TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
The thing about ammonia and plants is that different plants use more or less. New plants are often raised in nurseries and they are power fed. So when they arrive in our tanks they have a lot of stored nutrients. We do no not need to add ferts for them at this stage. I normally prube the rootes some and then plant them. But I prefer to do this when no fish are present. I wnt to allowe the plants to be able to root in place for a bit. I want them to use up some of their stored nutrients. I want to know the are a bit "hungery" when I begin feeding them.
Also some fish may not be as kind to plants as others. A well established plant can often handle this. But new [plants can easily be uprooted. Plus I sometimes find I am not happy whot where I have planted something and decide to move it. i would rather do that before the fish are in though I have moved many plants in well stocked tanks. The fish leyt me know how rude I am being.
The final reason I like to allow the plants to settle in before I think about cycling is that I want to be able to test their ability (along with whatever bacteria are present) to handle ammonia. To do that I dose some ammonia and see how fast it drops to 0. Than information lets me know how many fish I can safely put in to start. But, I also factor in that some plants do not handle excess ammonia well.
As a rule I will add somewhere between 1 and 2 ppm. My goal is to get the tank fully stocked as fast as I can. I am impatient. So I need to know what is the fastest I can do things. When it comes to adding fish, after 22 years, I still want more sooner than later
However, the way Byron does it works great as well and is less likely to result in one making a mistake. It is not concerned as much with getting the most fish in quick, it is concerned with never getting too many in too fast and never worrying about it.
Finally, there is a minimum number and type of plants needed to take over the majority of the cycling chores. Not everybody wants the same amount of planting in their tank(s). The ammonia test is essential for such tanks because they need more bacteria to keep fish safe than do more heavily planted and/or lightly stocked tanks.
The problem with all of this is there is no hard and fast rule for what plants and what volume of plants are needed in any tank for it to be mostly cycled by plants. There are a lot of possibilities and not two tanks are ever identical.
Also some fish may not be as kind to plants as others. A well established plant can often handle this. But new [plants can easily be uprooted. Plus I sometimes find I am not happy whot where I have planted something and decide to move it. i would rather do that before the fish are in though I have moved many plants in well stocked tanks. The fish leyt me know how rude I am being.
The final reason I like to allow the plants to settle in before I think about cycling is that I want to be able to test their ability (along with whatever bacteria are present) to handle ammonia. To do that I dose some ammonia and see how fast it drops to 0. Than information lets me know how many fish I can safely put in to start. But, I also factor in that some plants do not handle excess ammonia well.
As a rule I will add somewhere between 1 and 2 ppm. My goal is to get the tank fully stocked as fast as I can. I am impatient. So I need to know what is the fastest I can do things. When it comes to adding fish, after 22 years, I still want more sooner than later
However, the way Byron does it works great as well and is less likely to result in one making a mistake. It is not concerned as much with getting the most fish in quick, it is concerned with never getting too many in too fast and never worrying about it.Finally, there is a minimum number and type of plants needed to take over the majority of the cycling chores. Not everybody wants the same amount of planting in their tank(s). The ammonia test is essential for such tanks because they need more bacteria to keep fish safe than do more heavily planted and/or lightly stocked tanks.
The problem with all of this is there is no hard and fast rule for what plants and what volume of plants are needed in any tank for it to be mostly cycled by plants. There are a lot of possibilities and not two tanks are ever identical.
