Fishless cycling in a planted tank

[schocker]

Just a quick question. I set up a 30 g planted tank a week ago. I have read about fishless and silent cycling. If I go the route of fishless cycling will dosing the tank with pure ammonia harm the plants?

Thanks

 

[-Mac-]

I'm doing it now and so far the plants are thriving and growing like mad. I was worried as well, but so far so good.

 

[roydooms]

Just a quick question. I set up a 30 g planted tank a week ago. I have read about fishless and silent cycling. If I go the route of fishless cycling will dosing the tank with pure ammonia harm the plants?

Thanks

No, it won't harm your plants. If you'll keep the ammonia level low it will actually benefit the plant. If I'm not mistaken, they use ammonia as a source of nitrates. I actually cycled 4 tanks with plants in it and the growth is amazing.

 

[eco23]

Just a quick question. I set up a 30 g planted tank a week ago. I have read about fishless and silent cycling. If I go the route of fishless cycling will dosing the tank with pure ammonia harm the plants?

Thanks

Welcome to the site . The plants will love the conditions of your water during a fishless cycle. They can be a competing source for the ammo you are adding, so a few odd test results can be expected, but not in any major way. Keep in mind too, algae loves the conditions just as much as plants...so keep the lighting to the absolute minimum your plants require. Good luck!

 

[schocker]

Thanks all much better advice here than at the fish shop.

Well I'll stick with the fishless cycle. Here we go. Day one.......

 

[eco23]

Thanks all much better advice here than at the fish shop.

Well I'll stick with the fishless cycle. Here we go. Day one.......

Smart man and great decision. Check out the guide in my signature if you haven't seen it. Feel free to shoot me any questions on the guide thread . Good luck!

 

[schocker]

Thanks. I read your article and found it very helpful. Convinced me to try fishless cycling. I'll let you know if I run into any snags.

 

[eco23]

Thanks. I read your article and found it very helpful. Convinced me to try fishless cycling. I'll let you know if I run into any snags.

I'm more than happy to help . If you have any questions whatsoever, post them on the guide thread. I almost never check on the actual article...but the thread link is in my signature and we're in there all the time. Keep me posted!

 

[schocker]

Okay. I have some questions. 1. After reading various threads on this forum, the sense I get is that relying on bottled bacteria to cycle a tank can be done, but it is unreliable and results can be confusing. So, since I can't get my hands on any seeding material, I think I am married to the bottled stuff. That being said, i have a dozen or so formerly potted plants in my tank. Would that provide the seeding material I need? What else can I do here to culture the bacteria or just keep dosing the tank with stability?
#2. The dude at the fish shop who sold me the tank said I need to buy API ammo carb. So I did. I put it in a media bag and then into the filter compartment. Should I take it out? What does this stuff do?

Btw before I dosed the tank with ammonia to 4ppm, I did a water test. Ammonia was .5. NitrItes 0 and nitrAtes were 5ppm. Looks like the tank was going through a mini cycle all on it's on. Hopefully dosing the ammonia will speed it up.

 

[eco23]

Okay. I have some questions. 1. After reading various threads on this forum, the sense I get is that relying on bottled bacteria to cycle a tank can be done, but it is unreliable and results can be confusing. So, since I can't get my hands on any seeding material, I think I am married to the bottled stuff. That being said, i have a dozen or so formerly potted plants in my tank. Would that provide the seeding material I need? What else can I do here to culture the bacteria or just keep dosing the tank with stability?
#2. The dude at the fish shop who sold me the tank said I need to buy API ammo carb. So I did. I put it in a media bag and then into the filter compartment. Should I take it out? What does this stuff do?

Btw before I dosed the tank with ammonia to 4ppm, I did a water test. Ammonia was .5. NitrItes 0 and nitrAtes were 5ppm. Looks like the tank was going through a mini cycle all on it's on. Hopefully dosing the ammonia will speed it up.

All you need to cycle a tank is basically water and ammonia, lol. The rest of the stuff like air stones, filter media, raised temp, etc... are just tips to get you finished faster, bit obviously necessary for fish keeping. Since writing the guide, I have grown more and more hesitant of using bottled bacteria. I can't tell you how many examples I've heard (including one today using Stability) of bio-filters crashing. My personal advice would be to stay as far away from them as possible.

Plants will absolutely help your tank cycle by introducing beneficial bacteria, and they'll also help keep you busy while you wait for the tank to be ready for fish.

If the ammo carb is what I think it is...stay away. Anything that absorbs ammonia basically defeats the purpose of fishless cycling. You want to colonize beneficial bacteria which will consume it...any competing source will only complicate things and build a weaker bio-filter IMO. It is intended for stocked tanks and fish-in cycling...but is not something I would use in any situation.

My personal advice would be to ditch the bottled stuff and other products, keep it simple, read over the guides on the site again, and do it the natural way. It'll help you avoid problems in the future.

 

[schocker]

Okay. I ditched the ammo carb. I guess the key now is patience. Wait a few days and check my levels.

 

[schocker]

So it's been about six days. I've checked my water levels every other day. Nothing has changed since my initial ammonia dose on day one. Ammonia is still at 4ppm. Nitrites 0 and nitrates 5ppm. I did a ph test based on a thread I read about someone with a similar problem. Ph was at ~8.2. Is that high? Should I consider some ph down? Or should I just stay the course and be patient?

FYI I have the tank temp up at 80F and installed an air stone.

I'm trying to get my hands on some seeding material hoping that will kick start things. But it's tough to find.

 

[mfdrookie516]

No, 8.2 isn't too high. Ammonia is a base, so with 4ppm, that may be raising it just a bit. Once the cycle is complete, you will get a more accurate pH reading. Only being 6 days in, I don't see any problems. I am surprised that you still have 4ppm ammonia and the tank is planted. Plants use ammonia as a source of N. That's just kind of odd, usually you have to dose more in a planted tank since they use some too. Seeding material would definitely give you a good kick start, if not put you right near the end.

 

[schocker]

No, 8.2 isn't too high. Ammonia is a base, so with 4ppm, that may be raising it just a bit. Once the cycle is complete, you will get a more accurate pH reading. Only being 6 days in, I don't see any problems. I am surprised that you still have 4ppm ammonia and the tank is planted. Plants use ammonia as a source of N. That's just kind of odd, usually you have to dose more in a planted tank since they use some too. Seeding material would definitely give you a good kick start, if not put you right near the end.

Thanks. I'm kinda new to this so not sure what trends I should look for. I don't want to "over manage" the process.

I thought it was odd that the ammonia has dropped too. I knew the plants would consume some. Not sure how quickly though.

 

[mfdrookie516]

The rate at which they will use it up depends on the density (how many you have), the lighting, and the available carbon. My guess is you have minimal amounts of all 3. Not a bad thing necessarily. I'd say just be patient. When I did a fishless cycle, it took around 12-14 days for the ammonia to drop, then it went pretty quick for me. Sometimes it's the opposite.

 

[schocker]

Ammonia dropping slowly. Likely from the plants. No nitrite but I am reading 5 ppm of nitrate. Same readings that I've had for 7 days. I just got some nasty filter media, put it in a media bag and jammed it into the filter. I am hoping that this will get things moving.

 

[schocker]

Today is the first nitrite readings. Low levels, but it's a start.

Lots of diatoms. Tank is pretty ugly right now. Should I do a pwc at this time to keep them under control?

 

[JimmyA]

Order an active sponge. It has seeding material.

 

[LaWoWee]

You can do pwc's. It wont affect your cycle.

 

[eco23]

Today is the first nitrite readings. Low levels, but it's a start.

Lots of diatoms. Tank is pretty ugly right now. Should I do a pwc at this time to keep them under control?

Pwc's won't hurt your cycle, but they'll do nothing for diatoms at this point either. I'd just let things go as they are since your cycle is moving in the right direction. Diatoms can make your tank look so bad that you'll want to throw it out the window, but time is all it takes to get rid of them.