Rotifers............

[spk]

Hi there,

OK. I give up. I remember seeing a picture of a rotifer setup that used water cooler carbouys (sp). I have done a search but cannot seem to find anything.

Do any of you remember who, or in what thread this is? If so please feel free to let me know.

I have some 18.5 ltr water cooler bottles that are tinted blue, that I want to use to grow rotifers in. I need to be able to plumb the bottle with a tap of some sort so that I can drain and harvest.

Any ideas or pictures welcome.

Nicole, Kathy, we do not get Kitty Litter in 5gal buckets over here, it is all recycled paper unfortunately and the salt that I use comes in plastic bags in a box and not bucket

Thanks

Steve

 

[Kathy55g]

Note to self: never live in UK, no free buckets... JK

Hi Steve,
The word from Edgar is, having tried it, that the gunk clogs up the neck of the bottle. Other folks have had success. I'll see if I can find the thread.

 

[ediaz]

That guy Edgar was the one who posted about the water cooler bottles in a thread called "thinking out of the box culturing rotifers" or something like that.

It really does not matter where you culture them, i use glass tanks, plastic tanks, clear, black, blue... it does not matter.

Ed

 

[Kathy55g]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=675153&highlight=rotifer+setup

 

[spk]

kathy,

You are a star. Thanks for that. I will definitely give this a go when I get home. I have 4 of these bottles that I can work with. So should have loads of rotifers and things.

Thanks

Steve

 

[spk]

Kathy,
You comment on the UK is well appreciated. I often feel the same way especially when I see what you lot over here can do and get.

It makes me green with envy.

Steve

 

[Dman]

22 gallon rubbermaid container, 1/2in cpvc fittings, running consistently for well over two years.

 

[Kathy55g]

You have to tell more! What's your routine?

 

[LotR Clown]

Looks cool Derek
Any details about how often you harvest and feed?


Thanks
Kevin

 

[spk]

DMan,

That is cool. Looks really interesting. So while this thread started off in one direction, I am glad to see that it is going in others.

Come on folks, lets see your Roti-stations. Any other ideas? Other than Kitty litter buckets Kathy, Nicole how about another shot of yours?

Steve

 

[Kathy55g]

Sorry, kitty litter bucket. Airline. Heat in the winter. There is nothing to see. It's a bucket. I add rotifer diet twice a day when I need my live phyto for something else, and live phyto when I have excess. I change buckets about once a week and use chloramex occasionally. With the clowns spawning every 11 days, and feeding the excess to my frag tank, I don't have to be too precise about harvesting them. If they crash, the university nearby has a ton of rots. I once collected some from there the day before a hatch, and I had enough in a 1 gallon bag, with careful apportioning, to raise a hatch. The University is my backup bucket.

 

[Dman]

Kathy,
That's a very handy backup bucket.


The container is 22 gallons, but I think that includes the volume of the lid as well. All told there is probably no more than 18 gallons when I'm completely full and groovin. That pic has about 15 gallons in it. The pipework is .5in CPVC and extends into the middle of the container a little more than a third of the way up.

There's not too much of a routine and it's not really set in stone either. As I need more rots I feed and harvest more aggressively about four days beforehand. Generally I siphon off 5-7 gallons per day when I'm moderately busy, as much as 10 when I'm swamped (4 or 5 hatches with a day or so). I siphon the bottom EVERY day. I went through a lull where I didn't really have anyone laying for about 6 weeks ([note to Kathy]other than tomatoes, which I don't need any more of) and I dropped feeding and harvesting to every other day, ramped it back up inside a week.

 

[spk]

DMan,

What do you feed the rots?

Steve

 

[Dman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7448757#post7448757 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spk
DMan,

What do you feed the rots?

Steve

IA

 

[Juck]

Derek,

How much aeration do you have in that rubbermaid. What SG do you keep your rotifers at? How often do you use Chloram-x (or similar),,, if ever?

Cheers