Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Kristen wrote:
goldfish tanks and was about to give up, but when I decided to set up
my first tropical tank, I came to Usenet to read how to do it (the web
didn't exist yet.) I learned about the nitrogen cycle and used

Actually, it did exist. It was minute compared to what it is now, but it
was there. I was using Mosaic at the time to "surf". :)


--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Danae wrote:
Does this sound like a reasonable plan? If I was going with a peaceful

I think your plan is great, and I for one appreciate your concern for the
well-being of your fish.

--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

How about for unplanted tanks? Does cycling have a place in those?
A lot of people who post here asking questions about plants don't really
have planted tanks. They have standard fishtanks that they plan to put a
few live plants in. (Often choosing plants completely unsuited for their
light levels, if not for aquariums in general.) =A0 I suspect the
original poster might have been one of those, since his main concern was
not wanting to have the tank sitting there empty for weeks and weeks. A
true planted tank isn't empty, even if there's no fish in it. :-)
Leigh



I think people make the cycle more difficult than it needs to be
regardless of planted or non planted tanks. I have never pre cycled a
tank just started out with a small fish load and some gravel to seed the
tank. Even without the gravel I have never had any trouble with the
process if I don't overload the tank to start out with. As far as
plants go I would have to think that some of the bacteria is clinging to
them when they are added to the tank so again the tank is seeded. This
is just my opinion tho.

Vicki

On a personal note I think a planted tank is healthier for the fish. I
have kept fish in a non planted tank for a long time till this past
winter when I started adding live plants. Now I believe that there is
more of a balance and my plants are growing like weeds, also I have
noticed fish spawning that never did before.

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

no, thats not true--im the original poster =A0 =A0 i didnt mention
wanting a tank full of fish right away =A0 =A0 i just asked if plants
should be included when cycling a new tank
but having watched the thread, i guess what i will do is use some gravel
from my mates tank, cut the sponge in his filter in half and put it in
my tank, add some of that ager product, add a limited number of plants
and check the ph a few days later =A0 =A0 if all is well i will add a
few fish and see how we go
how does that sound as a plan?



Better yet just swap out his sponge for your new one. That way you get
all his nice happy bacteria, he gets a new sponge filter and both of
y'all are happy. Add a few fish to feed the bacteria, some low/moderate
light plants like amazon swords and enjoy your tank. Just remember to
feed the plants and provide them with a nice full spectrum light to
grow. Leave the expensive lighting CO2 stuff alone till you are ready
for that part of the hobby. Personally I don't use that stuff and all
is well. Also keep in mind that many fish don't like extreme lighting
anyways.

Vicki

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Better yet just swap out his sponge for your new one. That way you get
all his nice happy bacteria, he gets a new sponge filter and both of
y'all are happy. Add a few fish to feed the bacteria, some low/moderate
light plants like amazon swords and enjoy your tank. Just remember to
feed the plants and provide them with a nice full spectrum light to
grow. Leave the expensive lighting CO2 stuff alone till you are ready
for that part of the hobby. Personally I don't use that stuff and all
is well. Also keep in mind that many fish don't like extreme lighting
anyways.

Vicki

OK, thats an improvement on my plan Vicki, thanks.

On the subject of lights and plants: the tank is 75 gallon (US), 4' long
and has space for 3 tubes. I plan to start off with a modest number of
plants, but hope to develop this into a heavily planted tank as time goes by
(I work in a tree nursery, so love plants and the challenge of aquatic
plants seems like a potential consuming hobby). Any recommendations on the
combination of tubes I should buy?

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Better yet just swap out his sponge for your new one. That way you get
all his nice happy bacteria, he gets a new sponge filter and both of
y'all are happy. Add a few fish to feed the bacteria, some low/moderate
light plants like amazon swords and enjoy your tank. Just remember to
feed the plants and provide them with a nice full spectrum light to
grow. Leave the expensive lighting CO2 stuff alone till you are ready
for that part of the hobby. Personally I don't use that stuff and all is
well. Also keep in mind that many fish don't like extreme lighting
anyways.

Vicki

OK, thats an improvement on my plan Vicki, thanks.

On the subject of lights and plants: the tank is 75 gallon (US), 4' long
and has space for 3 tubes. =A0 =A0 I plan to start off with a modest
number of plants, but hope to develop this into a heavily planted tank
as time goes by (I work in a tree nursery, so love plants and the
challenge of aquatic plants seems like a potential consuming hobby). Any
recommendations on the combination of tubes I should buy?



You sound a lot like me. My husband has a full service garden center
and after messing with ponds for a while I decided to do the planted
aquarium thing. I have a 55g myself with the factory hood on it. I
only have low/moderate light plants and use two 15w 10,000K deep reef
lights. They are for coral and plant use and get the light down good
for my deep tank. If you plan on only growing similar plants than that
is all you will need. Just make sure that you read the label on the
tubes first and make sure that they are full spectrum and not acnic
(sp?) bulbs. You can even try a 50/50 bulb on the third spot for a
bulb. It will not do much for the plants but will really bring out the
colour of your fish.

If you plan on growing higher level lighting plants than there are folks
in here that know more about that.

Vicki

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Does this sound like a reasonable plan?

Yes. It sounds like the safe way to set up a tank like this.

And I would use the filter material from your other tank, even though it's
small and lightly stocked. Can't hurt!



Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Include plants when cycling tank?
 

Kristen wrote:
Actually, it did exist. It was minute compared to what it is now, but it
was there. I was using Mosaic at the time to "surf". :)

Hmm, I don't remember anything about it before 1990...

Your post said 10 years ago, which would put it *after* 1990. FTR:
http://www.w3.org/History.html

--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

A lot of beginners don't even apprentice about the nitrogen cycle, or that even afterwards the aeon you charge to be accurate to add angle gradually. Plants, on the added hand, can acclimate bound to alteration levels of ammonia. The buried catchbasin will aswell be abundant added affectionate of bad water change schedules.

I agree with fish guy. Unless you are housing landscaping fish like most cichlids or fancy goldfish that uproot everything, live plants are more pleasing to the eye. Its a personal preference though.

Some say adding certain plants during cycling can slow down the process, but I can't remember the scientific reason why.