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Post by twoluvcats on Apr 8, 2005 18:04:21 GMT -5
my new guppy tank is going to be planted. I've never cycled a planted tank before. Am I right that I can put the plants in now? How does having plants in the tank change the cycle (if at all)? Should I just keep the temp ~80, or higher...or will high temps harm the plants? I did seed the filter with a bio-sponge from another tank...so the cycling process has been slightly sped up. Any other advice?  |
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Post by amanichen on Apr 8, 2005 21:11:57 GMT -5
It really depends on whether or not you're good at keeping plants alive, and what cycling method you're using.
If you're doing a "fished" cycle, adding plants from the beginning will help things greatly by taking up extra chemicals before the bacteria catch up. Over time, the plants should transition to using nitrate and not ammonia/nitrite.
If you're doing a fishless cycle then add the plants after the cycle is done. Fishless cycles are generally more "intense" (with respect to pH disruption and the like) than "fished" cycles, it makes sense to add the plants in after a fishless cycle. Plants aren't nearly as sensitive as fish, but they are sensitive to pH changes, and I've experienced die-off before when moving plants between home and college. If you use this method you'll end up with a large bacterial colony, and a bunch of extra nitrate to feed the plants with. This is also good if you're not-so-good at keeping plants alive. They're ready to go with lots of food (nitrate and CO2) and all you need is the lighting for them.
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Post by twoluvcats on Apr 8, 2005 21:58:42 GMT -5
well, i guess i'm about to find out LOL The plants I have are pretty easy...anacharis, crypts, vals, jm, and hornwort. they've been in my 29 for ~3 weeks and are taking off...i already had enough new growth to harvest for the new tank. Since I seeded the filter...i'm going to cheat on the cycle...and do an "almost-fishless" cycle. (or snail-cycle LOL) I went ahead and planted the tank tonight. That actually transplanted enough ramshorn snails that i think between them and the bio-sponge, they oughtta kick the bacteria production in gear. Once the ammonia gets thru its spike, I can toss in a couple apple snails and that should finish out the cycle quickly. My small tanks I could get to cycle with seeded media in a couple days. off to test the tank and see where things are |
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Post by twoluvcats on Apr 12, 2005 12:33:54 GMT -5
WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!! I had nitrates show up on Sunday...so I guess it cycled already. Gotta love how much seeding with saturated media speeds things up. Last night I added 1 male and 2 female guppies. So I guess that's it for the cycle right now. The three guppies I added are all I plan on adding right now...so even if the bio-filter is a little malnourished, I shouldn't be taxing it for a while.  I'll try to post pics today. |
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