I don't use a birthing tank at all. It's stressful for the horse. You can get a blue filter pad that is meant to go around some sort of filter. I'm not even sure. You'll find all sorts of extra pad type filters that are sort of like sleeves with openings at each end. I use plastic thread/fishing line to sew them tightly around the water intake. This way the babies can not be sucked up into the filter. The horse can have the babies in their natural setting. ALSO, the filter covers make a great way to catch and remove detritus even before it gets to the filter. The filter media will last longer and you can take it off and rinse it everyday. Here's a neat little fact about that. If you have live rock in your set up, copepods will inhabit the detritus on the filter pads. So I set up a separate tank in my closet in a 30 gallon tank. I wired on a cheap light and HOB filter. I added some live macro plants. When I first swirl it out fast in this tank. This way the copepods are let out in the copepod tank. I feed that tank and change the water a little each week. The tank is brimming with copepods!
Collecting copepods is really easy. I buy the big yellow sponges that are designed to go into the aquaclear filters. I cut these up and float them in the tank. From time to time I pour a little food or green water right onto the sponges. The copepods will fill those sponges like crazy. Since they float at the top of the tank, they do not fill up with a lot of detritus. When I want to place copepods in another tank I just put them in a bowl, carry them to that tank and swish them around squeezing lightly. The copepods LOVE those sponges.
Suzi
