New Tank with Live Plants questions

[Cribbinator]

Already posted this in the plants section but I know some questions fall into the fishy realm as well

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Hello,

I have some basic questions that most of you can probably answer. I have a new 10 gallon tank (already have a 26 gallon mature tank) that I have not setup yet (Have all the parts and equipment just need to put it together). I am planning on using this tank as a quarantine tank or possibly just as a secondary tank with live plants (presume I can just use it for both ??) I have a couple of questions:

1.) To start I want to setup this tank with just live plants to get the foundation going. Can a planted tank exist without any fish ? I almost positive the question is yes but didn't know if I was missing anything.

2.) If the above answer is yes, can I add fish at any time to the planted tank ?

3.) Since this is a new tank do I need to cycle the tank before I put live plants into the tank ? If so, is there a special cycle process ? If not, then when I want to add fish later do I cycle at that time ?

4.) Any recommendations on plants that are hearty since I am a beginner ?

5.) Any other mandatory equipment that I need in order to sustain plant life ?

Thanks!

James C

 

[anonapersona]

1 - plants with no fish, fine just add fertilizers for nitrogen and so on.

2 - yes, at any time

3 - the plants will take in the ammonia so fast you shouldn't be able to measure any. You may see nitrites, though. forget about any cycle, though you could add some bacteria from the other tank filter to this filter when you add fish.

4 - plant selection depends on light and fertilizers and CO2

5 - circulation must be good for food to reach plants, water column ferts at least, root ferts Ok for rooted plants.