Pod disperssion and seeding?

[smstrick20]

Hello,

I was wondering what the best way to seed a tank with various pods is. My new reef tank has been up for going on 2 months now and my refugium is full of copepods, amphipods, and isopods not to mention some bristol worms popping up here and there. Will these various pods be able to make it to the main tank and survive the pump or should i be seeding the main tank to provide food for blennies and others that consume pods. Thanks

[650-IS350]

I've heard of even large pods getting through monster pumps.. so you shouldn't have a problem...

the other way is you could grab your macro and just dip it a couple of times during the night time ( LIGHTS OFF ) to allow the pods to drop into to the main tank and not be fed upon by the fish.

[Bkndsdl]

Excellent question. I've got a few things I do that I do that I assume helps. One thing, I have the drain from my fuge in the side of the fuge with a screen; I think the pods will get to the tank better this way. I see alot of pods hanging around the drain, so that confirms it for me.

Also, I have my return from my fuge piped to end up directly in front of my sump pump suction. I feel the pods have more chance of being sucked up and put into the display this way.

I shake up the macro in the fuge every week or so to help w/the export.

When I upgrade to a larger tank, I plan on having a dedicated overflow for pod export, and a dedicated return from the fuge; no going through the skimmer at all.

I want to experiment with light; I know that pods are attracted to light, so I was thinking of shining a small flashlight right on the fuge drain, hopefully attracting the pods to the drain and into the display.

Have you ever noticed the large amount of pods and brine shrimp in your overflow? I want to add a drain for the overflow itself to drain directly into the fuge, capturing the pods that get stuck in there.

......can you tell I've been thinking about this for quite some time?