Sorry. Silent cycle. You don't have fish in there yet then? Are you planning on adding any more plants?
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First Time Planted Tank Cycling: Algae(?) issue!
- Thread starter Derigriff
- Start date
No, no fish. I wasn't planning on adding more plants, only expanding the ones in there. If you think it's best however, I'll happily add more of any existing species to 'speed up' the spread.
The sessiliflora should grow pretty quickly. What I did was have a load of anacharis to get it going and then took it out after (as I don't like the look of it). But its a great plant for sucking up excess ammonia.
Which fertiliser are you using?
Which fertiliser are you using?
Retired Viking
Fish Connoisseur
Sorry for the late reply! Fertiliser-wise, i'm using a combination of Seachem root tabs in key areas, alongside a small dose of Seachem Flourish (not excel) for water-column feeders. As for the Anacharis, i'm not the biggest fan of its appearance, but i may get a couple of bunches if the current lot don't manage to square away the ammonia level in the next few days.
Frogbit and water sprite are good alternatives. I'm not a fan of anacharis myself.
I do have some floating Water Sprite, but it does seem to tangle up in the water lettuce (filter flow maybe a little strong).
There seems to be some nitrogen in the root tab ingredients, but there's ammonia in the water somehow, so it has to be coming from somewhere. Plant melt?
Well it seems i have a new problem now. I'm now 2 weeks in, and about to do a water change. Before that, i run some tests. ammonia test comes back 0 for the first time since the start (yay!!), but for some reason Nitrites have spiked like crazy (at least 5ppm according the the API test kit from what i understand). The nitrate test from API is incredibly fiddly, and im not sure i did it correctly, but it's showing a low amount (maybe 5-10?). I'm really confused what to do at this point. my tank seems to have decided that it's bored of doing a silent cycle and wants to do a fishless one instead what does this mean for stocking and such? i've got decent growth on many of the plants in there now, and i'm not sure what to do. Should i do a larger (75%?) water change now, or stick with around 30-50%? and what should i do now moving forward? Any help would be appreciated!
what does this mean for stocking and such? i've got decent growth on many of the plants in there now, and i'm not sure what to do. Should i do a larger (75%?) water change now, or stick with around 30-50%? and what should i do now moving forward? Any help would be appreciated!
Happy day,
Congrats on the evolution from a silent cycle to a fishless cycle. You are not experiencing a problem, unless its your blood count that's gone haywire. The aquarium into which you are pouring your heart, soul and money has presented you with an opportunity for success. There is a very old saying: that which can be measured can be managed. Effective management in aquariums generally takes time. I find it useful the have a long view. The tank is just two weeks old. Let it find a balance.
But perhaps an answer provided by a higher power would assuage concerns. So I slaughtered two goats and a chicken in the name of Santeria and asked Her what you should do. She beamed two images into my head...well, three, really, but the third made no contextual sense as it involved a roast beef sandwhich. But basically you could do a couple of things. First, you could prepare a sacrifice and toss in a couple of feeder guppies. They will add some ammonia. They may die. But they are inexpensive, and life is cheap, even if PETA disagrees. Second, you could continue to let the tank mature. Its only two weeks old. The bacterial culture is still settling in, and perhaps some of the plants will go through a melt stage. The feeder guppies won't mind the melt. Adding a plant today won't swing the numbers one way or another tomorrow. So I think patience....time needs to pass. By your own words the test kit is fiddly and the results are low. A sacrifice may be well received by the gods that govern such things, anyway.
Congrats on the evolution from a silent cycle to a fishless cycle. You are not experiencing a problem, unless its your blood count that's gone haywire. The aquarium into which you are pouring your heart, soul and money has presented you with an opportunity for success. There is a very old saying: that which can be measured can be managed. Effective management in aquariums generally takes time. I find it useful the have a long view. The tank is just two weeks old. Let it find a balance.
But perhaps an answer provided by a higher power would assuage concerns. So I slaughtered two goats and a chicken in the name of Santeria and asked Her what you should do. She beamed two images into my head...well, three, really, but the third made no contextual sense as it involved a roast beef sandwhich. But basically you could do a couple of things. First, you could prepare a sacrifice and toss in a couple of feeder guppies. They will add some ammonia. They may die. But they are inexpensive, and life is cheap, even if PETA disagrees. Second, you could continue to let the tank mature. Its only two weeks old. The bacterial culture is still settling in, and perhaps some of the plants will go through a melt stage. The feeder guppies won't mind the melt. Adding a plant today won't swing the numbers one way or another tomorrow. So I think patience....time needs to pass. By your own words the test kit is fiddly and the results are low. A sacrifice may be well received by the gods that govern such things, anyway.
The root tabs will indeed be releasing nitrogen, probably ammoniacal. @AdoraBelle Dearheart is at a similar stage with hers. She has been advised that theres no point measuring for nitrate whilst you have nitrites, as the nitrate test would pick up both. As you have no fish present, you could add some fish food to create some ammonia. As whilst your nitrobacter have plenty nitrites to be feeding on, the nitrosomonas still need ammonia to keep them going. The alternative as mentioned above is to offer a fishy sacrifice
Thank you both for the reply! So should i progress now as if i'm doing a fishless cycle, or should i continue on with the silent cycle and treat the rest as an extra? Not sure about the guppy genocide, though i may add some fish food if ammonia levels stay low.
goldfish_is_orange
Fish Fanatic
What a good-looking tank! I wouldn't have thought this was a "first planted tank" for anyone. You may have a gift
Well, Here's an update:
I added a bit of fish food as suggested, to just add a bit more ammonia to the tank (not very much, however). It seem that that wasn't enough though, as todays tests show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0? nitrates (still hate that test). I guess that means the bacteria died off then.
Despite that misstep, the plants seem to be growing well, so the initial silent cycle seems to be progressing successfully! When would be a good time to add a small number of hardy fish (i was thinking a small group of T. Hengeli)? I've heard that once plants are growing well, fish should be added very gradually, and the water quality carefully monitored. I've also added a few extra plants to add the extra oomph, so to speak .
I added a bit of fish food as suggested, to just add a bit more ammonia to the tank (not very much, however). It seem that that wasn't enough though, as todays tests show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0? nitrates (still hate that test). I guess that means the bacteria died off then.
Despite that misstep, the plants seem to be growing well, so the initial silent cycle seems to be progressing successfully! When would be a good time to add a small number of hardy fish (i was thinking a small group of T. Hengeli)? I've heard that once plants are growing well, fish should be added very gradually, and the water quality carefully monitored. I've also added a few extra plants to add the extra oomph, so to speak
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