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View Full Version : Socks means no pods?


Jscwerve
07/15/2016, 10:08 AM
So I run filter socks and change them out every 2-3 days depending on how much gunk they pick up. I feed a bit heavy and I only have to dump the skimmer every 1-2 weeks.

I have zero pods in my system. I'm guessing because of being eaten and from the socks.

I run 3 types of macro in my sump, plenty of safe space for them. I've seeded the tank with tigger pods and a few other kind. Weeks later, nuthin.

Is there a good way to maintain a pod population and run filter socks? I don't want to stop using the socks, they definitely do a good job.

I do not have any dragonette type pod only eating fish. I would like one some day in the future though if I can ever get a population established to handle one.

mcgyvr
07/15/2016, 10:33 AM
Filter socks are small enough mesh to trap them and remove them..Assuming they are ALL going down the overflow into it.. (doubt it)
Really no way to prevent that though short of removing the socks..

madweazl
07/15/2016, 10:49 AM
So I run filter socks and change them out every 2-3 days depending on how much gunk they pick up. I feed a bit heavy and I only have to dump the skimmer every 1-2 weeks.

I have zero pods in my system. I'm guessing because of being eaten and from the socks.

I run 3 types of macro in my sump, plenty of safe space for them. I've seeded the tank with tigger pods and a few other kind. Weeks later, nuthin.

Is there a good way to maintain a pod population and run filter socks? I don't want to stop using the socks, they definitely do a good job.

I do not have any dragonette type pod only eating fish. I would like one some day in the future though if I can ever get a population established to handle one.

Is there a food source for the pods?

zeemofree
07/15/2016, 11:00 AM
If you made a calcium reactor style container, tube that is full of crushed coral and ditch those put every few days, that would be much more pod friendly

jmm
07/15/2016, 11:12 AM
They're pretty good at hiding. And they can be anywhere. I seldom see mine and I know there is a lot of predation but any time I remove a rock or coral skeleton I see plenty of them. And my socks always have a few in them.

Jscwerve
07/15/2016, 11:17 AM
Is there a food source for the pods?


I thought they ate detritus and leftover food bits. I do have a history of being wrong though. :lol:

madweazl
07/15/2016, 11:51 AM
I thought they ate detritus and leftover food bits. I do have a history of being wrong though. :lol:

Phytoplankton for most copepods.

Python73
07/15/2016, 01:22 PM
Easiest solution... feed your sump. If you feel that you are polishing the water going into your sump and starving the critters there, just put a pinch of food into the chamber with the macro a couple times a week.

Filtration is a balance. If you want to see swarms of cleanup critters, you need to not be removing their food source. If you can change to a setup where the tank water isn't filtered on the way to the sump but settles out and you vaccuum it later, you will see a big difference. With the caveat that you will have more decaying food in your system and your parameters will change a bit.

Despite what many people believe, loads of corals will thrive in a dirty tank. Assuming that dirty is organic matter and not bad chemistry. Corals are hungry beasts too.

Ron Reefman
07/15/2016, 03:17 PM
I run 3 separate filter socks on both of my aquarium systems and they both have tons of pods. I wouldn't worry about it.

rt67ghy
07/15/2016, 03:24 PM
When copepods hatch they are free-swimming until they have molted several times and reached adult stage so using filter socks will probably catch all the pods when they are nauplius before they have the chance to become adult and settle down. You could use a fine-meshed net like fish nets instead of filter socks which will catch larger food/ waste and allow the pods to pass through. I'm sure you'll still be taking a lot of dirt out of the water that way.

slief
07/15/2016, 08:46 PM
Pods live primarily in the rocks and substrate by day. At night they come out but a healthy tank with sufficient substrate and or live rock will provide enough places for pods to thrive as long as they have food sources. I run 4 filter socks in my sump and also run a good UV sterilizer with relative low flow. Despite the socks, UV and plenty of predators, I have millions of pods in my system. I don't add additional food for them either but I do feed the fish heavily and most importantly, my tank is very well established at over 18 years old.

The best way to check and see if you have pods is after the lights go out. Take a small flashlight and hold it to a side viewing pane. Give it a minute or so and look through the front at the light shining through the side. You might be very surprised to find lots of pods swimming towards the light shining through the glass.

karimwassef
07/15/2016, 09:05 PM
pods is a generic name -

amphipods are generally benthic (live and breed in and on the substrate/rocks).
copepods are generally free floating so they're likely to get caught up in a mesh.

I don't think socks eliminate pods, but they reduce their ability to reach maximum potential :D

kmbyrnes
07/17/2016, 08:17 AM
My pod population has declined since I got a Mandarin, but I still see them in my overflow and my filter socks are teeming with them. I don't even try to save them when I change socks.
All the local LFS sell a 'Reef Stew' mixture of various pods. I add this to my tanks about once a month. The fish love the live treat and any that make it to the rocks add genetic diversity.

HippieSmell
07/17/2016, 10:02 AM
Use a thieling rollermat. Any pods that get into it just live there until you release them during the next filter change.

karimwassef
07/17/2016, 08:22 PM
Or keep a large external refugium

Jscwerve
07/18/2016, 07:19 AM
Thanks for all the replies, maybe I just need to wait longer.

I have seeded the sump with tigger pods as well as pods that a local reefer cultivates. They just didn't last. they should have plenty of hiding space in my sump, three types of macro, live rock, etc. I just don't seem to ever see them anymore. I used to see them in the display all the time at night.

Oh well, time will tell. I don't want to stop using socks, so I guess I'll see what happens.

MuShu
07/18/2016, 10:38 AM
For what it's worth, I see different microfauna each night. It all depends on where I shine the light first. One night I saw a ton of Amphipods and several bristle worms. Another night I only saw one amphipods and one bristle worm, but lots of tiny shrimp and a couple of copepods.

They could still be there, but just be better at hiding than they used to.