cycling planted tank

[cope]

So the tank is running now for 2 days..... I thought I would get a jump on cycling so I had a couple of those small bags of bio media (disc & rocks) that I had in a tank for over a month now... I also grabbed one of my old filter from a HOB filter ( about 1 month old)
these all came from cycled tanks...
1) added conditioner (to remove the chlorine)
2] installed the above bio Media into the filter

I checked the tank today and the amonia is reading 1.0 to 2.0  nitrite 0  and nitrate 0     is this normal?

My thoughts were that I would get a jump on the cycle process and be able to put my angel fish in today, but I was afraid to because the levels were high..

why would the amonia be high like that..... is it because of the wood?   I do have 10 black neons in there now, but did not think they could have created that spike in amonia in 12 hours..

any thoughts?

[Zulaab]

Re: cycling planted tank

Cope -- are these strips or drop tester ?
My strips show 1-2 on the ammonia.. my drop kit (which I trust) shows 0

With 1-2 you are going to kill fish.   So unless you have fish happy in there I am going to say that your readings are wrong unless you are using a drop kit.

[cope]

Re: cycling planted tank

I am using the drops...

[SCOTT]

Re: cycling planted tank

I would be willing to bet on bad seed stock for the bio mass. Did you rinse the seed material in tap water before relocating it to the new tank? If so, the chlorine in the tap water is your most likely culprit. I would try seeding again, only with no rinsing of the seed material.

[cope]

Re: cycling planted tank

..... but I find it strange that most research I have read says that a planted tank needs no cycle... as the plants consume the amonia, nitrite and nitrates...   and that if you use a seeded filter that most of the bateria will die off due to lack of food .....

[eklikewhoa]

Re: cycling planted tank

If you used ADA Aquasoil then the instructions state that the soil aids in cycling....so what that means is that it will leach ammonia to jump start your cycle.

With that being said...

Normally when cycling a planted tank you want to load up the tank heavily with plants....plant everything on initial setup and some if possible(wisteria and other fast growers will help) Remove the plants added to soak up the nitrogen after it has gone through the cycle.

Also with seeded material if it is not up to par you will get what you are seeing on your test kit....if it was up to par it would have converted through the nitrogen cycle already.

[cope]

Re: cycling planted tank

no Scott.... What I did was .... I had some small net bags of bio material and I placed them into the back of my HOB filter... prob for about a month.... I took them and put them in aquirium water and brought them to my shop (where the new tanks are at) and I did not start the filter untill the tank was full and conditioned.... assuming that the coditioner did it's job and removed the chlorine... I also went as far as bringing an old wet filter media from one of the other filters and placing it into the planted tank filter.... I am pretty sure I have followed the proper steps.... do you think that the small black neons would produce that kinda amonia spike in 2 days?   It could be possible.... I just would not of thought it...

[cope]

Re: cycling planted tank

Thanks EK, that makes sense...... I may need to put more plants in... but I thought I had plenty at the moment... I read the instructions on the ADA dirt but did not notice (or Missed) the part on the amonia ... I will re-read.... and maybe my bacteria is not up to par as stated.....I will keep monitoring the situation..... thank you EK.... and if there are any tips or tricks you might have that would help me, please fell free to pass them along....... thank you again...

[eklikewhoa]

Re: cycling planted tank

When using Aquasoil I like to do water changes everyday for about 1-2wks, or at least every other day to help it through the initial process....

Aquasoil helps lower your hardness as well as pH....in our tap water that process is abrupt since we are high on both ends. With the heavy water changes it forces it to get to a stable point faster and makes the transition less abrupt for the plants/fish.

[nacra99]

Re: cycling planted tank

Even if you seed the new tank with old filter media, 2-3 days is still too short a time for bacteria to get established. The point of cycling is for the beneficial bacteria to multiply and spread throughout the tank, plants, rocks filter... etc. I would say even with seeding, it would take a couple of weeks for a full cycle. The exception would be if you took an already established filter medium and moved it to the new tank. Then your tank will be closer to being cycled than if you are just seeding it.

I'm personally not a big fan of planted cycles because you are relying on plants to achieve nutrient balance rather than ensuring that there is sufficient bacteria to start with. I prefer to get the bacteria balance right before planting but that's a personal preference. But if you do a planted cycle, (like ek said) make sure you have many fast growing stemmed plants during the cycle.  This should help keep the toxic nitrogen compounds at bay while the bacteria takes root. As the tank gets established, you can slowly replace the stemmed plants with other prettier slow growing plants if you wish.

Or.....

Just pop down to your LFS and pick up a packet of biospira (the refrigerated kind). It is pricy, but it fully cycles a tank in 24 - 36 hours.
Being lazy nowadays, i find myself going the route of biospira a lot... i guess there's a price to pay for impatience.

[nacra99]

Re: cycling planted tank

If you used ADA Aquasoil then the instructions state that the soil aids in cycling....so what that means is that it will leach ammonia to jump start your cycle.

Hah.. finally .. it makes sense.
I have been doing fishless cycle for years and i couldn't figure why ADA soil leaches ammonia.
It's trying to simulate a fishless cycle by releasing ammonia!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: cycling planted tank

Yes.

Works very well too if you know what you are doing cause once it's done you can fully stock the tank without any worries....but if you do a heavily planted tank then it's the best of all worlds since you have a large cycle that can handle a large bio-load and the plants to absorb the end cycle.

One of many things ADA Aquasoil offers over your std. potting soil.