Fishless Cycling With Plants.... Help!

[fishfoo]

I have an Interpet Fishbox 60 (64 litres) and I set it up and stocked it well with plants 4 days ago. I have added Filter Start and Nutrafin as recommended to me. After taking a water sample my local pets at home today I discovered that ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are extremely high, is this correct? I am awaiting delivery of an API Test Kit so that I can monitor things daily. Can anyone offer advice on whether I have done things correctly so far and what I should do next?

 

[Tizer]

read up on the fishless cycle in the beginners resource section, then you will know what to do, all the info is there.

 

[the_lock_man]

I have an Interpet Fishbox 60 (64 litres) and I set it up and stocked it well with plants 4 days ago. I have added Filter Start and Nutrafin as recommended to me. After taking a water sample my local pets at home today I discovered that ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are extremely high, is this correct? I am awaiting delivery of an API Test Kit so that I can monitor things daily. Can anyone offer advice on whether I have done things correctly so far and what I should do next?

It depends on what the ingredients are in the Filter Start. Ordinarily, I would not expect to see ammonia in a fish tank unless (A) there are fish in it or (B) you had put some bottled ammonia in it. It might be that Filter Start has ammonia and nitrite in it, and that's why the tests showed those levels up.

However, it might also be that the employee at P@H is incompetent, and didn't do the test correctly. But then that's my nature - I don't trust a test result, unless I've done it myself! There's no way of knowing, without seeing what the employee did. Did they use paper strips or a liquid test kit?

How are you planning on proceeding from here? FIsh-in, or pukka fishless, with bottled ammonia?

 

[littlenemo]

fishfoo. i was given that nutrafin cycle stuff its rubbish does not work. i have a full stocked 5 foot tank with plants and im cycleing with pure ammonia and its going perfect. that nutrifin stuff just puts bactiria in the was but there is no source of nitrate so it just dies belive me its a waste of time.

 

[fishfoo]

Thank you both for your responses. It had not occurred to me to question the competence of staff member at Pets at Home, but you are right. He used the API test kit. I have no idea how ammonia is present in the tank, other than, could it be decomposing plants? I have just removed 2 plants that were dying and had a slimy film on the some of the dying leaves. Strangely, when I turn the filter on high or when I do a water change, the water gets very frothy, as though it has fairy liquid in it, is that normal?

 

[Tizer]

no not normal, maybe soap from your hands?

 

[fishfoo]

possibly, I hope not! Does that mean I have to clean everything out completely? I just rinsed the ornament that I have in there as I may not have done so properly before putting it in the tank the first time.