Is my tank "sterile"?

[beviking]

I always treat my fish with formalin (25ppm) and salt, signs or no signs of ich. I'm wondering if this leads to a very limited bio-film community. I mean, no zooplankton or protist enhanced developement happening, right? Should I be concerned?
I currently have a few plants in non-fish, non-chemical quarantine to remedy my dilemma (paranoia?).

Thanks for the replies!

[wetmanNY]

First of all, of course you don't literally mean sterile. To see what you'd be going through to keep your tank sterile, look at the techniques in the Zebrafish Book, a guide for biologists using zebrafish as lab fish: http://zfin.org/zf_info/zfbook/zfbk.html

Formalin will knock back your plankton severely> It doesn't distinguish between good ciliates and Ich. In planted tanks, the plankton bounces back after a few weeks.

I think you're wise to be concerned.

[beviking]

Of course, "sterile" isn't meant to mean sterile. My tank is not planted, yet. A week of formalin treatment would eliminate any ciliate population, at least that's what it is intended to do. I was just hoping someone would have an easy answer so I could get out of doing my own research.;) Such a bother! *sigh*

Wetman said I'm wise, wetman said I'm wise...:rolleyes:

[wetmanNY]

But the ciliates are our friends, beviking. All except that nasty one, Ichthowhatshisname.. Paramecium. What about paramecium? All those little critters are eating algal cells, fungal spores, bacteria, detritus etc.

Just leaving the tank fishfree for a week or two eliminates parasites. A few have long-lasting spore stages: the sporidia (as in Neon Tetra Disease), and Camallanus juveniles-- no one knows how long they'll last outside a host's gut.

Check my links from "Plankton" and "Biofilm" in the Water folder at www.skepticalaquarist.com There are micropix of these organisms here and there on the web, to show you how bizarre and beautiful life is...

And is it BeviKing, as in "Syracuse's largest Pepsi distributor?" Or is it BeViking, as in "Be all the Viking you can be?"

These are the kinds of things that occupy a fading mind...

[beviking]

I know! I know! I know!
I know they are our friends, that is why I am concerned I have obliterated them. After horrible dealings with ich upon my initial entry into this hobby, (treating with chemicals in a flow through system uses a very high dosage but it is gone after an hour - typically. So I relied on the instructions on the carton "one treatment is all that is needed" even though I knew better!) I began nuking the fish I brought home from the LFS. It is only now that I'm introducing live plants and have a chance to introduce these critters that I realize my short-sightedness. That is, if I have obliterated them!

I prefer ...how different and beautiful life is..., bizarre has a negative connotation.

If I had to choose, it would be "Be all the Viking you can be", but it's actually my initials followed by a nickname earned in school due to my resemblance of a Viking (Long Blonde Hair, decent Physique...). So, it should be BEViking or BEviking.

BTW-if it wasn't for your links, I probably wouldn't be concerned about my bio-film. Thanks!:)
-Bill