Copepods & Amphipods

Had salt tank for about a week and a half. I have a heater & 2 powerheads just noticed these small critters moving abt in the tank. Also a piece of live sponge. This is my first salt tank, and I'm still waiting 4 cycle to start/finish. I am wanting a reef/fish tank. I'm just confused I have brown/tan spots on glass and I've been reading and asking as much and testing 2x a week.

Basically I'm just trying 2 figure out where I'm at.

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Brown spots are diatoms, its still a cycling phase.. i prefer 1.5months of cycling, its very long, but much better.. 1mnth of no light and no sand, with very high flow and then i add dry sand and start with 1hr of light, then increase 30mints of lighting every day. I keep my lights on for only 6hrs. Also i prefer to cycle only liverocks in a dark tub.

 

What are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels? This will show you how far along the cycle is. There is no set time for a cycle so choosing "how long" your cycle is makes no sense. Also, it makes no difference to keep rock in a tub vs your tank. You want all your rock and sand in the tank that's cycling. Are you ghost feeding the tank to start the cycle? Post pics, brown spots are most likely diatoms which will dissappear once the silicates are consumed. Post your test results as well.