Refugium and Pods

[phastroh]

I always thought I had no pods in my tank. Well actually I do and I don't

I purchased about a softball size piece of Chaeto a while back from Live Aquaria and at the time I was battling Cyano. It had killed off my Chaeto so that is why I got more and coupled it with ChemiClean.

4 days and it was gone and has not comeback for months. The Chaeto sits in a section of my 75 Gallon sump which is walled off and has rubble rock. I dumped one of those bottle of Pods in there thinking they would never grow.

Well I am sure the Chaeto had a few pods when I got it but I don't think they would survive no water during delivery.

So my friend owns a Reef Store but he hardly has Chaeto even though I keep telling him to set up a large tank just for it to grow and sell since nobody from here to Tampa, FL. ever has any good Chaeto.

I said look my Chaeto is growing out of the Fuge so let me give you some. I almost crudded my pants because I thought, yeah I'll give him a medium piece, like half of what I have. When I went to take it out there was so much he ended up with like the amount the size of a huge watermelon and I still had more than half left.

It was so dense it shocked me. I honestly can't explain how much was in there. It was 6 times what you may think when you look at it, most likely because it grows into itself but still I never realized how much it had grown.

So I get to his shop and he is like HOLYSHIP and I was like yeah that is what I said. So he takes half and puts it in his sales tanks and the rest he slaps in his Fuge for his display tank. I told him just get me some snails even thought I know he could sell it off for over $100 by the time it sells. I don't care though.

So as he is putting it in the tanks he says dang look at all the PODS. I was like where so I look and there were a ton of them. So I thought crap they are in this so there has to be a ton in my Fuge but I never see them in my tank, ever.

I have my UV and my GFO Reactpr that dump into the FUGE creating a smooth as glass cascading fall into the return section of the Fuge. I am thinking they PODS just never make it into the return and into the pump and if some do they must also get sucked into the UV Pump. The GFO and Carbon Reactors run of the main return pump.

Is this typical for PODS to never get into the tank when set up this way. If so how can I get them in the tank short of taking out the Chaeto and hunting them down. I am not sure how many are in the rubble rock and Chaeto but at night I do not see them in the Fuge either but the Chaeto is so thick I can't see that well in there.

 

[Cathic]

If they go into the uv filter section (which is what i read) they are all dead when they get into the DT. Hence why you never see them there.

 

[cvcdrk]

Another reason why UV sterilizers are bad imo. I personally feel like they're worse than useless.

If you want to get pods into the DT, though, all you have to do is take the chaeto out...stick it in the DT for a few seconds and shake it.
Do it while the pumps are off so they have time to settle into the rocks.

Do you have any pod-eating fish?

 

[phastroh]

Yes I have a 6 line wrasses but he couldn't eat them all could he.

About the UV. It was free and the main pump would have to miss all the pods and only that small pump would have to be getting all the pods. That seems unlikely.

I got the 12x free so I use it.

I can't easily take the Chaeto out and shake it but I will try to do it and see what happens, thanks.

 

[cvcdrk]

Well there's probably not a LOT getting into the DT if you haven't manually seeded them in there at all...and if he's grazing all day it's possible he's doing a good job of keeping the population under control.

You can just cut a clump like you did before and shake it then put it back in. It should all grow back together but it will come apart for next time you want to do this as well. :-)

 

[Bifferwine]

They will make it up to the display tank if they are in the fuge, but no doubt the UV is killing any of them that pass through it. And like cvcdrk said, if you have fish that are eating them in the display tank, you may see much fewer (if any) in there.