Tank cycling?

[Johnnybravo60025]

So I'm going to be getting a 10 gallon tank, and I want to try my first planted tank. I was wondering at what point you add the plants/fish in the cycle. I don't want to add them too soon so they die, but I've seen people putting them in like 2 days after setting up the tank. Also, I want to go without CO2, but then I don't want to overstock the tank. What do you think a good balance is?

Thanks!

 

[msjinkzd]

Adding plants at the onset of hte cycle is a great idea. Plants utilize ammonia so will help with your cycle. Fish should only be added after your cycle is complete (ammonia peaks and then returns to zero, nitrite peaks and returns to zero, and nitrate is having a consistent reading).

 

[Poklei]

throw in like 5 feeder goldfish to help cycle your tank

 

[Poklei]

i just started a 100 gallon and put on a filter and added some stress coat and dumped my
ruthless pink convicts in there to help cycle my tank which are still alive at the moment.

 

[msjinkzd]

if you have a tank running, there is no need to cycle with fish. This is not only detrimental to the lifespan of the "cycling" fish, but totally unecessary. Just move established media from a running tank to seed the bacteria. Planting will help as well.

 

[Johnnybravo60025]

The only problem I have is, I can't add any besides water from an existing tank because I have a biUbe, so the filter is made specifically for the tank.

 

[msjinkzd]

you could take gravel or decoration from your existing tank to help as well. Water doesnt do a whole lot as most of the bacteria live on the substrate or in the filter media.

 

[Sarah88]

what does the bb grow on in the biube, if its a sponge or something you could take it out and squeeze the bacteria water from it in the new filter and this should help as well

 

[Johnnybravo60025]

This is what the filter for the biUbe looks like:

 

[I'mHooked]

Like mentioned above, and from the picture you show of your filter, just squeeze that sponge of the old filter over your new filter media to "seed" it with bacteria. This will greatly help in reducing the typical beginning tank cycle. All the cycle does is build up beneficial bacteria that convert ammonia and nitrite, to nitrate and nitrogen gas. Also, you could add some gravel from your established tank to the new tank to help in this as well.

Regarding when to add the fish though, really you could do it at any time. But you need to monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels very carefully and frequently until you have noticed both of them drop to 0. I don't recommend buying "feeder" fish to cycle your tank, since it can be done carefully without the need for unnecessary killing.