Copepod Culture

[sefrayser]

I set up a 1 gallon clear jug with Tigro Pods. I put some Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast Live in the water. I have the salinty at 1.020-21 and it at room temp and no light( it gets light from the tank and room). I have a air pump that is flowing about 2 bubbles per second. I have read alot of thread and recommendations for starting and sustaining a culture. There is a couple of questions that have not been answered. How much of the bottle of Tigro Pods should I add? How much Phyto should I add? I know the water should be green or tinted green....but how green? They say to do water changes twice a week....how do I do this without loosing the pods? I added Phyto to the point where the water has a green tint. I also read it isnt supposed o have a smell. My water has a smell of Phyto, that stuff really stinks.

[altolamprologus]

I set up a 1 gallon clear jug with Tigro Pods. I put some Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast Live in the water. I have the salinty at 1.020-21 and it at room temp and no light( it gets light from the tank and room). I have a air pump that is flowing about 2 bubbles per second. I have read alot of thread and recommendations for starting and sustaining a culture. There is a couple of questions that have not been answered. How much of the bottle of Tigro Pods should I add? How much Phyto should I add? I know the water should be green or tinted green....but how green? They say to do water changes twice a week....how do I do this without loosing the pods? I added Phyto to the point where the water has a green tint. I also read it isnt supposed o have a smell. My water has a smell of Phyto, that stuff really stinks.

You can add the whole bottle of pods, but I would add only 1/2 at first to make sure they like the conditions then a few days later if everything seems ok, add the rest. The amount of phyto really depends on the population of the pods. At the start of the culture, a very light green tint is sufficient, but when they start getting a higher population density, you should increase the amount of phyto you feed. A good way to know you are adding too much at once is if you can skip several days of feeding and the water stays green. However, if you move your culture to where it gets more light(a sunny window for example) it is possible to feed your culture once a week or so because the phyto reproduce. Water changes are not necessary at all. Pods are very hardy and can tolerate water quality that would kill even a damsel. A once a month water change is more than enough. Simply get an airline tube and siphon the water out through a coffee filter. The coffee fiter will catch all the pods and let the water run through. Then simply dip the coffee filter in your display tank(or back into the culture) to release the pods and re-fill your culture with freshly mixed saltwater. The culture will have a weird smell for the first week or two, but that should go away. Hope this helps

[sefrayser]

Thanks, That helps alot.