Plants, pH and cycling...

[Orion]

Hiya all,

My 92 gal is in the midst of cycling. I figured while waiting I would decorate. I dropped in a really nice piece of Malaysian driftwood and being that it is so heavy to begin with, it sank like a rock so I don't have to worry about it floating around while it's absorbing water. It did, however, discolor the water a tad but I suppose that will eventually clear up with filtration and water changes.

My next step is to aquascape with real plants. How to plants fare in a cycling tank with the high levels of ammonia and eventually nitrites?

Also, with regards to pH, what causes pH to rise during cycling? Is it the ammonia? I have a pH at ~6.9 right out of the tap. I just took a pH reading of the tank which has been cycling for about a week and the pH has flown up to 7.5 or more! I can only think that the ammonia levels being so high are affecting my pH. Though I had thought it would make the water more acidic if anything.

Any ideas/suggestions?

[Alfcea]

Hi there,

Yes, ammonia is a base and if you are adding pure ammonia, it will rise the pH of your water. As soon as it is finished cycling, the pH will stabilize at a lower value, though.

And plants in a cycling tank cope very well. In fact, because they can use both ammonia and nitrates as sources of nitrogen for their own growth, they make the water safer for fish sooner.