What Would You All Do In This Situation?

[tom_os]

my roma 240l is getting toward the end of the fishless cycle. when it is finished cycling i was going to empty it, add all the plants, refill and add fish the next day

however in about 2 months time i will be able to get a big discount on fish for various reasons soo...

would you keep the cycling going for another 2 months

empty the tank, plant, refill and then carry on with cycle, let the plants estabilsh themselves then get the cheaper fish

or just do my original plan?

or can i just add a few fish at a time? like add some now and then the rest when they are cheaper? or will this not be enough to feed the filter bacteria so it will die off and ruin my fishlesss cycle?

thanks

 

[saz326]

Id want to have fish in there to keep the cycle going.

If you're after a shoal in your tank then start adding some of the shoal fish to produce the ammonia you need. It is a big tank with a big filter so you'd want a fair number of fish or some of the bacteria in the filter will die back. This is not a major problem as the bacteria will soon regrow as long as there is some colony left.

That will give time for the plants to grow and will also give you something interesting to look at for a while.

When you can get the fishy deals, simply add a few fish every now an then until you get to the stocking you like.