Your help/inputs/suggestions please!!

Perhaps to help, you could list your specific questions in this thread.

With natural planted soil tanks (I'm planning one), you are going to get ammonia & such due to the bacteria naturally occurring in the soil. If you are heavily planted & very lightly stocked, the plants will take in the ammonia, which is called a "silent cycle". I could not see any pictures so not sure what your tank looks like.

Cycling could take several weeks, maybe even months. I do not recommend you add more livestock to your tank until it is complete.
 
Fishycat thanks. I am concerned about ammonia/No2 levels. They seems to be sky high. I am doing water changes alternate days.

For pics, please check my personal Gallery. PLease do let me know if you are not able to view it. I have two albums there, initial setup and after I tried to do planted tank along with my test readings.

Q) What shall I do in addition to water changes in order to maintain ammonia levels??
Q) Is my tank having enough plants to deal with Ammonia or shall I add more plants?

Thanks.
 
Q) What shall I do in addition to water changes in order to maintain ammonia levels??

You have a lot of fish in your tank (what is your stock list?)... if this is your only tank, you can either return some fish to the store or continue doing large daily water changes - at least 50% if not 75%. Your cycle appears to be on it's way, nitrite (NO2) is climbing... keep up with daily testing with large water changes...

Q) Is my tank having enough plants to deal with Ammonia or shall I add more plants?

You look like you have a good amount of plants, it's just that your fish load is rather heavy. With the Walstad natural planted tanks, you should have less fish (so the plants can keep up with the bio-load) - especially during the initial cycle. I'm assuming you're using a filter of some sort?


also: How thick is your soil layer? 1" or less, right? Anyway, I like the look of your planted tank! :thm:
 
Thank you very much.
My Stock list:10- > 2 Black Dalmetian Mollys, 4 Platys, 4 Zebra Danios

I am having inner filter Fluval 1. I also have one extra filter Innerfilter - Aquael Fan 1+ which I am not using yet.

I also have another small 20 lit one which I am using for Fry(I have 4 platy frys there.)
Which ones of above stock , you recommend me to shift to 20 Lit small one if I have to reduce fish load in 52 lit?

Soil layer: 1 inch and 1.5 cm 2-3 mm sand and then 1cm 3-5mm.
Plants I have planted in so far are:
Amazon, Gymnocoronis, Zosterrifolia, Wistaria, Pollyseprma and couple of other
 
Your stock isn't too bad, daily 50-75% water changes should help...
 
Thank you fishycat for the inputs. I appreciate it. Started off daily water change. Noticed one of male platys staying alone and at bottom and not eating at all. Wonder whats with him. Any guess? Shall I shift him into small fry tank??

My other fry tank is cycled well and now I am running it with two small internal filters. Idea is, I will shift one of the filters in my 18G tank once it has enough bacteria.How I will find it out I don't know. Do you think this will speed up cycling of 18G?
 
I am not sure about your platy, you could start a thread in the illness section for help...

You could take some of the filter media (rings/sponge/foam) from your established filter & add it to your new filter on this tank - it will help speed up the cycle by provided a good colony of beneficial bacteria. You could also rinse/squeeze out your established filter media in the new tank (this also spreads some beneficial bacteria, which live on the media).
 
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