cycle or plant first?

[Ozma]

I know someone asked this a short time ago, but I can't reme,ber the answer.

Should I cycle a new tank first and then plant it, OR cycle it with the plants already in it?

Thanks, D

 

[JSchmidt]

I believe the common advice is to cycle first, then plant. Otherwise, I believe algae can be a significant problem.

Jim

 

[slipknottin]

depends... if you want a heavily planted tank, just load in the plants and add fish.

the plants take ammonia in directly and your tank will never actually "cycle"

however, if you want a moderate or small amount of plants, it would be wise to cycle the tank first. plants dont use nitrites, but algaes do.

 

[TnCgal]

Hi, Ozma !

Welcome to AquariaCentral, home of the most planted tanks in the entire planet.

Jim is absolutely correct if you are doing a fishless cycle, you will want to plant after your cycle is complete. If you are cycling with fish, you might want to consider planting before you cycle because the plants will help decrease toxic exposure on the fish.

 

[Ozma]

Thanks for the clear and succinct answers! I was plannng on moderately planted and fishless cycling. I'll cycle first.

OZma

 

[koolkatzfish]

I fishless cycled my 44 and one of the articles reccommended live plants left in the pots to help seed the bacteria. I already had an amazon sword in my 20, and I bought a water sprite and a crypt and a year later all are still doing well, my amazon is over 12 inches tall and the water sprite is 20 inches tall and I have to trim it back monthly. I don't know if it sped the cycle up an, it still took about 4 weeks, but I added a lot of ammonia, which I think may have slowed it down some.
So I vote plant and cycle simultaneously.

 

[wetmanNY]

People are afraid that it you don't struggle through a "nitrite spike" the tank hasn't truly cycled. They fear that plants will compete with bacteria for the ammonia (they will, it's true) to the point where the bacteria never get established.

Plant the tank and get on with it! Planted aquaria cycle easily. It's the "box of water" you struggle over.

 

[RTR]

The concern over fishless cycling with planted tanks is that algae outbreaks may be much more likely with the high ammonia levels many folk us in fishless cycling. Then the novice is left with green water or hair algae in their tank and have to combat that.

The original popularization of fishess cycling suggested potted plants left in their pots (with the rock-wool) as a means to introduce nitrification bacteria to the tank. That works quite well if no other easy source of bacteria is convenient. But there is a world of difference between a tank with one or two potted plants sitting in it and a planted tank.

HTH

 

[wetmanNY]

mmm, if everyone has a philodendron on their desk, is it a "planted office?"

 

[HazyWater]

The purpose of a cycle is to remove ammonia. Turns out plants do this quite well too. The plants will compete for the ammonia, but they won't be able to outcompete the bacteria to the extent everyone fears. The colonies will be smaller than a non-planted tank, but thats to be expected.

I mean, if you heavily plant a tank after you've cycled it, are you starving the bacteria colonies to such an extent that your tank isn't 'cycled' anymore? It doesn't matter which road you take, you'll end up in the same spot. One path is just faster and the other seems safer. Just keep the number of fish you plan on having in mind when you add ammonia. You want your aquarium to handle that amount of ammonia on a daily basis.

In either case, you're going to fight algae, but the sooner you plant your tank, the less of a fight it will be, imo. How can algae be more of a problem in a planted cycling tank? They use the same nutrients, except for nitrite. You'd get less nitrite if the tank is planted. The nitrite colonies will have to build up just the same, regardless of plants and in compitition with algae.