Plant before or after filling??

[wookie]

Hi everyone

OK so I have plants arriving via mail tomorrow, and I was wondering if I should fill the tank and plant after, or is it easier to do with a little water then fill?? It is a mineralized soil substrate with 1 and 1/2inches of gravel over top.

A couple of questions, I'm not cycling the tank as I won't be putting fish in for a while. I had just assumed that would be ok with a planted tank and then thought again, does not cycling effect the plants in anyway??

And, I have a Fluval external and it came with a carbon media bag, does carbon take anything out of the water that the plants would use??

Prob a couple of noob questions but hey thats what a forums for!

Oh this is how its looking before I start,



I was pretty unsure about gravel sizes, so have ended up with an inch of mineralized soil, then an inch of 2mm black sand/gravel and topped of with the larger gravel you can see.

My plants were a bit hit and miss, tried to read up....then got a bit impatient and ordered the following,

3 x Cardamine lyrata
1 x Assorted Anubias sp. x 3
1 x Echinodorus amazonnicus
3 x Cryptocoryne becketii
1 x Echinodorus grandifolius
2 x Nomaphila stricta
2 x Hemianthus micranthemoides, pearl grass

feel free to laugh at any terrilble decisions!! Then warn me so I don't plant them

[epicfish]

IME, it's easier to fill after planting.

[Veloth]

Originally Posted by wookie

Hi everyone

OK so I have plants arriving via mail tomorrow, and I was wondering if I should fill the tank and plant after, or is it easier to do with a little water then fill?? It is a mineralized soil substrate with 1 and 1/2inches of gravel over top.
I find it easier to plant with a little water in the tank.

A couple of questions, I'm not cycling the tank as I won't be putting fish in for a while. I had just assumed that would be ok with a planted tank and then thought again, does not cycling effect the plants in anyway??
From what I've read and observed, in a heavily planted tank the plants will act as the cycle but the bacteria will build over time provided there is a source of ammonia.

And, I have a Fluval external and it came with a carbon media bag, does carbon take anything out of the water that the plants would use??
To my knowledge the carbon will not remove anything that the plants need.

Prob a couple of noob questions but hey thats what a forums for!

Oh this is how its looking before I start,

Attachment 13681

Nice looking start. Don't forget to post planted pics.
I was pretty unsure about gravel sizes, so have ended up with an inch of mineralized soil, then an inch of 2mm black sand/gravel and topped of with the larger gravel you can see.

My plants were a bit hit and miss, tried to read up....then got a bit impatient and ordered the following,

3 x Cardamine lyrata
1 x Assorted Anubias sp. x 3
1 x Echinodorus amazonnicus
3 x Cryptocoryne becketii
1 x Echinodorus grandifolius
2 x Nomaphila stricta
2 x Hemianthus micranthemoides, pearl grass
What type of lights do you have?

feel free to laugh at any terrilble decisions!! Then warn me so I don't plant them

Read the red.

[wookie]

Cheers Veloth,

I have a T5 compact 96W setup. With a 10,000K Ultra-sunlight bulb from
Catalina products. I have never heard of Catalina but was recommended it by the LFS.

Do you think this is enough WPG for the plants mentioned??

[Veloth]

I'm no expert in lighting but IMO you'll be OK. What Co2 source are you planning on?

[wookie]

By the looks I'm getting from the better half.....a DIY one

But I really enjoyed doing the mineralized soil, so am looking forward to working something out. Will probably be a couple of weeks before I get time to do it.

[Veloth]

I'm lucky, my wife is as addicted as I am. I ran DIY on my 55g for several months with no problem then my filter sucked a bunch of the solution into my tank killing my breading female Angel and all but thee of the fry. Thats when I switched to pressurized.

[ingg]

I tend to plant before... sorta.

I fill to the level of the substrate, then plant foreground. Do all my tie work at this point, with a spray bottle misting to keep things moist.

Some/most of the background plants go in next. For particularly fine ones, like say a Rotala Hippuris, I might wait until it is filled. Everything else goes in before filling (but with the substrate full of water, if that makes sense).

[Ugly Genius]

I always intend to plant prior to filling. For the most part, I do.
However, it's an inevitability for me that I will end up planting more -- usually a lot more -- once it's filled in. I can never get a true sense of the final 'scape until water's flowing and the plants are upright.