Cycle With Plants Or Without

[loveforfhishies]

i just read something on the net about a cycle, they said not to put plants in your tank until the cylcle is through, that plants and other decoration will slow down the cycle and give false test readings?

this is the first article i have read that says that.

is it true?

i just restarted my cycle and i have some filter media from a mature tank that i have in my fliter. is it to late to take them out?

 

[n3ont3tra]

Plants should actually help your cycle, and no decoration that I've ever seen would affect your readings.

 

[loveforfhishies]

im talking about fake plants?

 

[n3ont3tra]

Your talking about fake plants? The article you read was probably talking about live plants. But either way it's incorrect. Live plants will help your cycle, and fake plants and other decorations won't affect it at all.

 

[loveforfhishies]

aright thanks,

they also said they put king prawns or somethin in there tank to cycle, should i do that as well or will my filters with mature media be good enough?

 

[n3ont3tra]

Filters with mature media will be good enough. The prawns are only a substitution for ammonia.

 

[loveforfhishies]

ok,

on my filter box it says to change my filters ever 2 weeks, and from what i have heard if i do this my cycle will start over.

when should i change my filter?

while im on the subject instead of posting a new thread one day here it is,

it says if i change my gravel in my tank my cycle starts over, would that mean that if i put a new piece of decoration or something in the tank my cycle will start over.

whats the deal behind that?

 

[JamieH]

geez.... i just wrote a huge reply to this and then got a 404 message and lost it all.

thats half an hour of my life i'll never get back!!! grrrrr.

 

[Nick Bramley]

live plants are fine

 

[MHunt]

ok,

on my filter box it says to change my filters ever 2 weeks, and from what i have heard if i do this my cycle will start over.

when should i change my filter?

while im on the subject instead of posting a new thread one day here it is,

it says if i change my gravel in my tank my cycle starts over, would that mean that if i put a new piece of decoration or something in the tank my cycle will start over.

whats the deal behind that?

You should never have to change your filter sponges, that's just a ploy by the filter maker to get you to buy more filter media. Just wash your sponges out in the old tank water when you do a water change. Never rinse them under the tap, the chlorine and chloramine in the water will kill the bacteria off and you might as well put new sponges in then.

The main place for the nitrifying bacteria to reside is your filter. There will be some in the gravel and the water itself, but you could quite happily change both completely if necessary and the filter will keep the cycle going. Basically look after your filter and the rest should be ok. Don't worry about changing things in the tank, decoration etc, these have little impact on the cycle of the tank. The only time changing our gravel would cause the cycle to start again is if you have an undergravel filter, then the gravel IS your filter material!

And in response to your original topic starter, plants are your friends. I would recommend putting some real plants in your tank as it's more natural for the fish, and they can absorb some of the excess nutrients and pollutants that your filter can't break down.

 

[loveforfhishies]

yeh i have always wanted live plants but i thought they would be to hard to care for.

dont you have to have dirt or something under your gravel, and other types of things?

about the filter, on the internet somewhere it says you should never change the bio wheel, unless its really cloged.

after reading all that im just really confused and kinda worried about what i can put in my tank or change in my tank without messing it up.
they made it sound like anything NEW that goes in your tank restarts your cycle.

 

[Tolak]

The "they" you are referring to are wrong. Adding things to a tank won't affect the cycle in the least. There is no reason to change the bio wheel unless it is falling apart, the same goes for filter sponges. I have filter sponges that are several years old & still running.

Your nitrifying bacteria, the ones that change ammonia to nitrite & nitrite to nitrate, need something to attach to. The larger the surface area the more bacteria it can hold. This is why your filter sponges hold a majority of your nitrifying bacteria, your gravel a small percentage, and any decorations practically none. These bacteria can doube in 24 hours once mature, so if you change out gravel or decorations in a mature tank it has little impact, since the majority reside in your filter media.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Also, aobut changing the filter media, only squeeze it once, don't do it until it's perfectly clear, or else all of your bacteria will have gone.

 

[loveforfhishies]

ok i get it, now how about if i do a big water change. like after my cycle and i take like 50% of water out and put new in

 

[MHunt]

Still ok, you're cycling the filter mainly, not the water.