This is my first post on R2R. long time follower but only recently created an account. Anyways, my question is; if copepods eat phytoplankton and maybe detritus, why would we need to dose phytoplankton? I have had my aquarium for 2 years but before that I've had multiple tanks and have been in the hobby off and on for 10 or so years. I have always had an abundance of pods without really trying to keep them. I never dosed phyto or anything else until this year. Pods seem to thrive in our aquariums so why do we need to dose extra phyto? Isn't it already abundant in our tanks and what's being pulled out of skimmers (along with other things)? I have noticed that some tanks without skimmers look green or brown which leads me to think that it isn't a bacteria bloom like others may assume but an abundance of phytoplankton.