Need a review
- Thread starter Jrt123
- Start date
They grow better in the dark, I would leave the lights off until the tank has cycled. Unless a tank has live plants which need light to photosynthesise, the main reason for a tank having lights is to enable us to see the fish. But as there should be no fish during cycling, all having the lights on does is use electricity.
If you intend just a few plants, or slow growing plants it is better to cycle the tank then add plants. But if you plan a lot of fast growing plants you can plant them immediately and use them to cycle the tank.
Plants take up ammonia and they do it faster than bacteria; and they turn ammonia into protein rather than nitrite. If there are enough fast growing plants, they can remove all the ammonia made by a sensibly stocked tank of fish. In this case, the tank is heavily planted, then left until the plants show signs of active growth. If a photo is taken when the plants are first put in, it is then easy to compare the plants to the photo to see of they are growing. Once the plants are established, fish are added a few at a time, testing ammonia and nitrite for a few days afterwards to be certain, then as the plants grow bigger, more fish can be added. This is called plant or silent cycling.
If only a few plants, or slow growing plants are intended, they won't be able to remove all the ammonia made by a tankful of fish so bacteria have to be grown. Many plants cannot cope with the high levels of ammonia in a tank during cycling, so in this case it is better to cycle the tank first, then put the plants in. Once there are fish in the tank the plants will take up the ammonia they need and the bacteria will remove the rest.
Plants take up ammonia and they do it faster than bacteria; and they turn ammonia into protein rather than nitrite. If there are enough fast growing plants, they can remove all the ammonia made by a sensibly stocked tank of fish. In this case, the tank is heavily planted, then left until the plants show signs of active growth. If a photo is taken when the plants are first put in, it is then easy to compare the plants to the photo to see of they are growing. Once the plants are established, fish are added a few at a time, testing ammonia and nitrite for a few days afterwards to be certain, then as the plants grow bigger, more fish can be added. This is called plant or silent cycling.
If only a few plants, or slow growing plants are intended, they won't be able to remove all the ammonia made by a tankful of fish so bacteria have to be grown. Many plants cannot cope with the high levels of ammonia in a tank during cycling, so in this case it is better to cycle the tank first, then put the plants in. Once there are fish in the tank the plants will take up the ammonia they need and the bacteria will remove the rest.
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