So after reading this article:
http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20110910#pg95
We decided that were were going to try to culture tigger pods because it made it sound so easy. So I will do this in step to try and make is easier to read.
Step 1. Buy one bottle of Reef Nutrition Tigger pods that just about every LFS carries
Step 2. We had two vases laying around that we decided to use as culturing containers (there are about 2.5 cups apiece of water in them even though they hold roughly a liter) We used two to give ourselves two chances of success.
Step 3. Add the pods, salt water from your tank and let it go
Step 4. We put the containers on the window sill to get plenty of light and did not add a heater or airline tubing.
Step 5. We threw in a few LPS food pellets in the beginning to get some bacteria growing.
Step 6. Let it grow.
So how did we do?
The culture has been going for 7-8 weeks strong and we have not added any more tigger pods. Nikki squirts in a turkey baster full of pods twice a week into our tanks and then adds 3 basters of saltwater from our tanks. The cultures are essentially green now, we did not add any phyto but it sure looks like we did. The corals love it and we are quite happy. You can clearly see the tigger pods of different sizes in the culture so we know we are getting babies. The only adjustments we have made along the way is adding some fresh water when we think the salinity is getting way out of control. These guys can take some extreme temp and salinity swings and we have seen that. I will try and get some pics and keep this updated as it goes along. So far I would call this a huge success though.
http://coralmagazine.coverleaf.com/coral/20110910#pg95
We decided that were were going to try to culture tigger pods because it made it sound so easy. So I will do this in step to try and make is easier to read.
Step 1. Buy one bottle of Reef Nutrition Tigger pods that just about every LFS carries
Step 2. We had two vases laying around that we decided to use as culturing containers (there are about 2.5 cups apiece of water in them even though they hold roughly a liter) We used two to give ourselves two chances of success.
Step 3. Add the pods, salt water from your tank and let it go
Step 4. We put the containers on the window sill to get plenty of light and did not add a heater or airline tubing.
Step 5. We threw in a few LPS food pellets in the beginning to get some bacteria growing.
Step 6. Let it grow.
So how did we do?
The culture has been going for 7-8 weeks strong and we have not added any more tigger pods. Nikki squirts in a turkey baster full of pods twice a week into our tanks and then adds 3 basters of saltwater from our tanks. The cultures are essentially green now, we did not add any phyto but it sure looks like we did. The corals love it and we are quite happy. You can clearly see the tigger pods of different sizes in the culture so we know we are getting babies. The only adjustments we have made along the way is adding some fresh water when we think the salinity is getting way out of control. These guys can take some extreme temp and salinity swings and we have seen that. I will try and get some pics and keep this updated as it goes along. So far I would call this a huge success though.
- do you use any method of spot feeding like a mandarin diner or just "dose" the baster into the tank?
