Order of things

[StarOrbs]

Theoretically, I should be recieving my plants tommorow. Now what I want to know is the order of what to do for the first couple weeks. Make sure what I'm doing is alright.

Wash the plants off in 1/20 bleach solution with de-chlorinated water. Then rinsh the bleach off with more de-chlorinated water. Then I will inspect the plants for any visible snails then I will place them in the tank. Then once I have them set up leave them alone for a couple weeks then I can activate my CO2. Then if I see any nutrient problems add whatever is missing.

My planned lighting hours are (ON) 10 AM - 3 PM, (OFF) 3 PM - 6 PM, (ON) 6 PM - 11 PM, (OFF) 11 PM - 10 AM. This may change obviously but thats what I figured I would start with.

EDIT:
I forgot to say, then after the tank is stable and CO2 and everything is on a set schedule, and PH among other things are stable. Then add fish.

I also forgot to say my question lol. Just want to make sure my order is correct and if I missed anything?

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i think it would turn out ok

but with planted tanks i always think that murpheys law is always in action but nevertheless it looks like its going to be a might nice tank what are the plants btw and how many

 

[StarOrbs]

Ah lets see. I tried to buy as much as I can so I can pack the tank with plants. Let me check my list heh.
1 x Anubias barteri v angustifolia
Water sprite
Hygrophilia, Tropic Sunset
Sag, Dwarf Subulata
Sword, Amazon Sword
Anacharis
Vals, Italian
Hygrophilia polysperma

Some of them a bought quite a few, I did research on all of them and I believe I surpassed the requirements. Most of them are fast growing plants as you can see. Until my tank stabilizes, most likely I'll just keep all of them.

 

[rdd1952]

I'm not sure that it's necessary to do the bleach wash. I definitely didn't. I would almost be afraid some of the bleach would be absorbed into the leaves and cause a problem later. Also, I doubt beach is really that good for the plants. I would almost definitely kill any snails on them but then that may not be real good either as any you didn't find upon inspection would end up decaying in your tank. Anyway, I simply rinsed the loose leaves off them under tap water and put them in the tank.

On a side note, I see your cycling water parameters in your signature. Did you raise the ammonia to around 5 or 6 ppm to start with and it's already dropped to 1 or is that where you're trying to keep it? If it has never been higher than 1 ppm, you won't be fully cycled when the nitrite drops to zero. You will only be cycled for a partial fish load.

 

[StarOrbs]

I'm just trying to get it cycled without overdoing it. I'm working on putting plants in my tank right now. It's going to be a while till I add fish..

 

[rdd1952]

The purpose of cycling is getting enough of a bacteria colony built up to handle the waste of a fully stocked tank. If you are only putting in small amounts of ammonia, you are only cycling for a partial fish load and you have no way of knowing how many fish that is. You will still end up with a mini cycle everytime you add fish which basically negates the time you have spent waiting on the tank to cycle. Also, plants will pull some of the ammonia from the water too so that will further reduce the amount of cycling. On the reverse side of that, plants do help remove ammonia and nitrites so in a heavily planted tank, you can really add a partial fish load immediately whithout any problems. I pretty sure someone had a post just a few days ago about that. I just don't know which forum it was in. Beginners I think but it may have been on another forum board.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

if you have another tank maybe water from that tank and filter media would be better then creating a whole new cycle btw fast growing fast is a good choice, they will be a good start against algae

 

[rdd1952]

if you have another tank maybe water from that tank and filter media would be better then creating a whole new cycle

The filter from the other tank will help but the water won't do anything. Bacteria isn't present free floating in the water, only on the filter, tank walls, decorations and in the substrate. Any of those that can be moved from an existing cycled tank will help.

 

[StarOrbs]

Perhaps I never said this.. My filter alreay had the beneficial bacteria in it which is why I didn't have to do the "whole" cycle. I've been slowly upping the ammonia to get it to where I want. Right now I'm up above 3 PPM. The reason I said 1 ppm that day is because thats what I was on. I've been slowly increasing the dosage so I don't cause a crash.

 

[rdd1952]

If you don't have fish in it though, You should go ahead and raise the ammonia so the cycle can proceed. By doing it slowly, you are only stretching the time it will take. A 55 gallon with a seeded filter really should fully cycle in about 2 weeks if you raise the ammonia to around 5 or 6 ppm to begin with.

 

[StarOrbs]

Oh my god, look I'm raising it every day. Don't worry about it, its working fine. It doesn't matter anyway because I'm adding plants first. The cycle is almost done and I'm not adding fish for a few weeks. So no worries.

 

[rdd1952]

What ever you say. Just not the normal way to do a fishless cycle. Just remember that once it does cycle, you will have to continue to add ammonia daily until you add your fish. Otherwise, the bacteria will die. Good luck.