Long time aquascaper, but this is my first Opae Ula tank.
I have a 2.1 Gallon tank cycling now and I have a few questions.
Some background about the tank:
My substrate, salt, chaeto, super moss, and calcium carbonate rocks are from supershrimp.com. I intend to also purchase snails and shrimps from supershrimp as well. Substrate is 1/2-3/4in deep, I added two thoroughly cleaned dragon stones and a thoroughly washed natural sea fan. The light is from buceplant and intended for aquariums, on a 12 hour cycle. Distilled water turned brackish to specification, salinity is in range (1.010SG)
- As an aquascaper, I love a clean look. So I buried the calcium carbonate rocks in the sand- will this still appropriately buffer the water?
- I can't find anywhere on the website or forum if the MTS make for a healthier tank in general? I don't necessarily want snails but if they mostly burrow I wouldn't mind them, especially if they eat poop and clean the substrate and generally would make for happier shrimp. 10 feels like a lot for this small of a tank, but I'm reading over and over that it is fine?
- Once I see algae, I will add the shrimp. Would it be okay to start with 15 so I can actually see them from the start? This set up has a lot of hiding spots.
- I am a compulsive tank cleaner, once established- is it okay to scrape the algae off of the glass for a clean look so long as I don't touch the substrate or rocks?
- The lid for this tank is a flush mount lid, with little silicon feet on the edges, so there is about a 1/16in gap. Is that good or do I want to remove the feet so it's flush and just air it out once a month or so?