Plants In A Cycling Tank

[JamesinOz]

Hi,

I am about to start fishless cycling a 6' X 2' X2' tank and I am wondering if there is any particular time that I should put plants and driftwood in? I have read the cycling info supplied and searched the forums on the site (big help thx!) but am still not sure if or when to put plants in, or how many? I understand that plants can harbour the good bacteria, but also use ammonia, so this has me a little unsure...As far as driftwood goes, will this harm/help the cycling in any way?

Thanks in advance,

James

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd wait on both driftwood and plants until after your ammonia spike is complete. When your ammonia levels come down and you have to add ammonia daily then you can toss in the plants and driftwood

 

[soritan]

From what I've read, both plants and driftwood are perfectly OK to cycle with (I know I have 'em in my fishless cycle), it simply means you have to use more ammonia to get a proper reading, and it might take longer. I haven't read about an average extention on time, though.

I'm on day 10, I had my nitrIte spike on day 2, and my nitrAtes were showing on day 5, I'm just waiting for my nitrItes to go down, to indicate that I've got nitrifiying bacteria.

Patience, right? It's a virtue.

 

[dwarfgourami]

No problem with adding your plants and bogwood from the start. I did, and both my tanks had cycled within a fortnight.

 

[modernhamlet]

Yup. Plants will speed up your cycle and will give you something to look at and work on while the tank cycles.

 

[Silverlady]

Iadded Plants and Bogwood at the start of my cycle.It gives you som ething to watch while waiting for the cycle to finish.

 

[JamesinOz]

Thanks heaps for your help everyone.javascript:emoticon('', 'smid_9')
smilie

James