which pods are best and how to setup system?

[eagle9252]

<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Bringing this back up. What’s the best setup for pods? And which are the best? When adding them do you add half in the DT and half in the sump? </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I will be adding a remote sump this weekend to get the PS off the back of the tank but just want to know what’s the best way to set everything up. </span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">I have the sponge on the mag7 pump and a 7x14 100 micron filter soc. When I add the remote sump I would assume the filter soc needs to go there. I have thought about trying to run it without the soc and see how dirty the remote sump will get. I would like the pods to be free flowing. So should I pull the sponge off the pump? </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">What is the best brand of pods to get? Several LFS have them but they will recommend just what they sell. I have read that the tiger pods turn all male in warm water. </span></span>

 

[izoid]

I would order from Indo Pacific Sea Farms. THey have excellent pods, large to small and in great condition. THe ones from the LFS have never really done much for my tanks but the IPSF ones instantly populate the tank with viable pods.

 

[eagle9252]

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">The pods I got were the ones that are raised locally in Canton. I searched and search and really did not find a lot of info as well. This is what I did. </span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">The container said to drip them at a real slow rate as they were so small and to add them with the lights off for at least 30mins. </span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">When doing this the water will cool off. I used a Styrofoam 16oz cup. I poured the 8oz container in and started the slow about ½ drip a sec. and let it go for about 20 mins and then I did a simple slosh stir and let it go for about another 20 mins. I filled the cup to about 14oz. I checked to make sure temp was the same as system. About ½ way through this I put the cup in another container and poured some warmer water in the outer container to keep the pods from cooling off too much. </span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">It was time for the lights to turn off so I did another stir but with my turkey baster. I sucked up about 25% and squirted them out slowly around and under some of the tightly stacked LR in the DT. I then added the rest to sump and squirted them out beside the macro algae ball. And then the sump light came on about 1hr later. </span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">I did this I think 2 weeks ago. While doing my weekly WC this past weekend I pulled the foam off the return pump I soaked it in some left or SW mix and them after the junk settled checked it with a light. It had a lot of tiny pods jumping around. So after the junk settled I sucked them back up and put back in the sump. I’m currently not running a filter sock but I added a remote sump so anything of size from the DT will stop in there and only fine particles and pods would go down to the sump. I still have the sponge on the return pump. I don’t want bits and pieces of the macro algae getting in the pump.</span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">I can now see some pods moving around in the sump with the naked eye. I can also every now and then see some in the DT.</span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">While I was looking on the net I did find something that interested me. They called it a “pod condo”. You take gutter guard and roll it into a 2” dia. Tower and make a top and bottom for it. Fill it up with LR rubble and close it off with tie wraps. You leave it in the sump for x- amount of time till it has plenty of pods. You then move it to the DT. What this does is it guaranties that you will have pods move from the fuge to the DT and they will be protected from critters until they leave the condo and move to the other LR. </span></span>

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">HTH</span></span>

 

[bulkrate]

I've built a variation on the pod condo on the back wall of my 9-gallon nano tank...same gutter-guard cylinder but filled the bottom of it with 1" or so of Seachem Matrix in place of the live rock rubble and have a wad of chaetomorpha algae growing in the rest. Not so much for nutrient export, but to provide a varied pod habitat and something that looks a little nicer than the mesh canister of rocks. Plus should it happen to increase my biofiltration capacity, so be it.

I may add in some more decorative macros in the near future to make it look less like tank brillo, but it does seem to be churning out the pods. Or maybe the pods came in on the initial clump of chaeto...time will tell when/if the population increases.

 

[bulkrate]

Dammit...no edit function? But wo keep my reply on topic...mine came in on liverock from SEA/Imagine Ocean and chaetomorpha from Pure Reef. I didn't conciously choose to add anything, in the interest of seeing what was already there.

Took about 5-7 days once the tank started getting fed for them to appear.