Idea for copepod refugium...any ideas???

asharp13

asharp13

Member
I have been reading a lot about how to keep my mandarin fed and I have not been able to establish a copeped colony in my 24g nano. I do not have a refugium and I cannot stomach paying $20 every weekish to keep him fed. My idea is this...
1. Get a clear acrylic specimen container and drill some small holes in it.
2. Attach it to the wall of my tank and let the aquarium water flow through it.
3. Fill it with porous live rock pieces and chaeto.
4. Add tigger and copepods and pray that they breed, colonize, escape into the main tank and keep my mandarin fed.
Does anyone have any ideas if this will work and any suggestions to maybe help the process along...I am looking for anything you have that might help or go wrong. please let me know your thoughts!!!!
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
I have recently added the DIY aquaclear 70 fuge to my 45 gal tank where my mandarin lives. I decided to add this because I actually had an aquaclear 70 laying about that I have used when I was doing FW. This is very easy to do, and it is very non intrusive, better than some container floating about in your tank anyway. Here is a pic of what mine looks like.
To find out how to make one, just google 'aquaclear 70 diy fuge" and it should be one of the top links. I did this project in about an hour and had it running on my tank in a day.


 
asharp13

asharp13

Member
Originally Posted by rlablan
http:///forum/post/3090760
I have recently added the DIY aquaclear 70 fuge to my 45 gal tank where my mandarin lives. I decided to add this because I actually had an aquaclear 70 laying about that I have used when I was doing FW. This is very easy to do, and it is very non intrusive, better than some container floating about in your tank anyway. Here is a pic of what mine looks like.
To find out how to make one, just google 'aquaclear 70 diy fuge" and it should be one of the top links. I did this project in about an hour and had it running on my tank in a day.
wait does your mandarin live in the fuge or tank?? what is the point of having him live in the fuge if you cant see him???
also, is this a mini example of a refugium? i know this may sounds stupid but i have only had my nano for a couple months and dont know the intricacies of bigger tanks. if so will my copepods breed in there and do i need light for them to reproduce???
 
asharp13

asharp13

Member
also, do you use PC lighting or something else??? also, do you use carbon in your blue sponge filter or no?
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Originally Posted by asharp13
http:///forum/post/3090913
wait does your mandarin live in the fuge or tank?? what is the point of having him live in the fuge if you cant see him???
also, is this a mini example of a refugium? i know this may sounds stupid but i have only had my nano for a couple months and dont know the intricacies of bigger tanks. if so will my copepods breed in there and do i need light for them to reproduce???
It sounds like his mandarin lives in the 45 gallon tank... the aquaclear 70 is the fuge.
Originally Posted by nuro
http:///forum/post/3090778
see other thread for my reply
Ditto :)
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
He lives in my 45gal but he is very small and I do plan on getting a 250 or 300 gal someday when I build a home. Then he will live there. If you plan in upgrading very soon, then great. I really don't know how long it would be happy. The mandarin takes a lot of research and I will tell you what I have told other people. You MUST have a lot of live rock. And I mean ALOT for those pods to live in. They need space to reproduce where the mandarin cannot eat them too quick. The mini Aquaclear fuge would not be a bad idea if you really feel you want a mandarin but do research and pay a lot of attention to him. Example: I look at my tank everyday, and examine my critters closely. I make sure that the mandarin is hunting actively and eating and I make sure that he is not too skinny and that his bully looks pudgy. then I know he is happy. I hate to say it, but it may be the only option for you, is to buy pods every week. Try the fuge, that should help, but don't rely on it.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
You could take a small 2.5 or a 5 gallon tank and breed them. It is pretty simple from what I understand.
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
I have a 24 gallon nano, I set up a nano glo in the back (after scraping off hte black sticker), now I have chaeto and live rock rubble in my second chamber with the light. I installed it two or three weeks ago. Now I have copepods starting to show up in it.
See my nano diary thread for pictures on the third page.
 
asharp13

asharp13

Member
thx for the help.. i have decided to put a refugium with the nanoglo in the back compartment of my tank. the baffles went in yesterday and the live sand/rock and chaeto is going in in a couple of days
thx again SWF Community!!
 
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