the glue from the label (use Goof Off or Goo Gone and wash really well), with sponges from the Aquaclear filters cut to fit inside them. I'll take a pic when I get home later.

 

If you have plenty of live rock, you will never have to worry about having pods...

rubble piles will increase numbers.

feeding them will increase numbers.

refugium area for undisturbed reproduction will increase numbers.

fish that eat them and short food supply will decrease numbers.