Kirklanp's Micro Tank Thread!!!

You don't really "lose" salt so no worries. Just wipe the crystalizing gunk off the tank lid with a damp paper towel. This leads me to also mention that when your water evaporates you should be sure you are topping off your tank with salt-free water. Even though the water is going away your salt is not so if you top off with salt water you will increase your salinity way too high.

 

and make sure the fresh water you use to top off is ro/di not, i repeat NOT tap water.

 

I do top off with bottled water, a little expensive but ill use a whole bottle in about a week. We picked this rock out and i paid like 9 dollars. It is awesome. I bought the live rock last night it is a medium piece of live fiji rock that is cultured i think? But everything is great. I do believe the tank is almost thru cycling. I have mostly replaced any water that was cycling now with already matured and cycled water from LFS. Still have to check levels and parameters. About another 2 weeks and I believe everything will fine. Posting pictures of the aqua-scape a little later.

 

mature and cycled water from lfs? from their display tanks? check the params. and if theyre giving you all this help, ask for a handful of sand too....itll help seed you tank with good stuff.
on another note, bottled water still has things in it (could be spring water). try using distilled or read on the bottle to make sure its reverse osmosis at the very least.

 

A week into it i was given a 2 gallon bag of water and about 6 snails. So i replaced the water and did a good 40% water change with that. Then I put 8 lbs of live rock and the guy gave it to me in a 3 or 4 gallon bag full with water from tanks there. Once again replaced water with already cycled water from lfs. Then bought a green chromis damsil and anothere 1 gallon of water. I am in the process of trying to get a good hand full or too of there display sand in the tank.




I have a BIG ??? The live rock and everything is doing great. Great coraline on it and little critters out the wazoo. BUT I noticed this morning when light were on after i got out of my early class that there was very small microscopic critters on the glass. Looks like little cells running around. They will bounce around of the glass. Puzzles me though i just hope theres nothing bad with them being here. Just let me know lol...

 

Just so you know, you are probably not going to be able to keep a pair of clowns in that small of a tank.

 

Still debating. Thanks for your info... i am wondering what to keep. Loving the chromis though.

 

Critters on the glass are a good sign. There should be microscopic, or a bit larger, copepods and things living in your water when you have a healthy tank. Filter feeders will eat these things as well as some fish (depending on the critter). So don't worry about them.

 

Do you possibly know what i might be looking at?

 

Possibly copepods. They're awesome to have!!