View Full Version : Live zooplankton mix.
For the first time in the UK we are able to offer live marine zooplankton mix. :D This mix contains two different species of copepod as well as marine rotifers and the whole mix can be cultured in the same container with the same food and conditions. The blend of different live animals provides a range of sizes of food for your corals and difficult fish such as Mandarins - there is no more natural way of feeding your aquarium without collecting water from natural reefs.
You can add the culture directly to your tank to seed or boost existing populations or culture them in a small container to add to your tank regularly. To culture them all you need is a small container, an airline and bottled phytoplankton (nanochloropsis).
Click on the link below......
http://www.reefworks.co.uk/default.asp?section=37&subpage=2317
Gavin Smith
11-04-06, 14:14
I've got one of your 200ml plankton feeders. Could I do it in that?
Gavin
Just ordered some off of Clayton.
Hi Gavin, possibly is the answer. You would need to make the flow through very slow, maybe just slowly dripping into the tank for 20mins each day or two and see how you go.
They would breed and grow in there but you will need to be carefull you do not flush too much of the population into the tank when you turn the flow on.
hth
instantsquid
11-04-06, 19:25
Hi Gavin,
This was my plan a few weeks back - I have a peri-pump connected to the bottom of the feeder along with an air-pump. The plan was just to turn on the peri-pump for a short period each day (or maybe even every other day) and see how it went.
Unfortunately the air-pump stopped working during the night, the one-way valve on the air-line failed so water ran back into the pump and blew my electrics!
I've just ordered another pack off Clayton, so will give it another go. I don't see why it shouldn't work - it's just a question of getting the flow through right.
Will keep you posted - if you decide to give it a go, perhaps you could do the same?
Cheers,
- Ian.
Hi Reef works
i would like to know the following please?
for your zooplankton mix
if trying to farm the zoos can you please tell me how to farm it!
eg do you need to c02
what ph will they need
does the salt water need boiling as you need for phyplankton
thanks dean
Hi Dean, you will find more details on the website but basicly no you don't need CO2. You can keep them in normal synthetic seawater and do not need to monitor the pH and you don't need to boil the water first. Simply use an airline to gently aerate the water and feed a little bottled phytoplankton each day. They will reproduce and then you can harvest them regularly.
hth
bunglehaze
26-05-06, 02:48
Clayton, are these ok to add directly to the system ( and suitable to feed seahorses? ) I am having concerns about my reidi possibly not feeding so its either these or the pod pack..
cheers
leigh :D
Hi Leigh, yes you can add them directly to the tank, they will breed in there but the population that they reach will depend on the amount of predators present.
bunglehaze
29-05-06, 04:47
Left you an answering machin emessage but no reply Clayton, any chance you can call me about these when you have a sec so I know what the best option is for my situation.
cheers
leigh :D
Hi mate, been having the bank holiday off but will give you a call today.
Clayton
What is this "Day Off" thing you speak of :D
gary smith
06-06-06, 14:10
hi there, i ordered some zoo-plankton mix on the 31 may is there a problem with delivery cheers Gary
Hi Gary, no problem with delivery your pack is being sent out tomorrow, as the website says, please allow up to 7 days for delivery of live food cultures, I think that takes you up to this coming Thursday ;) . I usually have packs sent out within a day or two, but have just been bringing some new cultures up to concentration.
happy reefing.
bunglehaze
08-06-06, 17:40
Is this the same for me Clayton? I have a very hungry looking seahorse.
cheers
leigh :D
You can have next day delivery if you want but it will cost you £7.90. Don't forget what you recieve is an innoculum and will need to be cultured if you want to feed Seahorses. ;)
bunglehaze
08-06-06, 22:29
I ordered a live mix and a culture pack so I can feed him straight away and grow more for later..
No thanks to next day delivery though although I would have thought that they would be with me after 5 days :D
cheers
leigh :D
I could have sent you some from the old cultures but I am bringing up fresh ones as mentioned before and thought you would have prefered one of them.:D
Cheers
Clayton
bunglehaze
09-06-06, 16:14
No probs, he still seems ok and must be eating something so the fresher the better
cheers
leigh :D
Hi Gavin,
This was my plan a few weeks back - I have a peri-pump connected to the bottom of the feeder along with an air-pump. The plan was just to turn on the peri-pump for a short period each day (or maybe even every other day) and see how it went.
Unfortunately the air-pump stopped working during the night, the one-way valve on the air-line failed so water ran back into the pump and blew my electrics!
I've just ordered another pack off Clayton, so will give it another go. I don't see why it shouldn't work - it's just a question of getting the flow through right.
Will keep you posted - if you decide to give it a go, perhaps you could do the same?
Cheers,
- Ian.
Just dredging up old posts here...
Ian, did you give it a go? I'm thinking of using a peri pump to pump from my culture into the tank and looking at the options.
Off the top of my head I could do it one of two ways:
Peri pump out of the culture into the tank, but doesn't this mean that little critters will get squished which I can't see being a good thing.
Peri pump some new salt mix into the culture and let it overflow into the tank using something like the plankton feeder. Maybe have a master culture which I top up the plankton feeder from in case of a crash.I'm kind of thinking about how to dose into the tank so that a reasonable amount of copepods are sucked out, if the peri pump is too slow then hardly any will fall out of the feeder into the tank. I'm toying with a upside down U shaped tube through the side of a container as a self starting syphon, when the level gets high enough it'll empty the container to the bottom of the U tube in the container. That way, knowing how much is dispensed each time I can dose exactly when I want by running the peri pump for the right dosage. Should have a short sharp dosing effect to suck out enough critters in one hit.
Thoughts?
Alan.
instantsquid
24-11-06, 16:03
Hi Alan,
No I haven't got around to setting up the auto-feeder again. I have a refugium above my display tank now, so I just dumped the 'pod pack in there - it's teeming with life now.
As for your ideas - I agree that if you use the peri-pump to move water from the culture you risk squishing the critters! I understand what you mean about slow flow into and out of the feeder, but if you also have an airline in there, the critters will be stirred up and should be well distributed, and so should be washed out periodically.
I'm not sure I fully understand how your inverted U tube would work - perhaps a diagram is in order?
- Ian
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