First The Water, Or First The Gravel ?

[heikki]

hello,

I'm about to start a fishless cycle in a brand new tank. I have gravel to put on the tank floor.

Would you say it's better to first add water to the tank and then the gravel, or the other way around ?


And I read some conflicting opinions on whether you could already have plants in it during the cycle. It sure would make it nicer to look at.. Is it recommended to wait with the plants until the cycle's done, or is it fine to put at least a few plants already ?


thanks for your replies
heikki doeleman

 

[KrystaK]

Rinse the gravel. (Dump it in a bucket and run water over it for about 5 minutes, make sure to shift the gravel so all the dust and small floating particles are rinsed out.)
Put the gravel into the tank, place any decorations you want into the tank. (Including plants - though be sure you have a plant supplement if the tank is uncycled and there are no fish about to produce waste) - Others may disagree but live plants in a tank while it is cycling is fine in my opinion.
Add water. Be sure to treat your water with whatever chemicals you will be using later when you get fish. Put a plate on the bottom of the tank and aim to hit the plate when you add the water, otherwise you will have an crater where your water hit the gravel.
You should be set

 

[KuronoEnyo]

I use eco complete so there was need to run water over it, I placed the gravel inside my tank first, Then planted all my plants, then added in the water slowly using a bowl (this way I didn't cause an eruptions trust us you'll want something to hit instead of the gravel when adding your water), Then on my Sanded side, I washed the sand multiple times then after enough water was in my aquarium I started to add in wet sand slowly and very carefully, after having about an inch layer, I started to add a rock barrier to keep it from the gravel side.

Also I kept my plants in during my fish less cycle I found out though that my tank was completely cycled after 4 weeks which was amazing in my opinion since I tend to hear it takes as long as a month and half. But I still waited two more weeks while still feeding the tank some fish food to grow up some amonia and waste.