unclenedsfishfactory.com

Is taking seaweed such as red algae or green algae ok for an enclosed aquarium?

I have a green mandarin that needs lots of copepods for food and I've only had the tank running for like...4 weeks and I feel like it may not be getting enough food (30 lbs of live rock in a 29 gall tank).

So if I were to go to the beach and take some of the algae back in a big bucket, then put it into my tank, would that be bad? Plus there was some red algae that I saw at the beach that was beautiful, very branchy and floated around and I think it would look great in a tank as well as being a breeding ground for copepods. What do you think?

If not, any ideas on how to get more copepods without making/buying a refugium?

Is taking seaweed such as red algae or green algae ok for an enclosed aquarium?

I have a green mandarin that needs lots of copepods for food and I've only had the tank running for like...4 weeks and I feel like it may not be getting enough food (30 lbs of live rock in a 29 gall tank). We also sell DT's live phytoplankton (green water), which is food for microlife.

So if I were to go to the beach and take some of the algae back in a big bucket, then put it into my tank, would that be bad? No...but some native saltwater flora & fauna needs low temperatures, so it's an experiment.
Plus there was some red algae that I saw at the beach that was beautiful, very branchy and floated around and I think it would look great in a tank as well as being a breeding ground for copepods. What do you think? Why not try it, only problem is, that you might bring in fish parasites, but, most parasites die off when kept away from fish for several weeks.

If not, any ideas on how to get more copepods without making/buying a refugium?
We're hoping to get in some bottles of cultured copepods this Friday...called "seapods".

you may want to research "pod piles" - basically a way to provide more breeding spaces for 'pods:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22pod+piles%22

I collect local seaweeds (mostly Ulva sp. "sea lettuce") for my native marine (coldwater) tank, and I've yet to find much useful amphipods\copepods\isopods on them.

you may find it a better time investment to pick up a few brine shrimp hatcheries and eggs from Ned and hatch artemia daily...

There is some research being done on the culture of copepods, as they are the preferred food for marine fish. Harpacticoids are a benthic variety of copepods and can be cultured in a modified sand filter and then backwashed to harvest. But this is just one method for culture. You can also increase the nutritional value of brine shrimp with a product called selco.