live plants w/ cycling???

[gmh]

I put in lots of java moss from my established tank along with gravel, into my new tank. After 6 days my ammonia and nitrite still read 0. I think mosses in particular can be helpfull as they have so many tiny leaves that collect beneficial bacteria.

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

Live plants don't really "help" a cycle. What they do is consume ammonia, so that there is less of it in the water column. If you add live plants during a fishy cycle, you will have less of the good bacteria on your filter, because the plants will also be competing for nutrients as well. Should you take away the plants (or if they die), you'll find yourself facing an ammonia spike.

Having plants during a fishless cycle is not recommended because the combination of large volumes of ammonia required + the need to keep lights on for 8 to 10 hours a day for the plants = risk of algae problems.

I would either do a heavily planted tank and skip the cycling, or cycle the tank and add plants after completion. If you do a planted "silent cycle", you'll need to use fast-growing plants like hygrophila or elodea, not slow-growers like anubias or java ferns, as they won't consume enough ammonia to do anything much for the water quality.

 

[gmh]

I'm talking about adding java moss from an established tank. So it is like putting in filter media from an established tank in that it has capacity for storing bacteria, albeit to a lesser degree.

 

[Octavarium]

I'm talking about adding java moss from an established tank. So it is like putting in filter media from an established tank in that it has capacity for storing bacteria, albeit to a lesser degree.

Exactly, the plants aren't as pourous as ceramics, sponges, and other types of filter media, but they do have enough surface area to help your cycle a little bit. Assuming your the store you bought it from had a cycled tank to begin with. Some of these places around CT make me wonder, with their horrible tank conditions.