Copepod Culture Setup for Reef Tanks
A live copepod culture costs $30 to start and $5/month to maintain - cheaper than buying pods every 2 weeks, and infinitely sustainable.
Why culture vs buy
Buying 16oz of pods costs $30 every 2-3 weeks. A homegrown culture produces 8-32oz weekly indefinitely from one $30 starter culture. ROI: 1 month.
Vessel + setup
1-gallon glass jar OR 2L plastic bottle. Fill with saltwater (35 ppt). Add air-stone with gentle bubble. No light needed for the pods themselves; phyto needs light if cultured separately.
Choosing the species
- Tisbe biminiensis - hardy, the standard refugium pod, eats detritus + biofilm
- Tigriopus californicus - red color, bigger (~1.5mm), broadcast feeders prefer them
- Apocyclops panamensis - calanoid, tiny, ideal for larval clownfish + cardinalfish breeding
Mix 2 species for diversity. Start with Reef Nutrition Tigger Pods + AlgaeBarn 5280 Pods.
Feeding the culture
Live phytoplankton (Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast, AlgaeBarn OceanMagik) every 2-3 days. 1-2 capfuls per gallon. Pods eat the phyto cells, multiply, and reproduce.
Alternative: yeast suspension (1g per 1 gallon weekly) - cheaper but pods less nutritious for fish.
Harvesting + dosing
Use a 50-micron sieve. Pour 1/4 of the culture through every 1-2 weeks. Add the strained pods to your refugium or display directly. Top off the culture jar with fresh saltwater.
Dose at night - pods are nocturnal + hide in rockwork before fish wake up.
Troubleshooting
White film on surface: protein scum from overfeeding. Skim off with paper towel. Pod count crashing: overheated (>80°F) or starved (no phyto). Add fresh phyto + cool the room. Smells bad: bacterial bloom from rotting food. Restart with fresh saltwater.
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