Plant cycle help?

[RedRaz]

Hello everyone! I just set up my 10 gal tank last night. So far I have a filter, heater, thermometer and my substrate is gravel. I'm not doing a sand substrate. I purchased a few plants online and I'm just waiting for them to arrive. The plants I bought are Anubias, Anacharis, Amazon Sword, Corkscrew Vallisneria and Aponogeton Crispus. I read a few things about the last three being hard to grow in a new tank. Since I have not even begun to achieve a cycle yet. Any suggestions about anything would be helpful. I can also order more plants so if you feel another plant type will do better I can always add. ;) I hear Hornwort and Water Wisteria are good plants as well. Also for clarification purposes if I do a plant cycle I won't have to add any fish food or shrimp in it will I? I think I got a bit confused there. So any words of wisdom would be truly helpful.

Would I need to QT the plants before I put them into my tank? If yes for about how long would you rec? I don't have any fishies living in this 10 gal tank. Just conditioned water and gravel. ;)

Thank you in advance!

[Onlyonagoodday]

Originally Posted by RedRaz

Hello everyone! I just set up my 10 gal tank last night. So far I have a filter, heater, thermometer and my substrate is gravel. I'm not doing a sand substrate. I purchased a few plants online and I'm just waiting for them to arrive. The plants I bought are Anubias, Anacharis, Amazon Sword, Corkscrew Vallisneria and Aponogeton Crispus. I read a few things about the last three being hard to grow in a new tank. Since I have not even begun to achieve a cycle yet. Any suggestions about anything would be helpful. I can also order more plants so if you feel another plant type will do better I can always add. ;) I hear Hornwort and Water Wisteria are good plants as well. Also for clarification purposes if I do a plant cycle I won't have to add any fish food or shrimp in it will I? I think I got a bit confused there. So any words of wisdom would be truly helpful.

Would I need to QT the plants before I put them into my tank? If yes for about how long would you rec? I don't have any fishies living in this 10 gal tank. Just conditioned water and gravel. ;)

Thank you in advance!

I'm not going to be too helpful in this regard, because I don't know what a 'plant cycle' is. You can do a fishless cycle that won't harm the plants. However you might want to qt so you don't get snails. Qt for about a week and you should be able to find and remove the snails if you don't want them in your tank.

[RedRaz]

Thanks Onlyonagoodday! I will def QT them for a week. I hope I don't get too many snails.

The plant cycle was in another thread but was talked about briefly. I'm sorta confused about it myself. Kinda why I put this thread up hoping others would perhaps know more about it. Thank you for your advice. :)

[RedRaz]

Plant cycle is also called Silent cycle too. So actually I search more about it and the plants do all the work. I have to find the right plants and plant 50% stem plants in my tank. My other question is because I do not have fertilizer in my tank just gravel would I be able to substitute this for Fert liquid and/or tabs? I know some say you don't need these and them some say you do need these. I guess that comes back down to what plants are you planting. Hmmmm. These are the plants that I bought so far Anubias, Anacharis, Amazon Sword, Corkscrew Vallisneria and Aponogeton Crispus. Anymore suggestions?

[sunlight]

Hey RedRaz i am so glad that you got another bettas!
I don't cycle so i can't help with that. I want to say something about plants. Quarantine them for 2 weeks with NO water conditioner. Wimpy plants may/will die,so be warned. Sword,wisteria,jave will probably survive but wisteria can die. Now quarantine the plants will help with parasites, simply because parasites dies without host.

[RedRaz]

Originally Posted by sunlight

Hey RedRaz i am so glad that you got another bettas!
I don't cycle so i can't help with that. I want to say something about plants. Quarantine them for 2 weeks with NO water conditioner. Wimpy plants may/will die,so be warned. Sword,wisteria,jave will probably survive but wisteria can die. Now quarantine the plants will help with parasites, simply because parasites dies without host.

Thanks sunlight! Yeah I didn't expect to but fell in love with two (Babe and Rosie). They needed a home so since I had tanks available it felt right. I'm currently trying to cycle my 10 gal. I thought a plant cycle might be the way to go. Since in my RL I'm very plant orientated I thought it would be wonderful to cycle my tank that way. ;)

I will definitely QT my plants for the two weeks. Good to know about the water conditioner. Yeah and I so do not want any parasites. Good to know all this. Thank you! You are always very helpful. *hugs*

[aokashi]

I call the plant cycle the no cycle... lol! just dumped plants in then livestock XD

[RedRaz]

Originally Posted by aokashi

I call the plant cycle the no cycle... lol! just dumped plants in then livestock XD

I have heard people say this. It can't be that simple though can it, lol. Or am I making it harder then it is? I might get a few more hardy plants just to be on the safer side of things. So QT plants for two weeks then once they are okay put them in the tank. Is it better to tie them to things or slightly bury them in the gravel? Also liquid fert or tabs? I only have gravel in my tank.

BTW I see your planted tanks and let me tell ya you are AWESOME at it. ;) I love seeing all the plants in the tank. Kinda getting a glimpse of what it would be like in nature. Well almost. ;)

[aokashi]

Whenyou quarantine the plants... I highly recommendyou quaranine them with snails... or some kind of living creature. I think 2 weeks in tapwater will harm the plants a lot more...

[RedRaz]

Originally Posted by aokashi

Whenyou quarantine the plants... I highly recommendyou quaranine them with snails... or some kind of living creature. I think 2 weeks in tapwater will harm the plants a lot more...

The person I bought the plants from said that the anacharis might come with a snail or two. By some miracle if the plants are snail free do you recommend I buy some? If I do what kind?