Cup-o-pods anyone?

I started a bucket-o-pods about 10 days ago, and haven't really checked it for life till today.... all I can say is WOW... these suckers grow like crazy. I've been feeding on 3-5ml of DT's 2x a week, I think it's working. If I can sustain my pods for another month I'm gonna try for a mandrin.

So since I don't have a tank at home yet, and I'm moving soon, I wanted something to look at... I made a cup-o-pods.... or really a beaker-o-pods but whatever.... it started in a highball glass, and then I found the beaker.

I consider this to be an ultra-pico tank. It's got live rock, some sand, salt water, life, and some passive filtration via the sponge media - what else do ya really need?

Anywho, I'm gonna have this on my desk for a few days, see how the pods do. I squeezed out one of my bath puffs into it for seeding, and it's got hundreds of mature pods in it. I gave them 2ml of DT's before I left the shop.... we'll see how they do.

 

Wow thats rad, what process did you use to breed em and feed em?

 

Definitely need more water movement in there. A clean up crew is in order. Finally, get yourself a calcium reactor, you'll be glad you did!

Nice cup 'o pods. If you threw an icecube in there, would you have some ice 'o pods?

 

do you keep it warm or just room temp?

 

Gopherboy: I followed Packleaders Bucket-o-pods thread. I seeded with a a cup of water and some sand from my fuge, tossed in a few bits of LR rubble for good measure. The bucket has 6 black "bath puffs" from wally world in it, they were $1 each, and they look and feel a bit like Chaeto algae, the pods don't know they're not. I have a few old filter sponges in there as well. they were new-in-box just left over from my FW days. I feed them 2x a week with about 5ml of DT's plankton. I've heard Marine Snow and rotifers are also very good food sources. I will try them on different buckets

As for breeding, I just drop in a bottle of vodka, put on some soft music, light a candle, and leave for the night. ... actually they seem to do that just fine on their own. I don't know if what I've got now is the result of millions of microscopic larvae from the seeding or if they're breeding already, but I am guessing the latter.

ReefSparky: I'm gonna get a Vortech MP10 for it I think too... good call on the reactor. Think a coil denitrator would be excessive? I actually have an airstone and air pump to set up, just got home tho, will do it in a bit.

Dasco, I put a heater in it, but forgot to plug it in. I'd assumed it was on till today I stuck my hand in pretty cold water. 73*F or so. Pods are some of the most hardy creatures in nature. They're been found alive in arctic ice, toxic sludge, moist soil, etc... I guess a cool bucket suits them fine.

I'm gonna start to poke around with my microscope and see if I can ID some.

-Doug