{"title":"Macroalgae \u0026 Amphipods","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"amphipods","title":"Amphipods","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEach order of amphipods contains roughly 75 amphipods. We no longer use the filter floss pictured in our image - each jar will contain one or more reef-safe nylon sponges.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLarger than copepods, amphipods are voracious detritovores - eating fish waste, leftover food, and some forms of nuisance algae. Due to their smaller size, they can easily get into hard-to-reach areas that your snails, urchins, and crabs can't reach. Amphipods can easily fit in the crevices of your rock, behind your corals, and in every nook and cranny. In fact, amphipods are benthic - meaning they live almost exclusively on surfaces. They spend nearly 24 hours a day crawling on your sand and rocks, eating all the stuff you don't want to be there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen it comes to picky fish and seahorses - amphipods are a favorite! Amphipods are large enough to easily see and hunt, and amphipods are highly nutritious. Finally, amphipods are a great boost to biodiversity. It's always a good idea to put as many species of helpful creatures in your tank as possible in order to consume resources that could otherwise be used by harmful pests. Amphipods fill this role beautifully, especially when combined with our other products.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNote on Shipping\/Acclimation\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmphipods are shipped in jars containing a reef-safe nylon sponge (we no longer use the white filter floss you see in the picture - it was too messy). The amphipods are strongly \"benthic,\" meaning the prefer a surface to cling to. They tend to burrow deep inside the sponge due to the stresses of shipping.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe suggest adding all the water in the jar, and placing the sponge in the sump or tank for a couple days. After a couple days, the amphipods will have migrated out of the sponge in search of food, and it can be removed if you'd like.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease note that we intentionally fill the amphipod jars only about 1\/2 of the way full with water. If part or all of the sponge is out of the water, it's perfectly fine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cvideo style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" controls=\"controls\"\u003e\n  \u003csource type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/videos\/c\/o\/v\/b912343180f4461b9bb26fffd316e16a.mp4\"\u003e\nYour browser does not support our video.\n\u003c\/source\u003e\u003c\/video\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dinkins Aquatic Gardens","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42566242861250,"sku":"","price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/2005\/2418\/files\/dinkins-aquatic-gardens-amphipods-default-title-34986974609602.png?v=1775186712"},{"product_id":"snacklerock-cycled-rock-seeded-with-copepods","title":"Snacklerock - Cycled Rock Seeded With Copepods","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe ship Snacklerock \u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003emostly submerged in water.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e No wet paper or paper towels - shipping in water is the best way to ensure the maximum amount of life makes it to your tank.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur Snacklerocks are cycled with live nitrifying bacteria and seeded with our three species blend of live copepods. Dinkins Snacklerock is ideal for starting a new tank, or for adding rock (and biodiversity) to an existing system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany reefers use dry rock to start their tanks, in an effort to keep pests out. The downside is that it can take weeks or months to fully cycle the rock, along with multiple purchases of copepods to fully seed them. On the other end of the spectrum, a number of reefers buy rock straight from the ocean. This rock is fully seeded and comes with copepods, but also has the potential to bring unwanted hitchhikers with them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur Snacklerock combines the best of both worlds. We source dry rock, which has never been in the ocean, and put it in a closed system. We add a substantial amount of live nitrifying bacteria and our own copepods (which are themselves grown in closed single-species systems). We let the rock stay in this system for several months,  allowing the bacteria to migrate into the rock's pores and the copepods to spread out and colonize all the rock as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDinkins Snacklerock comes with much of the biodiversity of ocean rock without the potential pests and hitchhikers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dinkins Aquatic Gardens","offers":[{"title":"3 lbs Rubble, White","offer_id":44847139815618,"sku":null,"price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/2005\/2418\/files\/Snacklerock.heic?v=1730078930"},{"product_id":"clean-chaeto","title":"Clean Chaeto Infused with Reef Snacklebox","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEach \"softball sized\" portion of chaeto weighs about 1\/4 pound and is packaged in a jar containing about 8 ounces of our Reef Snacklebox copepod blend.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChaetomorpha is a green, spaghetti-like macroalgae intended both for nutrient export and as a host for beneficial copepods and amphipods. Chaeto is great for removing nitrates and phosphates from your water naturally. Pods of all types also love to make their home in the fine, tangled strands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike most sellers who ship their chaeto merely damp in bags, we ship ours in rigid plastic jars. Each jar is filled with a generous portion of our Reef Snacklebox three species copepod blend. This keeps your chaeto wet and healthy during transport and provides a significant boost to your refugium's biodiversity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur chaeto is kept in fishless systems to keep it pest-free. These isolated systems contain only chaeto, fresh saltwater, copepods and amphipods. This minimizes the risk of any unwelcome hitchhikers and the beneficial pods help jump-start your refugium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan't Grow Chaeto? You Had the Wrong Strain\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are over 70 different species of Chaetomorpha macroalgae, and they all grow differently. The late Jake Adams of Reefbuilders refers to the two primary species available in the hobby as \"brillo\" and \"fine.\"* \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost people are familiar with the more difficult-to-grow \"brillo\" variety which forms extremely curly strands that tend to grow more densely interwoven with time. It grows more slowly and is quite a bit more finicky and particular of its growing conditions. When we tried growing this variety - the one that many vendors sell - we didn't have much luck either. If you've tried to grow chaeto and failed, there's a good chance that you had the \"brillo\" variety. It works well, but you have to hit its needs very specifically for it to thrive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe sell the much more forgiving and more rapidly-growing \"fine\" variety.\u003c\/em\u003e It tends to produce longer strands that are less curly and creates a mass that is less dense, so water flows through it better and prevents it from becoming a detritus trap. Our \"fine\" variety is also much more forgiving of light PAR, flow rates, and the like. If you haven't been able to grow chaeto in the past, give us a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSimply put the chaeto in an area of your sump with moderate flow and light it as brightly as possible - you can use simple shop lights from the hardware store or can go high tech with specially-designed refugium lighting. As the chaeto grows, it's helpful to dose it with additional trace elements like Brightwell Aquatics' ChaetoGro. Once your chaeto starts to overgrow your refugium, you'll want to remove and discard about half to make room for future growth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e*Reference https:\/\/reefbuilders.com\/2021\/03\/23\/chaetomorpha-strains-are-much-more-different-than-we-thought\/\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dinkins Aquatic Gardens","offers":[{"title":"One Softball Sized Portion; Infused with Reef Snacklebox","offer_id":47283766231234,"sku":null,"price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Two Softball Sized Portions; Infused with Reef Snacklebox","offer_id":47380724547778,"sku":null,"price":99.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/2005\/2418\/files\/FullSizeRender.heic?v=1773868084"}],"url":"https:\/\/dinkins-aquatic-gardens.myshopify.com\/collections\/copepods-amphipods.oembed","provider":"Dinkins Aquatic Gardens","version":"1.0","type":"link"}