just wondering, because i had that happen recently, and it happened real close to after adding the live plants. 2.5 gal betta tank, cycled 6 months & stable til addition of 2 java ferns and 2 small anubias.
can ading too many live plants at once cause a cycle crash?
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I wouldn't think that adding plants would have a negative affect on the cycle, did you remove/ replace any filter media at about the same time?
i took 1/2 the filter pad out but left the other half in order to add a baffle at the filter output. this was about the same time as adding the plants. could removing 1/2 the pad have caused the cycle to fail? everything else is the same in the tank... same gravel, ornaments, rocks, etc.
also, the tank had alot more debris and dandruffy looking stuff that would settle all over when the plants were in there. the tank seemed more dirty with the plants.
The key to cycling a tank is to let it mature. This takes time, at least a couple of weeks. If there is too much debris, then do a water change. The amount of water you can change out depends on whether you have any livestock in your tank. If not, then you can do as much as you want, even 100%. If you do have some livestock in it, then I suggest you do no more than 50%.
What exactly happened?
Plants will use ammonia, nitrate...planting may have stirred up the debris. How often were you changing the water and vac'ing?
Plants will use ammonia, nitrate...planting may have stirred up the debris. How often were you changing the water and vac'ing?
Rather than crash, plants are more likely to cause a cycle to "stall" or go into what I would call a neutral effect. They would soak up the very things you are trying to create. Plants can convert many components of the cycle into a sugars etc., they need for energy. Having a heavily planted tank, I overstocked it on purpose to see how far I could take things. I didn't overstock so far as to endanger the fish, but far in excess of what is sensible. With the heavy planting, I found that I could go longer than 6 weeks between water changes as the tank was in balance or neutral, if you will, with neither the plants not the fish able to have a dramatic effect on the other. I am certain I could have pushed it further but felt that 6 weeks was more than long enough. At some point I would have had to start adding fertilizer to the tank for the plants. Simple water changes was more than enough care for the tank as it stood, even though the values read 0,0,0 across the board. pH stayed about 6.8. I felt that is as close to balanced as I could get it.
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i change 100% water once a week, do not vacuum. basically, scoop out some water into a plastic bowl (just for my fish only), put fish in there with the filter pad and heater (unplugged). then i remover the filter itself and set it aside, along with the decorations & plants. then i pour out the old water, make my tap water same temp as old water, then fill, swish, and dump. everytime i fill and dump, i give the gravel a good swish until i dont see any more "stuff" floating. it takes several times of filing & dumping to get it all out. then i fill it back up with water and dose with prime, then start adding everything back. filter pad goes in last, because it gets a good swish too in that old tank water. hope that wasnt too confusing. btw, our tap water is well water so no chlorine, but some nitrates fr the tap.
it would be difficult then to get more plants to fish ratio as to make the bb starve & die off?