Im going to be setting up my take and get it ready to cycle. Ca you cycle a tank with plants already in it? This might sound like a dumb question but Im so new to this that this is my first post and first time I've ever ventured into aquariums. I tried asking the people at petco and petsmart and they didn't even know about cycling. When I went to the mom and pop store over here the fish guy was out. I'm going to be setting up a 30 gallon tank. Im not doing a underground because I want plants and they seem to be a huge hassle. Im going with a cascade 500 and some type of cool bubble thing on the back glass. The fish Im going to be getting are just a few tetras and a few mollies. Maybe a few cats and a pleco. Thanks in advance for the help.
set up question
- Thread starter maxxjedi
- Start date
Yes, it is entirely possible to have plants in the tank from the get go and it will actually help you cycle the tank. The plants will eat up nitrates when they appear in the cycle and I believe they may even help eat up some of the ammonia and nitrite which of course will make it safer in the tank for the fish. If I am not correct about the ammonia and the nitrite I am sure that someone will be along to correct me. I do know that the plants love nitrates though which is the by product of dangerous nitrites in the tank water.
Do you know about the cycling process in the fish tank? If not I believe there is a sticky on the top of the page with some great info. on the subject.Basically the whole process can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks weather or not you plan to cycle with fish or if you plan a fishless cycle. There are ways to speed up the cycle some such as using a filter that has been running on an established tank for some time or even just obtaining some gravel from an exsisting healthy tank placed in a media bag or an unused ladies nylon stocking placed in the aquarium under the filter intake or near an airstone so the water can pass through it. If there is space inside of the filter that is even better. You just leave it in the tank for a week or two and it will help jump start your cycle. It will help seed the new filter. After the week or two is up you can remove it from the filter. Of course you need to test the water during the whole cycling process so you can make sure the water peremeters stay in the safe range for your fish. Anything above .25 on the chart is dangerous and will require a small water change to bring the levels back into the safe range for the fish. I would suggest buying a liquid test kit to test your water during the cycle if you have not done so already. A good test kit is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater liquid test kit. It is the best one on the market for freshwater systems. It will have everything in there that you need to test for including ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,ph, water hardness and possibly a few other things. Stay away from the test strips since the results tend to be rather inaccurate.
Also remember to add the fish slowly so you do not have outrageous reading in your tank water. Of course you need to add enough to start your cycle. What tetras are you thinking of adding to your aquarium? Some of them will withstand the cycling process better then others. Also, about the plants, what plants do you want to grow in your tank? What is your lighting like? I would start with some low light plants such as anubias, crypts,vals,java fern, and possibly java moss. They are easy to take care of and grow and do not require a lot of lighting.
By the way, welcome to aquaria central. You will find a lot of helpful people here waiting and willing to help you out in your underwater world.
Just some thoughts. Hope this helps.
Marinemom
Do you know about the cycling process in the fish tank? If not I believe there is a sticky on the top of the page with some great info. on the subject.Basically the whole process can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks weather or not you plan to cycle with fish or if you plan a fishless cycle. There are ways to speed up the cycle some such as using a filter that has been running on an established tank for some time or even just obtaining some gravel from an exsisting healthy tank placed in a media bag or an unused ladies nylon stocking placed in the aquarium under the filter intake or near an airstone so the water can pass through it. If there is space inside of the filter that is even better. You just leave it in the tank for a week or two and it will help jump start your cycle. It will help seed the new filter. After the week or two is up you can remove it from the filter. Of course you need to test the water during the whole cycling process so you can make sure the water peremeters stay in the safe range for your fish. Anything above .25 on the chart is dangerous and will require a small water change to bring the levels back into the safe range for the fish. I would suggest buying a liquid test kit to test your water during the cycle if you have not done so already. A good test kit is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater liquid test kit. It is the best one on the market for freshwater systems. It will have everything in there that you need to test for including ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,ph, water hardness and possibly a few other things. Stay away from the test strips since the results tend to be rather inaccurate.
Also remember to add the fish slowly so you do not have outrageous reading in your tank water. Of course you need to add enough to start your cycle. What tetras are you thinking of adding to your aquarium? Some of them will withstand the cycling process better then others. Also, about the plants, what plants do you want to grow in your tank? What is your lighting like? I would start with some low light plants such as anubias, crypts,vals,java fern, and possibly java moss. They are easy to take care of and grow and do not require a lot of lighting.
By the way, welcome to aquaria central. You will find a lot of helpful people here waiting and willing to help you out in your underwater world.
Just some thoughts. Hope this helps.
Marinemom
:welcome:
The folks here are great at helping us newbies!
You may want to steer away from the typical Plecos... most get far too big for that tank. I'm looking to find the one I bought and one I inheretid new homes.
The folks here are great at helping us newbies!
You may want to steer away from the typical Plecos... most get far too big for that tank. I'm looking to find the one I bought and one I inheretid new homes.
About the pleco, there are some species of pleco that do not get that big and would work out in a tank that size. Those being the bristlenose pleco and the clown pleco. Both of these kind max out at about 5-6 inches and are very peaceful fish. They do not bother any of the other fish and would be a nice addition to your tank. However, I would wait about 6-8 weeks so the algae has enough time to grow in your tank and the pleco has enough of it to eat. You can also suppliment their diet with algae wafers and fresh veggies such as zucchini and squash.
Marinemom
Marinemom
plants will eat ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.. if you have a heavily planted, 2-3 watt gallon light and co2 enrichment, you shouldn't need to cycle at all, in fact you'll probably need to be be adding more nitrogen sources just to keep the plants alive.
With low growth plants, low lights, sparse planting, etc.. the plants won't eat enough nitrogen before it could hurt your fish, so you'd still need to cycle. Regardless the plants shouldn't case a problem during the cycle..
With low growth plants, low lights, sparse planting, etc.. the plants won't eat enough nitrogen before it could hurt your fish, so you'd still need to cycle. Regardless the plants shouldn't case a problem during the cycle..