i was going to culture rotifers but because of my mandarin i have decided to do copepods. what can ppl who are doing this tell me about setup and logistics and good reading

well the podcast we did is a great start..
it outlines the essentials to culturing pods.

the biggest thing is to get a large enough tank ike 5 gallon or so with materials in there for the pods to breed in, this too was mentioned in the show.

then just make sure feed them.. :)
they are pretty easy. you just cant culture them in the densities you can with rotifers

i am adding a 100 gal sump to my 180 gal and was thinking of doing a deep sand bed with live rock in there and maybe doing some copepods in there. what do you guys think. i will have a mag 12 as a return pump and a ati bm200 and a heater. are there any issues with this setup in regards to the added denitrifying capacity or the additonal room for copepods? since its a rubbermaid container it will be difficult to section this area off so will that be a problem?

ah.. that a different story.. copepods will grow there all by them selves you dont need to do anything there.. :)

this will be just like mine.. :)
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/3/IMG_5129.jpg

so i assume that works well for you. does the eggcrate sufficiently block whatever you are trying to block? i talked to a local club member and he said that he was having problems keeping the algae in check and out of pumps and skimmer. do you have this problem and if so what do you do for that? can you tell me more specifically how you have it laid out. thanx

actually its really simple..
the whole fuge is open
the egg create at the back and on the right side go all they way down to the sand. the one on the left is only a few inches deep. the point of the egg create is to contain the macro and any large things i may put in there (which i haven't done, it was just future planning) this keeps everything large away from the pumps
the front and left are just LR and macro

if you have more questions let me know

so for the sand bed i should go for the same depth as what is in the tank about 4-6in.? how do you keep the eggcrate from falling over? thanx

my sand bed is 7" of southdown sand

the egg crete is cut on the sides to match the ridges and contour of the sides, then they are all strapped to the center using zip ties

do you have lighting for the sump because of the algae or is lighting in the room sufficient? last question should i take the pre filter off of the mag pump so copepods can get back to the display

yes, and yes.
i use 1 lights of america 65w PC light (i have another one but its not working right now)
the light is there for the macro

and yes, removing the filter will help the pods get shot back up to the tank

If you are really interested, you can also do "off-line" refugia to culture pods. I happen to like (well, my seahorses actually) the munnids. I culture them in 10 gallon tanks with various methods of "Pod Condos".

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/bugs.jpg

These are the buggies I keep. Here's a close-up:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/isopod.jpg

I use various methods of pod piles, macro, even tupperware filled with rubble and drilled holes.

If you get into culturing them, you have some work to do. You have to siphon out all of the larger, gammarus amphipods, who will eat the isopods. Or, if you want these big fatties, just let the culture "go". They will eventually outcompete all other copepods and isopods to be the king of the glass box.

This is just a molt:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/molt.jpg

Dave