Live Plants During Cycling

[soccermatt]

hi,
i have decided that i would really like some live plants in my aquarium (amazon sword, hornwort,and a carpet plant). I am currently fishlessly cycling my tank using fish food. My ammonia levels are about at there peak, and nitrite yet to rise. could i add a couple plants in a day or two, or would i be better to wait until my tank has finished cycling (if so what do i add first fish or plants?).
thanks

 

[fatheadminnow]

It is better to wait.

Ammonia + Light = Algae.

So, it is best not to have plants in a tank because you will need to have your lights on. So, with light and fluctuating/high levels of ammonia in your tank; is not a good mix and a big no no for a planted tank.

When your cycle finishes, you can add fish and plants at the same time.

-FHM

 

[erk628]

Just to add to that make sure your lights are off while cycling. I know if seems kind of obvious cause he said plants plus lights equals algea but I thought I would say it anyways. Its all right to turn the light on to look at the water to see if its cloudy or whatever just make sure you turn it off afterwards.

 

[GAB99]

yeah i would wait but then get fast growing plants first, wait for it to grow alittle like a month, then stock however you want

 

[waterdrop]

It is true though that ultimately its personal choice, since its not -that- big a deal. If money is not too much an issue you can put in some cheap plants during fishless cycling and just plan to pull them out and toss them afterward I suppose, if they are too covered with algae.

I have certainly done my fair amount of explaining how to do a "blacked out" fishless cycle where you wrap the tank to keep light out for the duration, but on the other hand I do feel there are circumstances like families with smaller children where I can see why family might want to "set the stage" for the future fish.

I also think there's a wild card affecting how much algae an individual gets - the number of algae spores either already in the tap water or arriving in the air are a wild card, just like the initial numbers of Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas bacterial cells! So there's a fair bit of chance in addition to the conditions being ripe.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[RadaR]

Here is an article. Why We Should Not Fishless Cycle Planted Tanks

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, that's Dave's excellent article for people serious about starting a "planted tank." This is not exactly the same thing as a beginner to tropical freshwater fishkeeping who decides it would be nice to have a few plants in the tank.

If soccermatt is serious about the planted tank hobby then by all means this is a good article to consider. I do believe the planted tank enthusiasts here in our TFF forum have made better strides toward easing beginners into good plant growing practices than virtually any other forum I've seen but it remains true that there's also the approach of progressing to the planted topics more seriously after building up some background in the fishkeeping topics.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

WD mentioned cheap plants and I will go one further. The reason that some plants are cheap is simple, they are very easy plants to care for and grow quickly. That means the producers can afford to supply them at low prices to the LFS. It also means they are a good choice when it comes to a person new to growing plants. Those are the undemanding plants that almost anyone can grow, even me, and have great looking planted tanks.