Using refugium as a zooplankton producer?

[lunarlanderboy]

Has anyone had success using their refugium as a continual source of plankton by stocking animals with large, frequent broods like some shrimps or mollusks? -or possibly some other animal that is even better suited for this type of endeavor? I really would love to find a way to have a renewable source of nutritious, live protein for the aquarium, there seem to be many great benefits to constant live food, but many culturing efforts are so messy and labor intensive and prone to crashes. An archetypal organism, it seems, would be hermaphroditic, a prodigious breeder, self-sustained from the refugium contents, and have a decent life span. Any thoughts or experience with this?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I don't know if I would keep it in a refugium, but I used to have saltwater mollies in my display. And boy did the fish go nuts over the babies. The Royal Gramma especially, but even my Diamond Watchman Goby nabbed a couple out in the open.

 

[lunarlanderboy]

wow! did the mollies breed pretty regularly?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Constantly. When I had them in the display, I only had one male and two females. I now have 1 male and 4 females in a seperate tank to try to raise them. My "carnivores" died over Christmas, so there is not much of a current point in keeping them in the display. Also, I have seen them get eaten by corals. My baby mollies are strangely attracted to Pseudocorynactis caribbeorum and get eaten quickly. My Tubastrea micanthra, Acanthastrea lordhowensis, Plerogyra sinuosa, and Rhodactis species had eaten them on occassion as well.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Oh, also, a mollie's gestation period is 4 to 6 weeks. So, theoretically, if you had 4 to 6 female mollies and 1 male mollie, you could have a new batch of fry every week. Keeping the mollies in the sump might not be a good idea. Sure they most likely can pass through a return pump, but I would hate for many chopped up ones possibly leading to an increase in nitrates. Also, mollies tend to drop their fry rather randomly instead of all at once. This is mainly because they are live bearers.

 

[barryhc]

I wonder if there is a "cork-screw" type of pump available, for this type of service? I suspect not, because other pump types have been identified and developed for effeciency, but it seems like this is what "we need".

Any thoughts?

> barryhc

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I have seen a "corkscrew" pump. But that was when I was new and stupid in the hobby I don't recall a single thing about it.

Does anyone else have any ideas on zooplankton producers? I would say snails, but you would have to get a broadcast spawner.

 

[barryhc]

The corkscrew pump is what we need to transfer the food to the tank. It would "automate feeding" easily. If they aren't available I'll DMS, since I want it done right.

It sure won't be necessary for zooplanlton, but it would work nicely for mollies and other larger creatures.


> barryhc

 

[lunarlanderboy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6379673#post6379673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by barryhc
The corkscrew pump is what we need to transfer the food to the tank.
> barryhc

It's a pump that has no impeller?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

No, the impeller is in the shape of a corkscrew so if something gets sucked into the pump, it pushes it instead of chops it like a regular impeller.

 

[lunarlanderboy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6384297#post6384297 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
No, the impeller is in the shape of a corkscrew so if something gets sucked into the pump, it pushes it instead of chops it like a regular impeller.

oh...are these a readily available thing? or something that is hard to come by?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

As far as I know, a decent "return pump" with a corkscrew impeller that is marine/reef safe would be difficult to come by. And if you did, it more than likely can't pump what most people would want for a sump/fuge combo. It would most likely have to be placed in a seperate reugium and most likely have a pretty low flow. It was a REALLY long time ago when I saw it. I don't even remember if it is reef safe.

 

[barryhc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6385826#post6385826 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
As far as I know, a decent "return pump" with a corkscrew impeller that is marine/reef safe would be difficult to come by.

This is what I thought. I haven't been looking that hard, but I sure haven't seen anything.

And if you did, it more than likely can't pump what most people would want for a sump/fuge combo. It would most likely have to be placed in a seperate reugium and most likely have a pretty low flow.

I agree about the flow. The idea is only for the pump to "present" food to the display tank. It would be easiest, of course, if the two tanks had the same "level" of surface water. The input and output height in either tank could be at any height, seperately, and it would not effect flow. So the pump, of course, would be seperate from "general refugium flow".

The input and output should probably be "screened" to avoid unwanted critter migration. Maybe something like 5 or 6mm screen, so that only "food" can pass through.

The neat thing is that food could be "delivered" on a schedule, with a simple and cheap timer, and also coincide with "feeding time", when the skimmer is turned off.

I doubt that we will find a reef safe pump for this, I was just poking in the dark. It wouldn't be that hard to DIY. A low rpm "gearmotor" with say 180 rpm with a propellor instead of impeller or corkscrew, would probably do it.

The low flow will require that the two water levels are fairly close.

> barryhc

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Easy DIY!? I'll let you get right on that :lmao: Seriously though, if I find something I will let everyone know. And of course, if someone else finds something, let the rest of us know, too.

 

[npaden]

Large bristleworms are excellent broadcast spawners. Plus they eat detritus.

 

[barryhc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6386152#post6386152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
Easy DIY!? I'll let you get right on that :lmao:

I didn't say "easy", I said "not that hard". How "full" is "your glass"?? :lol: :lol: Seriously though, Many aquarists are making "homemade Tunzies" with model boat propellors, on the "kitchen table", with a razor knife and super glue.

Actually, as I stated before, I may have to "do it myself", to "get it right". I happen to own a full blown, state of the art, machine shop, and while I would not need it to make a single specialized pump, it would come in handy, IF a lot of people became interested in this type of pump.

I absolutely did not post about this pump because of my shop, or to promote anything, however, IF many people became interested, I could make quite a few of them for interested hobbyists. There is not going to be enough interest or "market", for me to consider it as a product, but if some "reefers", were interested, I wouldn't keep it to myself.

I would rather buy something if it was available.

Back to the regularly scheduled "programming".

Thanks > barryhc

 

[greenbean36191]

You could always use an airlift setup.

 

[ConsultantERP]

Just a thought, but it seems to me that the clearance between the cork screw and the housing it was in would have to be quite close or you could still chop up what ever goes through it. Also it may not create much pressure without some close tolerances.

 

[graveyardworm]

Wouldnt it be simpler to just mount the breeder tank higher than the display and use some sort of screening so that the fry could be swept into the display unharmed and leave th adults behind. Also arent there some snail species that breed fairly well in aquaria I think they are sold as strombus at IPSF I'm just not sure whether they are broadcast spawners or not. Also emerald crabs seem to breed quite well and peppermint shrimp, both are easy to keep and feed.

 

[Mike O'Brien]

IME peppermint shrimp, scarlet reef hermit's and regular old amphipod's will produce ton's of zooplankton. The best I've had though is mysid shrimp. And also IME a regular return pump does not chop them up much. As they pass through the pump centripetal force keep's them away from the impeller.