Will planting or Prime affect my cycle?

I am a few days into a fishless cycle.

I have been advised that planting while a new tank is cycling is a good idea. The plants like the water chemistry during cycling. It is a good opportunity to use favorable water conditions to get the plants started and it can help control algae.

I was planning to put plants in right from the beginning based on this advice, but I have not gotten around to it yet.

Wondering if people agree with this advice and wondering how big a deal it is. Should I be on a mission to get the plants in?

I used Seachem Prime as a dechlorinator for the water for my fishless cycle. Is that going to interfere with getting my cycle going?

 

I agree with everything you've said.
However, cycling is a very short amount of time compared to how long you'll probably have the tank up and running. The most important thing is to create an environment that is stable in which you can house fish and plants happily. Figuring out how to make your plants thrive even after cycling is what's going to make a difference since that's the majority of the time.
You can add the plants in now, but it's not gonna make a difference in the long run, I'd say.

 

Thanks, I will probably plant on Sunday.

 

I used Seachem Prime as a dechlorinator for the water for my fishless cycle. Is that going to interfere with getting my cycle going?

No it wont, its highly recommended to use it with fish, but it also won't hurt a fishless cycle as it doesn't block the ammonia, just renders it harmless.

 

I would say add the plants now too. Look at it this way, you have a tank with no fish in, you might as well put something in to look at whilst its cycling plus no harm will be done. Also you'll be starting your learning right away because you'll soon learn which plants are fast and slow growers so in the future it will help with placement.

 

In taking over and moving an existing tank what is the process for preserving the existing cycle biology? What is the risk of killing the cycle biology? If the existing cycle biology was balanced for a low bio load and you suddenly go to a full bio load, what happens? Do you get some ammonia and nitrites until the cycle biology steps up? Not at harmful levels for fish? Good Idea to increase bio load slowly?

If you do not kill the cycle biology, is there a likelihood that you would diminish it? So even if it was previously previously capable of processing a full bio load, it might lose a portion of that ability and will take a while to recover? Seems like taking apart and moving a tank would at a minimum weaken the bio load capacity. How long does it take to recover? Any particular steps recommended to manage the recovery?

Just newbie questions. I am curious to know. I am considering taking over a previously cycled tank and I want to understand what I would be working with.