My first real aquascape. What should be the next steps?

[joelfernandes]

Hello all.

After a few months of planning and playing with hardscape, I finally concluded my 75-gallon aquascape.

I used about five 9-liters bags of ADA Amazonia v2, and as expected, it resulted in a huge ammonia spike. I did use a canister filter with media from another tank, but that didn’t do much.

My question is: do I need to do water changes? Or should I just leave it and wait for the cycle to complete? I have no fish in the tank at the moment.

Thank you!

 

[Wills]

Looks great! Going to grow in really nice as well.

With that much soil I'd do water changes in the George Farmer/Tropica method - 1 per day for the first week, 1 every other day for week 2, every 3 days for week 3, 2 a week for week four and then into your weekly changes ahead of adding fish once the ammonia has gone. The main reason for this is to stop the excess ammonia causing algae and ruining all the plants.

Wills

 

[joelfernandes]

That sounds good, thank you.

I’m also injecting co2. Should I stop that until it’s cycled? How about lights? I’m currently turning them on for 9 hours a day, together when co2 is on.

 

[Wills]

That sounds good, thank you.

I’m also injecting co2. Should I stop that until it’s cycled? How about lights? I’m currently turning them on for 9 hours a day, together when co2 is on.

I’d keep fertilising and co2 the same lights on for 6-8 hours at the start

 

[Fishmanic]

Very nice looking tank.
It goes without saying that YOU MUST enter that tank in our Tank of the Month contest. November contest will be for 31 gallon and larger tanks.