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planted cycling - how much how long?

9K views 62 replies 5 participants last post by  Django 
#1 · (Edited)
I just started a planted fluval chi for a future "breeding tank" I used small pebble rocks for the substrate and planted a fairly healthy jungle. I figure the excessive plants (hosting beneficial bacteria) should help cycle the tank. I will probally throw in a bit of fish food for some added ammonia goodness.

IS there any other tips for cycling a heavily planted tank? I'm just using the stock chi filtration light/filter for now but may upgrade to a hob or sponge filter down the road. I plan on using this as a breeding/fry tank once its successfully cycled.

 
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#61 ·
Hey shift,

With those plants all the ammonia will be a thing of the past. No new nitrates either - you may need to dose it. Also, start dosing micronutrients. All the other pieces must be in place and working - adequate ligting, micronutrients, nitrates around 20 ppm, water circulation. The only thing left to do is populate, which you can do after the plants are planted and working. Congrats.

Steven
 
#62 ·
Only one of the tank had dirt so I will defiantly have to do a bit of ferts. Ill snap better pics of them later. I do have some nutra fin plant gro and was thinking of doing a half dosage once a week since i have shrimp. do ypu just add them in with water changes? Do you add the amount for the whole tank or just what amount of water you are replacing?

I Also have to work on better lighting for those tanks, I will probably work on adding a few more led strips

So far one tank has CRS/CBS and the other has Rillis. Once I am able to do a bit more breeding they will double as fry tanks. It should be a fun process :)
 
#63 ·
You follow the directions on the bottle and 50% water change before you start again. And I assume you already know whether you should fertilize a soil substrate. It should only be helping (substrate fertilizer) plants that are heavy root feeders.

I would say go ahead with the Plant Gro if you find by reading the bottle that it's suitable. For the shrimp, they are aquatic animals too, and probably have close to plants' needs. Maybe there are special ferts for shrimp, though. But go ahead and try it. I use Seachem Flourish Comprehensive which is micronutrients. Be very careful of using Copper in shrimp tanks.

Steven
 
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