rotifers have nothing to do with it, rotifers are used to feed newborn fish.
All pods are small, no larger than 100 microns. Tiggers are the largest and reproduce the fastest, tisbe and apocyclops are other good choices, smaller, and reproduce slower. Don't judge by the size, size doesn't matter in this case.
You can turn off your machines if you want when you add the copepods, to give them a chance to hide before being eaten. I don't turn things off anymore, I just add them.
You need a type of grow light for phyto (a pure white light won't work), even a cheap $20 plant grow light will work. If you don't have one, you can put your culture in the window in direct sun path, that works too.
I just add a little phyto every few days to my tank. There are no rules in this hobby, don't worry about exact timelines and exact percentages, you can't overdose pods or phyto. Some people never add pods or phyto, some add it often,some add it infrequently, you will find a way that works for your tank.
There are lots of videos on youtube for culturing both phyto and pods, check out a few of them to get different idea's from different people, there's always more than one way.
dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
www.reef2reef.com
