a few plant questions

[psariandras]

Want to set up some plants in my freshwater tank but there a few things I don't understand.
plants are benefical to tanks that are cycled, or so I thought, but what about putting bulbs into tanks that are not cycled?

1)If the water is clean and filtered but plant bulbs are put in a new tank, will plants be affected by not having bacteria colonies established?

2)Do plants remove oxygen from the water when the respire enough that it is a concern of aquarists?

3)What kind of chemicals do plants release into the water - does plant existance beneifit the quailty of water for fish and inverts - or are there waste products from plants that are similar to fish/inverts and need bacteria to break down - I don'[t understand how plants work in the nitrogen cycle,especailly if the tank has no fish or inverts, just plants.

4)Are mystery snails(large yellow ones) from petco, or any other snails from pet chains considered pond snails? I don't want any snails that will munch on my plants.

5) do the following critters have the potential to munch on plants?
cherry or ghost shrimp
african dwarf frog
any particular type of fish


Sorry this is long
thanks for any advice

 

[geofied]

Want to set up some plants in my freshwater tank but there a few things I don't understand.
plants are benefical to tanks that are cycled, or so I thought, but what about putting bulbs into tanks that are not cycled?

1)If the water is clean and filtered but plant bulbs are put in a new tank, will plants be affected by not having bacteria colonies established?

2)Do plants remove oxygen from the water when the respire enough that it is a concern of aquarists?

3)What kind of chemicals do plants release into the water - does plant existance beneifit the quailty of water for fish and inverts - or are there waste products from plants that are similar to fish/inverts and need bacteria to break down - I don'[t understand how plants work in the nitrogen cycle,especailly if the tank has no fish or inverts, just plants.

4)Are mystery snails(large yellow ones) from petco, or any other snails from pet chains considered pond snails? I don't want any snails that will munch on my plants.

5) do the following critters have the potential to munch on plants?
cherry or ghost shrimp
african dwarf frog
any particular type of fish


Sorry this is long
thanks for any advice

1) Plants don't rely on beneficial bacteria to grow, per se, but they will definitely help your cycling go smoother as they help pull ammonia and nitrites from the water (nitrates too, but they aren't as toxic to fish). Not an issue.

2) Plants create oxygen when the lights are on and release (respire) CO2 when the lights are off. The ratio of oxygen produced to CO2 released is heavily tilted toward oxygen production. Not an issue.

3) See #2 for what plants release into the water (CO2). Plants basically act as nutrient sponges (filters) and can only benefit a tank and its inhabitants when healthy. Decaying plants on the other hand can release some not-so-beneficial (to the fish) nutrients, so keeping things maintained is healthier in the long run. The upside to decaying plants is that it is a potential source of nutrients for plants as it breaks down or is broken down by snails, inverts, etc. Not an issue

4) They may or may not. If they do munch, it may not be anything significant. I had a large (1 inch) trapdoor snail in a 10g planted that did not bother the plants to my knowledge. Snails are great (big or small) for breaking down food and decaying plants into plant-ready nutrients. BTW, those are not pond snails. Not a significant problem

5) -Cherry and Ghost shrimp are not avid healthy plant eaters. They will munch on decaying plants and algae (Cherries more than ghost)
-I don't beleive frogs are plant munchers, someone here can confirm
-Koi (especially), Goldfish, are known to munch plants, cichlids (not so-much dwarf)are known to uproot plants. Other than that I can't think of much.

 

[psariandras]

thanks for all the info.

 

[midiamin]

Just one comment. If you have a heavy fish load, you may need to run an airstone at night.

 

[exu]

Just one comment. If you have a heavy fish load, you may need to run an airstone at night.

I am sorry but I haven't heard anyone mention this one. Could you explain why?

thanks!

 

[Mgamer20o0]

plants stop taking in co2 and it builds up in the water. if your doing pressurized co2 you should just turn it off at night.

i never had a problem running my co2 24/7.

 

[magakitty]

I run DIY CO2 24/7 without a problem and my tanks are pretty heavily stocked - but I also way over filter - filtering for 50 on my 20