Fishless Cycle

[Rorie]

Hey,

So i have read the article "why we should no fishless cycle a planted tank", which i understand....to the effect of i understand why we should not do it. However, i do not understand what we SHOULD do.

Is the answer as simple as add fish gradually? And due to the fact we have plants which process ammonia, we can even get away with adding Cardinal Tetras?

There is a part which says

If you absolutely have to fishless cycle on a tank that you intend on planting, then I strongly recommend the cycling is carried out in the dark, and the plants are added once the cycle is complete

I understand that...but, how SHOULD we do it? The fishless cycles steps are basically keep adding ammonia when it is processed until the ammonia and nitrite are processed within 12 hour period. Then add fish. So what is the steps for a planted tanks fishless cycle?

Thanks

 

[Andy_G]

My understanding is that if you fishless cycle then heavily plant your tank you'll kill of a large propostion of the bacteria you've spent weeks growing. Seems like reason enough to me. I'll have to re-read the parc, but I'm sure it doesn't suggest throwing in a heap of fish, but rather says you should balance plant and fish stocking.

Andy

 

[Rorie]

My understanding is that if you fishless cycle then heavily plant your tank you'll kill of a large propostion of the bacteria you've spent weeks growing. Seems like reason enough to me. I'll have to re-read the parc, but I'm sure it doesn't suggest throwing in a heap of fish, but rather says you should balance plant and fish stocking.

Andy

hmm, so currently i am fishless cycling my tank. I was told to do it in the following way - cycle the tank, then add plants, then a week later add fish. But obviously during that last week, the bacteria will die, so we need to keep adding the ammonia. The artical says that when we add the ammonia after the plants are added, they will process the ammonia before the filter will. I understand, BUT, does that not just mean that on day one of getting my tank i should have just stocked it full of plants and then added my full stock of fish?

No is the obvious answer, as i suppose the plants do not process ALL the ammonia? Therefore, what is wrong with fishless cycling? As what is the alternative if i want to add a 60% stock level in one go?

I am confused!

 

[Andy_G]

it's a tricky one, i managed to silent-ish cycle my tank with dwarf frogs and pregnant and young cherry shrimp with no major problems or losses, it was difficult during the nitrite phase and i had to increase water changes. The recommendation is to plant 75% of the tank with stem plants. If you have enough fast growing stem plants they should use all the ammonia, etc... ie. you shouldn't see any spikes at all, hence the name 'silent cycle' If you look through the comments on that article there are people here, though admittedly they have much more experience, who do full stock and fertilize from day one. It is important to know how dense your planting needs to be to balance your livestock. i don't think there is anything wrong with fishless cycling, it just isn't the only safe way to start a tank. I'm sure others will be along shortly to explain why they chose not to fishless cycle, and what their initial stocking was

Andy

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for your help!

As i have been doing my fishless cycle for a while, and it makes sense to me, i am thinking i will finish this method, add my plants, then add fish a couple days later. I think this will be a good plan as the bacteria in my filter will not have a huge amount to die off and a couple days should be enough time to play about with the plants for starters anyway. Hopefully it will work out

 

[Andy_G]

Sounds like you've got a good plan. I'm looking forward to some pics once the tanks planted and stocked.

Andy