So, what would be needed to make a 'pod hatchery'? I have a couple of spare 80 litre tanks in a rack in the garage - I thought I might convert one or both into some sort of hatchery for pods etc - would I need to bother skimming? I was thinking of just live rock, no corals, T8 (low) light and an internal filter minus pads for a bit of circulation - your thoughts?

my thoughts sounds good do i det some

They seem to love living in foam from mechanical filters and algae too.. definitely some LR would be good but i think it'd be worth chucking in some foam too seeing how cheap it is and that it won't really matter if it becomes a bit of a nitrate sink.

My pods are culturing in a 2L glass flask filled with ASW. I have an airpump with a rigid air-line circulating the water. It sits infront of T8s that are on for 12hrs/day. Lighting for Copepods is not required, mine just sits with my Phyto cultures.

You can culture copepods in anything, they eat crap. Put some in a tank and throw in a cube of shrimp every couple of weeks. Keep the water circulating with an air-hose and you will be fine.

Warning though. They don't reproduce very quickly. Nothing like rotifers do.

I saw someone that was using a large HOB filter to grow their pods in - the one with the pump sucking the water into the filter and returning by waterfall, apparently this stops the pods getting munched by the pump as they return to the tank at night.

I will try to find it and post the link.

Wouldn't look too good hanging off the back of a RSM, though!

mine just grow like mad in my sump.Its like a swarm of angry bees in there.