One thing that APBreed wants to do is to make it easier for you to be able to feed your aquarium inhabitants with the proper nutrition that they require for optimum growth and longevity.  One new item that they demonstrated at MACNA 2011 was a simple-to-put-together rotifer culturing vessel.

This setup is comprised of a 5-gallon food-grade pail, PVC pipe, a filter-floss standpipe, and airline tubing.  When assembled, it resembles a “T” shape with the filter standpipe standing centered vertically in the pail.  One nice feature is that the assembly snaps onto the lip of the bucket thereby locking it into place and centering the standpipe in the container.

The pail is then filled with saltwater to a pre-determined level and an air pump is then attached to the standpipe. The container is dosed with rotifers and RGComplete (Rotigrow Plus with ammonia control and pH buffering) and allowed to aerate while the rotifers grow and consume the phytoplankton.  The concept is that the bubbling airline continually mixes the rotifers and phytoplankton in the the bucket and the filter floss captures the waste produced by the rotifers.  Ammonia control keeps the ammonia levels down and the pH buffer keeps the entire culture at the optimum pH for growing rotifers.  Harvesting is as simple as dipping out an amount of the rotifer culture and feeding it to your reef or your fry.  Saltwater is then replaced and redosed with RGComplete.  Every couple of days the filter-floss standpipe is removed and washed to get rid of the rotifer waste that has accumulated.

APBreed believes this is an easier-to-use setup than the standard 2-liter containers that most hobbyists use when culturing rotifers for their reefs or their fish fry. The hobbyist will soon be able to buy the setup as either a kit or just the filter standpipe.