Freshman Planted Aquarium

[lauraleellbp]

Originally Posted by problemman

this tank is about a week old and your doing a water change already!? you need to let the tank peak in ammonia and nitrates and let them come down...then you do a water change. thats when you know that the cycle is over. hold off on water changes right now and wait till it spikes...get it tested weekly if possible then see what you should be doing

I just responded in a different thread where you offered similar advice.

IMO this is nothing other than needless cruelty to fish.

Water changes MIGHT make a cycle take a LITTLE longer (probably not much, as N-bacteria live on the surfaces in tanks rather than the water column). But the alternative is to to cause pain and what is likely permanent damage to fish.

If doing a fish-in cycle, I always advise maintaining ammonia and nitrites under 0.25ppm. If you want to do a cycle without doing water changes, then do a fishless cycle.

[Cloverdale]

Originally Posted by problemman

this tank is about a week old and your doing a water change already!? you need to let the tank peak in ammonia and nitrates and let them come down...then you do a water change. thats when you know that the cycle is over. hold off on water changes right now and wait till it spikes...get it tested weekly if possible then see what you should be doing

So I guess I am confused - I know the tank needs to cycle per say to encourage the good bacteria growth, but on the other hand the amonia spike will be very harmful to the fish. Obviously I added the fish too early, but I read a lot of conflicting information on cycling a tank without fish.

So my reasoning was that I would monitor the water daily, and do water changes as needed to keep the ammonia low, which would in theory allow the good bacteria to develop in the substrate and the filter while keeping the fish as low stress as possible. Is this completly off base?

[Cloverdale]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

I just responded in a different thread where you offered similar advice.

IMO this is nothing other than needless cruelty to fish.

Water changes MIGHT make a cycle take a LITTLE longer (probably not much, as N-bacteria live on the surfaces in tanks rather than the water column). But the alternative is to to cause pain and what is likely permanent damage to fish.

If doing a fish-in cycle, I always advise maintaining ammonia and nitrites under 0.25ppm. If you want to do a cycle without doing water changes, then do a fishless cycle.

Hi! Thank you for the follow up! I am brand new to the hobby so a little unsure of myself, but I have spent a lot of time researching as I don't do anything half way! There are a lot of conflicting messages out there, so I was trying to take all the information I had absorbed, apply some logic, and move forward doing the best thing for the animals I have. I appreciate your buy-in and guidance with a focus on what is best for the fish.

[dubvstudent]

Letting the NH3 (ammonia) spike before doing a water change is pretty common advice for a saltwater tank. That said, saltwater tanks should ALWAYS be cycled without fish IMO. With a freshwater tank cycling with fish is pretty common. I too, like lauraleellbp, would recommend you do water changes to dilute the water as your tank balances out. NH3 is toxic and no living thing is going to enjoy digesting (or swimming in) large quantities of it.

[Cloverdale]

OK - so if you are following this thread, there are several different opinions out there - which is fairly typically of the fish community in general from what I can tell. The challenge is, that leaves newbies like me more than a little confused and frustrated with the hobby in general because we just want to do the right thing - of which there seems to be not.

Details: Today is two weeks the tank has been set-up with substrate and a few plants. Wednesday will be two weeks with three mollies. I test the water every day and when the ammonia gets into the stress level I do a water change (20-40% depending on the level). I have done one 20% and one 40% - last one being like Tuesday. As of last night the ammonia was very low.

Question - How will I know when my tank is officially cycled? I do plan to continue with the current course of action, testing every day and changing water when ammonia gets high. I also understand this may prolong the time it tanks for my tank to fully cycle, but that is a small price to pay to do the right thing by the fish I already have.

Question two - Would it help or hurt to get a few more plants at this point?

Question three - your best guess or the signs I should watch for, before I invest in a few more fish.

Thanks for your opinions based on your experience and best logic!!!!

[lauraleellbp]

You'll know the tank is cycled when the ammonia and nitrite drop to 0 and remain there.

Yes, the more plants the better, as they will help absorb fish waste and get your tank able to absorb more bioload that much more quickly.

At the point where the ammonia and nitrite have bottomed out, do a 50% water change. Wait till the next day, and if you still have 0ppm ammonia and nitrite, then you're ready to start slowly increasing your bioload.

[Cloverdale]

So, I had the sneaking suspicion that my platinum molly was el preggo - and my suspicions were confirmed this morning with about 1/2 a dozen tiny little fry! I immediately put the baby fry grass in my tank, one floating and one on the bottom to provide them a little protection. I had to rush off to work – so I feed the adult mollies and am just hoping for the best for the fry until I get home this evening. I will stop at the store and get some fry food, or at the very least crush up some flakes for them this evening. I am also thinking about trying a hard-boiled egg yolk which was recommended on another site.
The question now – I want to leave the little guys in the tank and not separate them out – so how do I make sure they get their food? I am thinking I will put it in the tank over the baby grass while I feed the adults on the other side of the tank.