Cycling and Plants...

[*Sarah*]

Ok, so I got a NEW 10 Gal that I'm planning to make into a planted aquarium :) I want only easy plants, at least to start out. SO, my question is, do I wait for my tank to cycle before adding plants, or will they help with the cycling process? THANKS for any input!

[Nautilus29]

somebody correct me if im wrong but I think you cycle first.

[Chrona]

Plants actually eat up ammonia, but I'm not sure how the balance works out. I've seen a few articles where the guy heavily plants his tank, puts some cycling fish in there, and only sees a minor ammonia spike. I guess it would slow down the cycling process though, technically, because the bacteria doesn't have as much ammonia.

[cocoa_pleco]

if its a hardy plant- no need to cycle

[sergo]

you can put them right off the bat. i put some in mine the day after i started cycling and i cycled my tank in 10 days. i was fishless cycling and adding ammonia at 12 hour intervals.

[*Sarah*]

Ok, so I'll wait till it cycles, which is fine.

Now, I heard something about cycling using Fish Food??? Is this possible? I realize I could get ammonia, but I don't have any right now and I do have food :) Also, our area is currently being hit by what is supposedly one of the biggest snowstorms of the year. BLEH!

[Chrona]

Ok, so I'll wait till it cycles, which is fine.

Now, I heard something about cycling using Fish Food??? Is this possible? I realize I could get ammonia, but I don't have any right now and I do have food :) Also, our area is currently being hit by what is supposedly one of the biggest snowstorms of the year. BLEH!

Yes, you can use fishfood, because it breaks down, but ammonia is much more accurate and faster to boot. It also doesn't make a mess.

I still haven't fixed the snowblower yet! 10 inches of snow is gonna own me tomorrow when I'm shovelling :(

[*Sarah*]

Oh I posted before you two..so, mixed opinions eh? I guess I just do what I want and see what works? lol

[sergo]

find some pure ammonia, it's cheaper than fish food and a hell of a lot faster.

[Chrona]

Oh I posted before you two..so, mixed opinions eh? I guess I just do what I want and see what works? lol

What I meant was that it certainly doesn't hurt the plants, as they take in ammonia as a nutrient. As for the fish, the cycling will take longer in a planted tank, but there won't be much of an ammonia spike if you have a lot of plants.

[*Sarah*]

So...if I was to add food, how much would I add? Like, a pinch, or 20 pinches?

[Chrona]

So...if I was to add food, how much would I add? Like, a pinch, or 20 pinches?

Noone knows, since it depends on the type of food, water temp, etc etc. Thats why using food is a bad idea lol :)

[*Sarah*]

Well, I'm kinda planning on using a couple of my Platys from my 40 gal to cycle my 10 gal if the food isn't going to work. I realize that some may see this as mean...but I have 5 of them in my 40 Gal, and I'd had 3 of them for cycling my 40 gal and they were just fine.

[cocoa_pleco]

try pure ammonia as someone else said

[*Sarah*]

lol, ok, gotcha Chrona. I guess I'll add a couple of platys then, and maybe a couple of plants :) I'm also going to add really good doses of Cycle to help things along

[Chrona]

lol, ok, gotcha Chrona. I guess I'll add a couple of platys then, and maybe a couple of plants :) I'm also going to add really good doses of Cycle to help things along

You could do the fishless cycle with the plants in there, and just aim for a higher ammonia concentration, since the plants will take in some though. It'll be faster that way, and you'll be able to introduce all your fish at the same time. In the meantime, your plants will do nicely with all the extra fertilizer

[*Sarah*]

Do they have pure ammonia at Walmart? Hmm, gonna have to look around for it, perhaps I'll try that. It's so strange, a couple of weeks ago I didnt even know it was possible to cycle without fish.

[*Sarah*]

lmao, my husband wonders if we could just pee in the tank? haha lol

[cocoa_pleco]

pure ammonia is the key! wal-mart and hardware stores often have it. MAKE SURE IT IS PURE AMMONIA, NOT MIXED WITH SOAP,DETERGENT,OR BLEACH!

[Chrona]

lmao, my husband wonders if we could just pee in the tank? haha lol

LOL

I guess.....that would probably work....although......:rolleyes:

Shake the bottles of ammonia. If they foam alot, then they contain surfactants. Usually the cheapest/sleeziest stores carry the non surfactant ammonia

[*Sarah*]

lol, well the peeing thing IS NOT going to happen..I mean, I'll have to put my hands in there YUK!

No worries I'll be looking for the pure stuff when it comes to Ammonia.

[cocoa_pleco]

to make sure its pure, shake it alot and see if theres alot of bubbles, if theres no bubbles and its clear, its pure