Copepods/Refugium

[WarmWaterDiver]

I have a well established reef tank and am thinking of starting pipefish and seahorses. I have a few questions...

Can I use a regular flourescent hooded light (like for a nano tank) to grow Chaeto in my sump??
How long do the lights need to be on for good Chaeto growth?
Is it necessary to have a sand bed in the refugium even if I have plenty of live sand in the main tank?

My main goal is to keep and cultivate copepods for my seahorses and pipefish. I have no experience with refugiums but I need a steady supply of live copepods.

 

[Oscarsdad608]

I just have a desk lamp with a 60watt halagen bulb for 18 hours a day. If you have a thin layer of sand about 2 inches I think you will have better luck with them reproducing faster.

 

[reeffreak]

The light you mentioned will be plenty for chaeto.12-24hrs a day is what most people do.I prefer 12hrs. a day on opposite light cycle as the main tank.It helps keeping pH stable and most copepods are nocturnal.Its not necessary to have a sand bed but I recommend a deep bed for nitrate reduction and breading grounds for fauna(copepods,worms).

 

[hotimportknight]

All I have is a little compact flourescent fixture on my sump with a few inch deep sand bed, I bought 6 oz of chaeto a month or so ago, under the 18 watt lighting its growing like mad absorbing my nutrients. I know that means I have some excess nutrients, but if everything is doing good and i'm not having algae problems in my display any more thats fine right? I'm thinking about throwing some handfulls of chaeto on ebay soon..

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

All I have is a little compact flourescent fixture on my sump with a few inch deep sand bed, I bought 6 oz of chaeto a month or so ago, under the 18 watt lighting its growing like mad absorbing my nutrients. I know that means I have some excess nutrients, but if everything is doing good and i'm not having algae problems in my display any more thats fine right? I'm thinking about throwing some handfulls of chaeto on ebay soon..

If you need to get rid of any I'll be in the market soon :) I have tons of Briarium (encrusting gorgonian/star polyps) if you want to trade.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Thanks guys... I think I have a desk lamp that will work just fine! And I'll add some more live sand. I'm going to have to figure out a way to keep the sand out of my pumps though since I still use the other half of my sump to power my chiller and skimmer. Sounds easy enough though :)

 

[hotimportknight]

How much are you lookin for? I think i got 6 oz dry weight and now its at least twice that size I would have to say... What color are those star polyps? I google imaged it and they look awesome, thats something id be looking for. Has anyone ever shipped macro algae from a cold climate (it was 1 degree F today) If you go to a UPS store and ship it 2 day or whatever would it make it ok?

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Wow, 1˚! That's freezing! I didn't even think about your location. I'm not sure it would be cost effective for either of us to overnight ship our livestock. I think it would be wiser to wait until it warms up... and I'm positive I will still have lots of frags!

 

[hotimportknight]

Yeah the weather sucks here at least half the year... Let me know if you still need some later down the road, I'm sure Ill have too much to fit in my sump within a few months.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Another question regarding amphipods/copepods... If I wanted to set up a small tank totally seperate from my main tank and sump just for keeping these little guys would there be a problem just using a small hang on filter. My refugium is partitioned kinda weird and is making it difficult for me to keep sand, rock, etc. with all the other equipment.

 

[Bifferwine]

That would be fine. You would need minimal flow to breed pods. You would need a bit of sand, some live rock rubble, macroalgae and a small light, and you'd be all set.

 

[IraqVeteran]

In the refugium portion of the sump I am about to get should I put a few inches of established sand from one of my tanks, copepods, LR rubble and Chaetomorpha Algae? I will have a small light (like 18watts) over the refugium.