Copepods are indeed fantastic for any reef tank. When you start seeing the little buggers on your aquarium glass (in the slower flow areas), it's one sign that your tank is maturing and likely able to sustain a wider variety of corals and other animals. However, they can be hard to establish for some. At his website, a well-known online vendor of pods states that if your tank is 'ready' for them, one batch should start a thriving colony, and if your tank isn't ready, you can toss in bag after bag and species after species with nothing to show for it. That may not be true for everyone, but it was my experience for several months. I was very excited when they finally appeared (and that they have stuck around since.) I have no firm proof, but I believe one factor was when I stopped routinely vacuuming the sand of detritus on a weekly basis. Now I rarely disturb the sand, only occasionally moving a bit from here to there. I've had a tiny fuge in the sump as well the entire time, but it didn't seem to make any difference until I started occasionally squirting live phyto into the substrate below the macroalgae. Now it appears that quite a few pods are being blown into the DT by the return pump, from where they appear on the glass. Perhaps you can create a tiny fuge in your Reefer by putting some chaeto in a media compartment and adding a light.
