Plant Food While Tank Is Cycling?

[BarleyBear]

Hi all,

I have a question about adding liquid plant food while my tank is still cycling. Will the nutrients and chemicals from the plant food hinder or harm the cycling process? I think my plants need a bit of a boost, but I don't want to do anything that will halt or prolong the cycle process.

Thanks for your help!

 

[KatieJ]

You usually shouldn't have a problem. I'm cycling a tank right now and feed 'em some fertilizers when I have to, and never see any problems. If you want to help the cycling process AND the bacteria at once, drop a little fish food in there. As it decomposes, it'll release ammonia, but the plants will suck up nutrients from the resulting detritus.

 

[jetajockey]

Hi all,

I have a question about adding liquid plant food while my tank is still cycling. Will the nutrients and chemicals from the plant food hinder or harm the cycling process? I think my plants need a bit of a boost, but I don't want to do anything that will halt or prolong the cycle process.

Thanks for your help!

Are you fishless cycling or fish-in cycling? The ferts won't hurt anything, they may actually help the process if you are fishless cycling because there is a great nutrient demand when the process really starts going.

 

[BarleyBear]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm cycling with fish in. It's been a decade or so since I've had a tank, and I totally forgot about the cycling time. I would have gone fishless if I'd remembered.

 

[BarleyBear]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm cycling with fish in. It's been a decade or so since I've had a tank, and I totally forgot about the cycling time. I would have gone fishless if I'd remembered.

Tested the water tonight. Ammonia and nitrites are at zero! Woo-hoo! Took less than two weeks. I used Nutrafin Cycle, which I think helped cut the time down. I also added some potting material from an order of plants I received to my filter hoping it contained some bb to sees the tank.