Do live plants speed cycle?
- Thread starter skillzdatkillz
- Start date
well in all anything that is in the tank is gonna be another place for bacteria to rest and grow, but as far as speeding it up, maybe somewhat, but nothing out of the ordinary, if your plants were in a previous cycled tank they already have benaficial bacteria on them and yes this does help speed up the proscess
thats like saying I add gravel and rock from a previously established tank to a new set-up.
your more likely to indroduce snails then speed the cycle if you use plants from an establish tank.
and he's talking about indroducing live plants period.
look at it this way
heres an example:
if you have a tank with a low small fish population and it's densley planted
the fish will be producing very little waste, little enough for the plants to absorb all of it in its ammonium form before it has the chance to convert into ammonia, so you wont have a very large bacteria population i.e in the substrate or filter.
you could say it inhibits the nitrogen cycle, but still biological removes ammonium.
heres an example:
if you have a tank with a low small fish population and it's densley planted
the fish will be producing very little waste, little enough for the plants to absorb all of it in its ammonium form before it has the chance to convert into ammonia, so you wont have a very large bacteria population i.e in the substrate or filter.
you could say it inhibits the nitrogen cycle, but still biological removes ammonium.
Actually, gravel holds quite a bit of beneficial bacteria. Thus, old gravel would indeed speed up cycling.
Regarding the effect of plants on cycling: They don't really do much per se. However, they use up nitrogen products of the cycle, which adds to overall water quality. If you plan on setting up a planted tank, you should start out planting it right away
If you would only get plants for cycling: Save the money for fish HarleyK
plants absorb ammonium, nitrates and
phosphates. Plants also assimilate other undesirable substances, such as
metals, from water helping to improve water quality.
so when you star the cycle you don't have too much of ammonium in the water.
phosphates. Plants also assimilate other undesirable substances, such as
metals, from water helping to improve water quality.
so when you star the cycle you don't have too much of ammonium in the water.
Exactly...If the plants use up all the ammonia/nitrogen etc. what would the bacteria in teh new filter have to feed on.
After tank is cycled and the bioload is established (fish) then plant your tank and readjust the bioload after plants are established. In a nutshell/readers digest version/short story.
I like to start new tanks with a bit of fast growing plant like hornwort or java moss.
At least I feel like Im doing something, not sure if it helps that much but it has worked well for me so I dont have reason to change
At least I feel like Im doing something, not sure if it helps that much but it has worked well for me so I dont have reason to change