Amanda M

Hi there - thanks for stopping by! This is my first marine tank and I need help. I'm currently mid cycle with my nitrites on the way down and lights still off, so I would like to get some copepods and microcrustacians started. The purpose of this is to preemptively help battle the upcoming "ugly" phase, as BRS suggests. I could buy a small zoa colony or something (as suggested by my LFS), but I want to turn lights on very slowly, so this won't do. I could also buy some live rock but I feel like it would introduce more trouble than good. I could "cook" it in the dark for a while but I can't find any live rock for sale. I would happily cultivate these critters separately but I can't find a way to start them - what do you experienced reefers suggest? I want to start my lights slowly and get the pods in first without introducing extra complications TIA