MindTravel3r

Hi Folks,

I am starting a new aquarium and I am in the process of a fishless cycle. The cycle appears to be doing well, and I should be ready to stock the tank another week or two. I am interested in adding some some low light, low maitanence plants as well as fish. My question is when is the right time to add plants? And, will the plants impact the chemistry of the tank in ways that will require different management than a tank that does not have plants?

One other question. I will have a light fixture that hangs above the tank. Currently, the tank is open on top. Is it better to have a piece of plexi-glass at the top of the tank or leave it open. I am adding water twice a week, but it seems like the open surface would allow more light in and greater oxygen transfer. Is it better to leave it open or cover it?

The tank is a 35 gal hex with 18 watt compact florescent bulb.

Thank you for any help you can provide...

David

ryanr

Welcome to Fishlore and congrat's on fishless cycling

Re: Open top, I asked the same question not long ago, and the resounding advice was to have a cover of some description (be it a hood or cover glass), advantages = Fish can't jump out, helps reduce evaporation, prevents dust etc entering the tank.

Re: introducing plants - I would wait until Amm = 0, nitrite = 0 and Nitrates start to spike. The plants will help with Nitrates too.

Re: Gas exchange, you can add an airstone to increase oxygen in the tank, which I would do anyway given the low surface area that hex tanks typically have. Plants will also assist in providing oxygen to the water.

Re: lights - do you know the Kelvin rating of your 18w CF? Most plants benefit from 5000-7000k, but the height of the tank also needs to be considered, as the further the light has to travel into the water, the less beneficial it becomes.

Hope this helps, and good luck with everything.

LetDiceFly

You are going to have trouble growing most plants with 1/2 watt per gallon in a tall tank. Perhaps java fern but much more will require more powerful lighting. Personally I would stay fish only with the set-up you have because trying to grow plants will only be frustrating.

flyin-lowe

I cycled a 75g last October and upon the advice of many I added the plants immediately. They will help with the water chemistry and they should have some good bacteria on them from the tank they came from. My 75g has one 32 watt light (way less then 1/2 per gallon). I have 2 java ferns, 2 anubias, and 1 decent size amazon sword. The sword could use a little more light but is still alive. The others are flourishing. I have gotten about 15 new starts off of the two java ferns since Nov. that I am going to be planting in my 120g. soon.

ldsdbomber

This may be rude, but can I ask the same question but regarding my biube, its smaller, 10g, basically about 18 inch tall, and comes with a proprietary LED light source

tank
http://www.reef-one.com/biube-pure/b...ure-specs.html

light
http://www.reef-one.com/biorb-access...led-light.html

I think I had an anubia before, dark green biggish leaves, shortish plant, and it seemed to thrive. But a taller plant would be good to mask the heater and cables

What I am also interested in is do you have any tips to keep the from plants out of the tank, i.e. can you "seal" the pot they are in with some kind of microfibre or mesh?

Nate McFin

Ditto! hex tanks are tough to work with for plants due to the height. (Not enough light)
Some driftwood up (higher in the water column) with anubias ,java fern or moss might work.

Kelvin does not make a big enough difference to plants to worry about. The plants dont care what Kelvin rating but it does make a big difference how we see the tank. You will find 6500-10000K the most appealing to your eyes. 5,000K would look very yellow.

Nutter

Plants can have a major effect on cycling a tank. Check out these links: http://www.aquabotanic.com/plants_an...filtration.htm
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm

IMO plants should always be added before cycling begins. Putting them in after cycling or part way through can starve the building bacteria population of ammonia & stall the cycle or if there's enough plants can even lead to the bacteria dying off.

LetDiceFly

I disagree in this instance, the articles are based upon high light, CO2, and fast growing plants. The addition mid-cycle of a few slow growing plants in low light will not take-up enough N to upset the cycle and actual should speed up the process because it is likely they will bring additional bacteria along with them.

Nate McFin

Plants prefer the uptake of ammonia to nitrate. If the plants remove ammonia it is going to affect the size of the bacterial colony as the colony will only grow in conjuction with the amount of ammonia present. Slow growers will uptake less but it will affect the size of the colony. Having said that silent cycling is possible with plants only. If you are cycling and you have fish in the tank this is a great way IMO to keep ammonia levels very low. Lots of fast growing plants is key...Co2 and higher light also speeds up the nutrient uptake.

Nutter

Like Nate said plants prefer ammonia as thier nitrogen source. Even in a moderately planted tank with low light plants no ferts & no co2 you would be amazed at how rapidly they will consume the ammonia & leave little if any to get to the filter & feed bacteria. Most planted tank enthusiasts mistaken believe that plants only take up nitrate as a nitrogen source but that is incorrect. Nitrate is actually the least prefered form of nitrogen for aquarium plants. Ammonia is most prefered followed by nitrite then nitrates.

MindTravel3r

Thank you for all of thoughtful responses. I have learned much regarding plants and how they effect the environment. My Light is 6500K so it sounds as though that will be positive, but I can also see the challenge of the height of the tank. Nate's idea of using some driftwood to place some plants higher up the column is an intriguing idea. Looks like the Java Fern may be a reasonably safe start. I really appreciate everyone's input.