I have been in the past been BOTH a store owner and a hobbyist. I am currently a hobbyist that now has a 120 gallon drilled tank with sump, uv sterilizer, protein skimmer and MH lighting.

I have more than 20 years as a hobbyist that has imported fish directly from Indonesia, Red sea, Hawaii, Philippines and fiji. I have business contacts and friends that deal with and keep Marine Aquatics at various skill levels.

To make it very clear, my presence here is strictly as a hobbyist and I will not endorse or promote any one supplier but simply share my experience with those who wish advice.


Your direct attack on my position here was unprovoked and I can only anticipate that your aggressive questioning is because you have seen some of my websites that I have designed for various businesses related to the hobby. My business is currently www.dunweb-designs.com, feel free to check it out.

Moderators: Sorry if this post violates any terms and conditions but I felt it necessary to clarify my position and my intention here.


Chris

now that we have that out of the way....:lol:
I am planning on getting an Aqua Clear AC 50 or 70 from J&L (unless someone has one they want to sell cheap) and making it into a refugium. Once i stock that with some pods/rubble substrate etc, how long until the pods start to reproduce? I gues what i am getting at is; i put the mandarin in my tank where he starts gobbling my pods (that are plentiful at this point), how long until the refugium is producing a sustainable amount of food?

Personally I'd have your fuge up for about a month. I have no idea how fast/slow pods produce, but with a good number to start and a safe place for them to do their thing (the fuge) you should have a good population going.

feed your refuguim a few small drops a day. You will notice a increase in pods in about a month or so http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...t_ID=rm-pfl006

thanks to all for the tips, i will do a mixture of all the suggestions and keep an eye on him after i get him home!