What next

[Mikebaker]

Okay, i just set up my 77 gallon tank yesterday, i'll be letting it cycle for a few days. Right now i'm running a penguin 350, but i'm picking up a fluval 304 cannister in about a week, should i add some fish first to start cycling the tank, or add plants, then fish? Also what should the ph be at for a planted tank, and for a 77 gallon, which i plan to plant very densely, how many bpm of co2 should i have going in. Final question, i promise, does anyone have experience keeping cichlids in their planted tanks? will they destroy plants or just leave them alone. Thanks

 

[travis simonson]

You can add the plants immediately to the tank, but you should wait until the ammonia and nitrite cycles have completed (i.e. 0 ppm ammonia, and 0 ppm nitrites) before adding fish. Add the fish in small groups over time to prevent your biofilter from going into another large cycle. I'm not sure about bubbles per minute, but you want to maintain CO2 at 25-30 ppm for best plant growth.

I keep African cichlids in my planted tank and have found that if you keep the smaller species (dwarf mbuna in my case), feed them well, and keep your plants algae free that they will leave them pretty much alone. There are a few species that my fish seem to really enjoy eating though. I can't comment on other varieties of cichlids (Central, South American, etc.) but I'm sure others here have kept them with plants and can advise. Good luck

 

[Tiffi]

I agree with Travis about the fishless-cycling and that you best add the plants now. They will take in some of the nutrients and prevent algae from growing.

I have German Blue Rams and Kribs in my tank and they do just fine. Never hurt a plant before!

You don't really need a specal pH for your planted tank, but if you want to keep cichlids it might be good to know if you have highly acidic, more neutral (like me) or alkaline water (like Travis), so you can choose your fishes right. If you have an around neutral pH you have the widest selection of which fish will feel well in your tank.