Hi all, i have a new tank 3 weeks old, was wondering when to add my first fish, its a fully planted aquarium, actually I've been also wondering if planted aquariums do fully cycle?
I dont know my parameters yet, im added food once, plants are grown fast actually, plus i used my sons aquarium filter to quick start mine. No cloudy water yet, although i do have a 5ft sump filter on my aquarium that does a superb job, I do have a few spots of brown algae at the bottom,
- What are you current parameters for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrates?
- How are you cycling your aquarium? (i.e. have you been adding food?)
- Is your filter operational and been running for the last 3 weeks?
- Have you gone through any stages of bacterial bloom, cloud water etc?
5 Foot Sump!! How big is the aquarium?! 😀i do have a 5ft sump filter on my aquarium that does a superb job
Once per day? Or once in the three weeks?im added food once
Yeah, would be great to get a sense check of where the parameters are. But as @PARAGUAY says, you are probably looking for around 5-6 weeks (taking into account you have used established media to seed your new aquariumI dont know my parameters yet
The whole system is empty is around 1800liters5 Foot Sump!! How big is the aquarium?! 😀
Once per day? Or once in the three weeks?
Yeah, would be great to get a sense check of where the parameters are. But as @PARAGUAY says, you are probably looking for around 5-6 weeks (taking into account you have used established media to seed your new aquarium
That is one massive aquarium! Awesome - and I am very jealous!The whole system is empty is around 1800liters
I put food in once! Should i be doing this daily? I need to go get a test kits to test the parameters could i use saltwater test kit i have?
I put food in once! Should i be doing this daily?
No, you don't need to, and it doesn't. The level of ammonia (NH3) (Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen) isn't actually that relevant to cycling. Just ignore everything you read on other forums, social media, or are told by LFS etc, <"it is all wrong">.If you add food daily (pretending there is some fish in there) it helps the tank cycle as the fish food rots and creates ammonia. The water will get darn right murky at some point, but eventually it will clear giving you an indication your aquarium is ready for habitation.
You <"don't need a test kit"> and the salt water one you have won't work for nitrate (NO3-), potassium (K) etc. The difference is that salt water is a very salty medium with a known (and huge) quantity of sodium (Na+) and chlorine (Cl-), which can be taken into account. If you don't have interference from those ions the test kit readings won't be accurate, you've built in constants (for Cl- and Na+) for variables that don't exist.I need to go get a test kits to test the parameters could i use saltwater test kit i have?
I'm not anti-testing, <"I actually look after a lab.">, but there are a <"number of issues"> with the test kits available to us. Plants are very efficient at <"removing all forms of fixed nitrogen"> (and other nutrients) and that is why <"plant based "cycling"> works.As said, that is just one way and something I used to cycle my tank - including using a test kit to check that ammonia and nitrite decline over time, and nitrates start to appear. (Although in your case, you have plants so they could end up removing all the nitrates!).
So no need for a test kit? Can i add a few fish now?Hi all,
No, you don't need to, and it doesn't. The level of ammonia (NH3) (Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen) isn't actually that relevant to cycling. Just ignore everything you read on other forums, social media, or are told by LFS etc, <"it is all wrong">.
The whole <"ammonia based microbial cycling"> concept was an idea is <"based on science"> that has been <"totally superseded">, unless you keep <"Mbuna">.
We have a couple of threads where we've actually talked to scientists involved in this work.
- <"Bacteria revealed">.
- <"Dr Timothy Hovanec's comments about Bacterial supplements">
- <"Correspondence with Dr Ryan Newton - School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee">.
You <"don't need a test kit"> and the salt water one you have won't work for nitrate (NO3-), potassium (K) etc. The difference is that salt water is a very salty medium with a known (and huge) quantity of sodium (Na+) and chlorine (Cl-), which can be taken into account. If you don't have interference from those ions the test kit readings won't be accurate, you've built in constants (for Cl- and Na+) for variables that doesn't exist.
I'm not anti-testing, <"I actually look after a lab.">, but there are a <"number of issues"> with the test kits available to us. Plants are very efficient at <"removing all forms of fixed nitrogen"> (and other nutrients) and that is why plant based "cycling" works.
cheers Darrel
Can i add a few fish now?
You may be able to, but you really need to wait for the tank to grows in. The advantage of a tank with a <"lot of healthy plant growth"> is that it is fish safe, you don't need to know anything else, you can <"just use your eyes">.Plants are the best way to cycle IMO, but they need to be growing healthy . I usually wait approx6 weeks before adding livestock
Can we have a picture?its a fully planted aquarium
I should have added a proviso to that, and asked a couple of questions.You may be able to,
I should probably post this somewhere as well <"Water Quality: A Holistic Approach | DrTim's Aquatics">.......... If you do need to add nitrifiers the best source is from an aquaponics or aquaculture system that is already running and removing ammonia. Some water or sediment/soil or part of the biobilter (if there is one) is an excellent starter. Without this source as an inoculum then you could add some roots from plants from any other tank that is running - these are likely to have nitrifiers associated with them. A small clipping put into the tank would be enough.....
I would be greatly interested and love to read this once you have some time. I do think you should include the alternative (without plants) just for balance/comparison.When I have time I'll write a proper "cycling guide". I have the references, but I need to measure some water parameters using the kit in the analytical lab.
That is mainly why I need to get some empirical values. A bit like @_Maq_ 's experiments <"Maq's experiment 23b">, you would need a control treatment.I do think you should include the alternative (without plants) just for balance/comparison.
Now, you are just being flashy. 😀 I'm just a boy from Essex! 😀The problem with adding more factors is that replication rapidly grows out of hand. You would want at least 6 replicates for statistical purposes, and if you want to look at interactions (multifactorial experiments) that number grows very rapidly.
Just so I understand (and in no way to be inflammatory!), what do you mean specifically by "plants will take care of business"? i.e. what are you describing exactly when you say "business'?Plant densely, wait for some good growth, fertilize from day one. The more plants you have in the from the get go the faster you can introduce fish. If you're using highly enriched substrate you might want to wait for that to settle and stop leaching. It's not cut in stone, but the 6 weeks that @PARAGUAY mentioned above is a good number. You can further accelerate the process by introducing some filter material or gravel from an established tank, but usually the plants will take care of business.
That is, help establish and mature the tank... spark and accelerate growth of a healthy beneficial microbial community... which eventually is essentially what we qualify as a mature (or "cycled") tank."plants will take care of business"?
It just means that <"plant / microbe' biofiltration"> is much more effective than "microbe only" biofiltration. There isn't any "plant only" biofiltration, even if you only have floating plants.Just so I understand (and in no way to be inflammatory!), what do you mean specifically by "plants will take care of business"? i.e. what are you describing exactly when you say "business'?
Basically a planted aquarium, with actively growing plants, will produce better water quality than an unplanted one. This is partially because of the increased volume of tank available for microbial colonisation and partially because of the <"massive net oxygen production of plants">, not only the oxygen from photosynthesis, but also the ammonia and nitrite that they take up, which then doesn't enter microbial nitrification....... I think some questions should be answered—for example, the difference between a cycled aquarium/filter and one that can deal with pathogens. Or maybe, is a cycled filter a healthy one?