Cycling a new tank

[Kryten]

Can anyone tell me if it is best to cycle a tank with or without plants?

I am going to start doing a fishless cycleshortly

Can anyone leave some tips on the best way to cycle a tank please

Thanks

 

[Gibbo]

I've cycled with plants before, no probs at all.. I always do fishless cycling with some used tank water and then follow the golden rules, use test kits to check perameters are correct (usually takes 2 weeks or so) then add a few fish at a time (every coupla weeks or so), your plants may benefit from partial water changes at a sooner date though. Usually I do first water change at 6 weeks after cycling started, but in a planted tank I'd do first (small) water change after 2-3 weeks (maybe 10% or so) and then same every week, gradually increasing amount after a few months. Some tapwater contains minerals that plants love, others are pretty 'lifeless'. Most plants benefit from CO2 systems, but don't forget to add trace elements to the water as well, such as Iron supplement etc. Test your tapwater for high Phosphate and Nitrate readings using test kits (Sera do a Phosphate test kit that is invaluable for planted setups). If these are present in high amounts in tapwater you may get algae problems. RO water (reverse osmosis) will remove these elements, you can then add trace elements of your own to the 'pure' water that you have. Always do this before adding fresh RO water to your tank. Look out for the new range of plantfoods, trace elements and supplements from Kent, they really do look excellent

 

[gadazobe]

The last time I did a fishless cycle I used pure ammonia - shake the bottle - if it froths, then it's not pure. You can get pure ammonia in most hardware stores. I added just enough ammonia to get a really high (not off the scale) reading when I tested the water. I tested the water daily for ammonia and nitrite, noting how many days passed before the ammonia level decreased. Once the level decreased, I did the whole process again, noting how many days passed before the levels decreased. By the time I did this 4 times, the level of ammonia was 0 after 1 day, but the nitrite was still high. I waited till the nitrite level was 0 (about 4-5 days later), added ammonia one last time just to make sure the cycle was completed - after half a day both ammonia and nitrite levels were 0. I did a 90% water change taking care to keep the gravel covered in water, filled up with declorinated water at the right temp and went and bought 6 fish (the tank is 180L) None of them died and in fact I still have a couple of them 2.5 years later. BTW - about half way through the cycle, I added a load of plants. The whole process took 3-4 weeks to complete and I have never had a death due to an ammonia or nitrite spike in that tank (crosses fingers and runs to knock on wood ) I added fish at a rate of 2 or 3 every two weeks until I had the amount I wanted. Hope this helps.

 

[Doohic722]

I will be getting my tank set up in a couple weeks or so, I am trying to learn as much as I can in the mean time.

I have a 55gallon tank
Magnum 350 pro (has bio wheel), it will overturn my water around 6 times an hour
I have soft water, (havnt got the actual parameters yet on the water)
I'll be ordering a testing kit soon.

Ive been looking through how to cycle the tank, I came across this post, it seems to be very good info.. (concerning gadazobe post)

is there anything anyone else would add to this? or change?
If I am to use plants in the cycling process are there any other additives I need to use?

then theres additives? water changes? what do I do to have declorinated water? should i get some of the lfs water to help start?

there is so much to this its overwhelming >>>>runs screaming away<<<<<<<

 

[Doohic722]

hmm, any thoughts? or should I just search more and find some articles on cycling a fresh water tank

 

[gadazobe]

You can also cycle using fish food - I even know someone who used a piece of bacon fat. Put in some food. Without fish, it won't get eaten and will rot causing ammonia and later nitrite. Wait until the cycle has finished, do a water change and go get your fish. If you add your plants towards the end of the cycle, they will use the nitrate produced from the nitrite to grow. I have a heavily planted tank and once every 2 weeks I add a little liquid fertilizer especially for aquariums. Hope this helps.

 

[Doohic722]

thanks gadazobe,

so your saying follow what you originally said in this post, and on top of that I can add fish food to help the process

how much fish food and how often? just once or over a period of time?

and at the end of the cycle do I really change 90% of the water? just seemed like alot to me... but I am a noob

thanks

 

[gadazobe]

Use either the ammonia or the food method, not both. Do the water change at the end of the cycle, don't worry the good bacteria live in the filter material, in the gravel and on the ornaments, not only in the water.

 

[Doohic722]

ok, sounds good, one last question, do you recommend the ammonia way or the fish food way?

 

[gadazobe]

Personally I prefer using ammonia - once the tank has cycled you can add quite a few fish first time. I added 6 to start with, then gradually added more.

 

[Doohic722]

thanks alot gadazobe, I am going to go with the ammonia method and try to follow your directions as best I can.

yea Im getting closer and closer to being able to start my tank with confidence..

All thanks to Everyone here

 

[gadazobe]

Good luck and keep us posted