- Can copepods wipe out the uglies in our tank?
Maybe a better question about timing.
Can a jar of pods before the lights come on
solve the problem before it even starts?
You've never seen anything as definitive as this.
This is "BRStv Investigates the Biome Cycle",
and I will never look at pods the same way again.
It's week 25 of our biome experiment.
We just finished phase two,
where we intentionally infected all 12 experiment tanks
with dinos, diatoms, cyano, green algae,
and chrysophytes to see which could fend them off
for 10 weeks.
Some did well, others did not.
This is phase three, the missing link,
microcrustacheans and copepods.
Is there a reason that some
of these photosynthetically ugly pests are exploding
in our tanks completely unchecked
because there's no natural predator in the tank?
Time to find out.
It's pretty rare that we see any answer
as definitive as this.
To find out we dose Algae Barn's EcoPods
in each of these 12 tanks.
This is four species of copepods.
However, we're looking for something more definitive here.
Not a starter culture,
but what would an establish population do?
For that reason, we're dosing 16 jars to each tank.
I don't wanna wait four weeks
and wonder if the pods really did it.
I wanna see a major, definable,
and replicable change in days.
There's another piece to this,
an ounce of prevention up front,
meaning a single jar or a source
like dark rubble is likely all that's needed
to establish a population before the lights come on.
But after the problems explode, we need a pound of cure.
These 16 jars are the pound of cure
to some pretty major problems in these tanks.
Starting with the control, this tank picked up a bad case
of diatoms in week 19, which progressed, got worse.
And despite an attempt at cleaning
only came back worse.
A month and a half later, week 25,
the tank is in a terrible spot.
This is the point at which we dose the EcoPods.
Will they solve it?
Week 26, we're looking for something definitive
after dosing the pods, and we got it.
All the diatoms turn into a process sludge.
This greatly exceeded my expectations.
Week 27, we manually clean the tank
as much of the sludge as possible.
Now, in week 28,
unlike before the explosive orange diatoms do not come back,
but we do see signs of cyano and some green film algae.
Week 29, the orange diatoms are gone,
but I believe the cyano and green film algae
are likely fueled by the nutrients
in newly reset battlefield with one of the large ugly armies
wiped out near instantly.
Next, what about a tank that already had pods
and never had a problem with the orange diatoms?
The Dark Cured Rubble Tank, week 25.
This is one of the tanks that was able to defend
or independently solve the introduction of all five uglies.
I guess I wouldn't assume much is going to happen here
with the addition of pods.
I was wrong.
Green film algea rapidly shows up and coats the entire back
of the tank in sand.
I believe this is likely due to a rapid increase
in nutrients from the newly introduced wave
of copepods processing all the waste in the tank.
Week 28, it stays largely clean. Same in week 29.
However, if you look at week 25 versus week 29,
I think it actually looks a bit worse post copepods.
Again, likely that wave of pods resetting some
of that battlefield and the released nutrients
from rapidly processed detritus and other prey.
Next, the Aqua Forests Life Source Tank.
This tank actually looks great in week 15,
but after we dose the pest slurry
it lacked the defenses or predators to fend off the diatoms.
We left week 25 with an orange diatom explosion,
which left the life source media sticking to it.
This is what we dosed the EcoPods.
What's under that mud?
One week later, week 26, a dramatic change.
Diatoms are receding but rapidly replaced with cyano.
It's a good time to point out
that reefers commonly noticed a shift to cyano
like this with any unstable tank where hammer solution
to a ugly pest was used like algaecides,
bacteria, heavy carbon dosing, or stripping nutrients.
Eliminating the biggest army from the battlefield resets it.
And the most aggressive photosynthetically ugly
will often take its place.
If I had to do this over again, I would turn the lights off
and truly reset the tank.
In week 27, we clean the tank
but some of the cyano is difficult to remove.
However, in week 28,
the tank naturally starts to beat the cyano on its own.
My belief is a microbiome or bacteria
from the life source is what's battling the cyano.
But in week 29, we start to see some of the dinos.
The total of 16 jars of pods may be turning
out to be more effective than I would've liked
in wiping out all of the diatoms at once
causing a reset event in the tank.
So it'd likely have gone better
with a four week dark period after the pods
to let the tank reset without competing for territory
with the photosynthetics.
Next Ocean Direct,
which had a similar biome profile
as the Aqua Forests Life Source Reef Mud
and both the natural ocean substrate.
This one looked pristine in week 15,
but post pest slurry introduction ended week 25
with a bad case of diatoms
and cyano mixed throughout the tank.
We dosed the EcoPods.
Will it solve one or both?
Week 26, the diatoms largely turn into sludge
but the cyano is taking advantage of that.
Week 27, we cleaned the tank.
Week 29, some of the cyano returns, but not like it was.
And the tank is resetting
with some green film algae and cyano.
Now both the Ocean Direct Tank
and the Aqua Forest Life Source Tank
had this solid eDNA biome balance scores.
It looked great after 10 weeks of lighting
but both couldn't beat the diatoms.
It's hard to not wonder what would happen
if we had introduce those EcoPods up front.
I think it's fair to believe
that there'd be no orange diatom explosion
or huge reset in this tank.
This gets at the concept
of biome redundancy where no one thing
is the end all solution for all things.
And multiple solutions that back each other up is the best
or highest percentage path to success.
Next, he established Marine Pure Bio Brick.
Other than a green tint to the rock and some cheatomorpha,
This tank is successfully defended
against the five major pests.
We dose the tank.
This is where we dose the pods.
Pay attention to the state of that clean back of the tank
and the chaetomorpha macro algea, it's about to change.
Week 26, the green algaes take off.
The algea on the back emerges fast.
The chaeto is five times what it was last week.
And the green film algea in the rock, much darker.
Again, what I believe to be related
to the copepods rapidly processing, detritus, prey
and waste into nutrients for the algae.
Week 27, we clean the tank
and other than the green film algae tint on the rock,
it stays clean to week 29.
Notice that the green tint does not grow back
on the block, however.
Weeks 25 and 30, before and after the pods almost identical,
and the pods are likely unnecessary
but the intentional addition
of a large wave of pods does indicate a cleaning effect.
Next 100% of the 160s Water, we left this tank off
in week 25 covered in diatoms in cyano.
But this is a different type of sheeting cyano
which is very difficult to manually remove.
We dose the EcoPods, but it won't solve both.
Week 26, the diatoms darken, the tank sludge forms,
the cyano explodes.
Week 27, we clean the tank
but can't get the cyano off the rock.
Weeks 28 and 29, largely the same,
leaving the diatoms in the past, but cyano unaffected
maybe even empowered.
Next, the Indonesian Wet Live Rock.
We left this tank off in week 25 covered in diatoms,
algae and cyano.
We dosed the pods.
It's hard to imagine this tank turning around with something
as simple as copepods, but in many ways it does.
Week 26 is now that familiar pod process sludge,
but maybe the best instance of that.
Week 27, we clean the tank,
but a lot of the hard to remove algae remains.
Week 28, the sand does have a clear purple coating of cyano
but otherwise looks the same as the cleaning week.
Week 29, algae's still there
but a vast majority of the rest is gone.
I think the biggest takeaway here is the Indo Live rock
that came wrapped in moist newspaper was likely not a source
of copepods despite the common belief otherwise.
At least not the type that prey on these orange diatoms.
Next up, a contrast to that
with wet live rock cultured in the Gulf, stored in water,
shipped submerged in water to your tank.
Week 25, we left off in a fairly good spot.
Only real problem is hair algae and a bit of cyano.
We dosed the EcoPods.
Note the state of the sand and the hair algae
in the rocks themselves, it changes.
Week 26, the mega addition of pods causes the sand to clear
and the algae in the rocks start to dissipate.
Maybe more notable,
you don't see anything explode from the addition of pods.
I believe it's because
this is the livest possible source of rock.
Which also tested by AquaBiomics
as the most diverse microbiome.
There's just a lot of microorganisms processing
the detritus and waste in this tank
So the pods didn't cause a major bloom.
Week 27, we cleaned the tank.
Only thing that remains is cyano.
Sadly, that cyano was in there in week 25 and week 28.
It takes advantage of even this limited reset
and ends week 29 with a healthy amount of cyano.
But note the algae's not coming back nearly as fast.
Well, I think it's clear that EcoPods are predators
of diatoms and some algaes.
They don't seem to prey or reduce cyano.
However, it's also clear that when any one thing explodes
in the tank, in this case copepods,
there's a chain of events that follows,
some good, some less so.
I believe throughout this experiment
it's clearly demonstrating
that all live rocks are not created equal.
And this Golf Rock clearly added copepods to defend
against the diatoms from the beginning
and didn't need them to be intentionally introduced
like this.
Next up the Coral biome tank.
This one demonstrates a clear effect on the food chain
and what happens when that changes.
Week 25, we left off with diatom, cyano
explosive cases of planarian flat worms.
There's one thing I want you to all see.
See that red bottom on the rocks?
That's all flatworms, but notice that it's not spread
to the sand, their preferred habitat.
It's always been the rock.
It doesn't stay that way.
We dose the pods.
Week 26, there's a familiar sludge that immediately develops
on the rock and the sand.
Week 27, we clean the tank.
But look how the flatworms have migrated to the sand.
Week 28, the green film algae shows up
which expands into week 29.
But now there's planaria exploded
on virtually every surface.
It's very likely because the pods are a major food source
for the flatworms and resulted in explosive growth.
Next, the 360 Rock and Sand,
this tank should perform nearly identical to the Dark Rubble
because they both came from the same tank
and had the same microbiome and pods introduced.
Is this true?
Week 25, we left with some algae and small patches of cyano,
and signs of matted bubble forms of chrysophyte.
We dose the EcoPods.
Week 26, very similar result, a significant increase
in green film algae on the glass, sand and rocks.
Neither had a problem with orange diatoms ever.
Week 27, we clean the tank
and the small spot of cyano rapidly comes back.
Week 28, spreads a bit more,
but the tank largely looks the same.
Week 29, post EcoPods looks largely the same
as week 25 pre-EcoPods.
And to be frank, not a big surprise for one big reason.
Both the Dark Rubble
and this tank have rock that came from my 360.
And at one point, I dosed EcoPods of this tank.
Meaning these two experiment tanks very likely started
with EcoPods already in there.
They stabilized around a food source and even a megadose
of more only had a small effect.
Next up real reef.
This one bridges the gap between dry rock
and live rock by being cured in seawater.
Again looked great,
post 10 weeks of lighting in week 15.
But could not defend against the pest slurry
or orange diatoms.
Week 25, we left it pretty ugly.
We introduced the pods, diatoms dissipate,
sludge and cyano follows.
Something new happens in just a moment.
In week 27, we clean the tank.
Cyano comes back rapidly, but in week 28,
the cyano goes away on its own
and is replaced by golden brown slime
which in week 29 is now clearly matted bubble chrysophytes.
What all these examples keep telling us
is when one organism loses another will win.
And if we wanna win and not have to experience all this,
the best path is likely to assume all five uglies will be
in the tank and do what's required to beat them before
they're a problem rather than after.
An ounce of prevention rather than a pound a cure.
In this case, a single jar of pods up front
rather than 16 today.
Next the tank that started at all,
the original source of the dreaded orange diatoms,
sand from Steve's tank.
This tank is in a unique position
of being likely both the donor
of the problem and the solution.
Watching this tank,
you can see it's the only experiment tank
that had these diatoms,
but then solved them on their own as well.
However, it's not surprising
that the slower to replicate predator copepods
likely trailed the much faster,
replicating photosynthetic diatoms.
And why it took a while for them to catch up
once the lights were turned on.
Week 25, the tail end of fighting the diatoms,
hair algae, or filamentous form of chrysophytes in cyano
will likely result of a natural reset of that battlefield
once the diatoms were gone.
At this point, we dosed the EcoPods.
Week 26, sludge, cyano, and slime forms in the sand.
Week 27, we clean the tank.
Things look reasonably good with nothing rapidly emerging.
However, week 28, the cyano comes.
In week 29, the cyano gets worse.
The cyano is always in the tank,
but now it has the right conditions or lack of competition
which allows it to take over.
Looking at 12 of these there's one thing
that's abundantly clear to me.
Pods can prevent and solve orange diatoms
and likely some other pests in our tank.
Another, our hobby needs to evolve past that addiction
to treating, poisoning, starving off pest organisms
after the fact and find a new era where we can use what
we've learned from that to predict and prevent them
in the first place.
That's next, we take everything that we've learned
from all of these experiments to develop the next wave
of experiments in the pursuit of the perfect biome cycle.