Plants in a fishless cycling tank

[Tyler777]

I have some sea weeds in my tanks. Can I add them into my fishless cycling 125 gallons tank while is still cycling ?

 

[GaryE]

By sea weeds, you aren't talking about salt or brackish water stuff, right? Both tanks are freshwater?

 

[Tyler777]

By sea weeds, you aren't talking about salt or brackish water stuff, right? Both tanks are freshwater?

Yes my tanks are fresh water

 

[GaryE]

How well the plants absorb added ammonia will be the question. That may depend on what plants you're using. All I can tell from the photo is they look great, and very healthy.

Hopefully, this post will be a bump and bring in one of our fishless cycle people. You don't want the plants getting the ammonia before the micro-organisms do.

 

[Tyler777]

How well the plants absorb added ammonia will be the question. That may depend on what plants you're using. All I can tell from the photo is they look great, and very healthy.

Hopefully, this post will be a bump and bring in one of our fishless cycle people. You don't want the plants getting the ammonia before the micro-organisms do.

Makes sense, thanknyou

 

[Essjay]

There are two aspects to putting plants in during a fishless cycle.

When there are fish in a tank ammonia is produced in tiny amounts 24 hours a day. Fishless cycling adds the same amount all once. In the early stages of cycling, the ammonia remains in the water for some time, often days or even weeks. Many plants cannot tolerate being in water with a lot of ammonia and will die.

Plants take up ammonia as fertiliser. They turn the ammonia into protein rather than nitrite. This throws the timeline in our fishless cycling method out of the window. Is the ammonia dropping because the bacteria are eating it or because the plants are removing it?



The usual recommendation is to either do a fishless cycle without plants and add them once the cycle has finished or to do a plant cycle without adding ammonia.
A plant cycle requires the tank to be heavily planted with fast growing plants. If only a few plants or slow growing plants are intended, a fishless cycle then adding plants is better.

 

[fishorama]

I just want to say planted cycling is different, as others have said. We're not talking about a couple anubias & 2 java ferns but almost wall to wall stem plants, floaters & maybe a couple javas &/or anubias, LOTS of plants. If the plants come from a tank with healthy fish, they will have some beneficial bacteria on all plant surfaces. That will help. If new & hydroponically grow they won't have much...if any BB. In short, no poo, no ammonia. I have dosed ammonia, lightly, in new cycling plant tanks. Say no more than 0.25 or maybe even 0.50 if you test a lot, but that's pushing it a bit. You have to be ready to do a large water changes...& do them as needed to get back to a controllable state.

I've cycled tanks in many different ways; some better than others. My worst was using fish food or raw ("people food") shrimp. What a mess! Both times. Learn from my mistakes, don't try those "methods". Yuck!

Really, cycling is all about testing, often! I rarely test my established tanks unless something seems wrong but not like a disease. I use a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter (now that I have a new 1). Not a necessary piece of equipment but quick & under $20 shipped...I missed mine when it quit working. My best method is using cycled filter media from a healthy tank, you can "steal" almost half; they reproduce fast...& maybe a few plants.