Step 1 is to make sure that brine shrimp hatcher is clean and free from bacteria. A dilute solution of bleach may be used, rinse thoroughly before the next hatch.

After which, fill with Ro or Pro Metalex water if possible.

If neither of these are available, bottled water may be another option or treated tapwater at least.

Leave the water to reach room temperature, magnum 20C. If the room is cold, an auxiliary small heater may be required such as the Hydor Mini heater.

Keep the brine shrimp hatcher out of direct sunlight, brine shrimp will naturally swim towards light. Hence the nutritious yolk sac will be consumed far quicker by the shrimp, hence the nutritional value will fall.

Now the water is being aerated and it's time to add the salt at a rate of around 35g per litre. For best results use a high grade sea salt and an hydrometer or refractometer. Table salt and any other ionized salt gives poor results! This is the point where most failed hatches occur. Brine shrimp eggs aren't cheap, in comparison, a tenner on a decent spec hydrometer is!

Keep aerating the water to mix the salt.

When using the hydrometer, aim for a salinity of 1.019-1.020. I prefer 1.019 for hatching, salinity will rise over the hatching period due to evaporation, especially in smaller water bodies.

Will point out that a hydrometer is calibrated at 24C and temperatures either side of that will affect the accuracy of the reading. For brine shrimp however I wouldn't worry too much.

Measuring salinity levels with a refractomer is far more accurate. Look for a model with ATC (Auto Temperature Calibration).

Turn of aeration when taking a measurement. Make sure that the hydrometer is not touching the sides and no air bubbles are attached to it which will give a false reading.

Continue to aerate the salt mix for a further two hours, recheck salinity and adjust if need be. If the hydrometer is sitting too low, add more salt. If sitting too low, add fresh water.

Turn of the pump and add the brine shrimp eggs, a heaped teaspoon per litre should be the maximum to ensure a good hatch rate.

Allow the eggs to re-hydrate in the salt solution for one hour then commence aeration. Fine tune the airstone with a valve or clamp to provide adequate water circulation, but not a Jacuzzi. Aim to keep the eggs in circulation, that is all that is required. If eggs start to collect around the cone above the water surface, turn the air flow rate down!

Ok Your shrimp have hatched, turn off the pump and move to a sink for convenient collection.

After five minutes or so the hatched shrimp will collect at the bottom of the cone and the egg shells at the surface.

NB. There may be a few unhatched eggs at the base of the cone. To get rid of these drain off an egg cup full of the water. If there are lots of unhatched eggs, you may be harvesting too early or haven't provided optimum hatching conditions!

If the hatch is particularly thick with artemia, it is possible to aid seperation of the egg shells and live shrimp.

Put the hatcher in a dark are with a small torch beam directed at the bottom. The artemia are phototronic and will swim to the light.