Madness said:
You place "cycled" in parentheses to suggest that the tank is not really cycled. How unfortunate because the mini-cycle you mention can happen anytime too much stock is added to a tank, regardless of how it is cycled initially. Moreover, with only a few plants and limiting stock increases to 50% of current stock or less will avoid producing measurable nitrite or ammonia.
I just look at all that work with the testing, daily water changes, possible algae issues (due to free ammonia in the water) and wonder why?
If we start a new tank, we are going to be testing no matter how we start it. Daily water changes are a product of fish cycling. But when it's done as I recommend they last only for a week to ten days.
You can easily create more bacteria than is needed....easily. That's why I put "cycling" in quotes. The slow stocking, waiting, measuring, PWC's, is exactly as it sounds....cyclical. Fishless cycling really should be renamed to fishless preparation or some other noncyclical term since if done properly you can on DAY 1 stock your tank.
If you start a new tank with a fishless cycle you have no reason to test for at least a few days. Comfortably a week or more. Why test during this time? There's no fish to get poisoned, no PWC's to be done, just sit back and wait.
The week to 10 days comment is a no-no in both fish and fishless cycling. That's a number you pulled out of a hat and it has no bearing on my, your's, or the OP's tank. There are many variables that affect a cycle, and to put a 3 day window on that is foolish. IMO of course.
Madness said:
Algae is not an issue of cycling, but lighting. It's bacterial blooms (white colored clouding of the water). And they occur because cycling information is so poor. Stocking suggestions are often way out of proportion and there most often is no mention of plants. It's poor information that leads to bio-overloading, nitrogen spikes, clouding, and dead fish - not fish cycling.
Why? Because when we erase the misinformation cycling is not only easy, it's easy to perform successfully. Measurable ammonia is avoided. Nitrite is kept at trace levels. Clouding over is avoided. And our fish are with us when we're done.
I assumed since you have plants in the tank you will have the lights on correct
I mean what is the point of having plants if you don't supply them with light! No light = little to no ammonia absorption. Plants in a tank with little to no light become ammonia
PRODUCERS, not consumers. They will just slowly rot in the tank.
Cycling with fish is an antiquated method. In the past it was all people knew, it worked, so they used it. It still works today, can be done successfully without *much* harm to the fish, and is a viable option, BUT its been surpassed by an easier, safer, and quicker method. Honestly if there was a superior benefit (exercise?) it wouldn't be as frowned upon on here as it is.