Yay for plants!

[Gracie8890]

Ok so i decided on making my 10g a planted tank" yay! My mom is going to take me to the store tomorrow so we can buy substrate and the plants! (And maybe a snail if i have enough money)so i also have a few questions. How long do i have to QT the plants or do a fishless cycle? I dont really have a good place to keep blitz while doing this(so far the best i can do is a 1 gallon pitcher) and i really cant have him in there for 3 weeks. So can i just set up my aquairum (after carefully desnailing the plants) and then let it cycle overnight and add blitz back in the next day? And also how do i add in the substrate? Do i put fill my tank with water then pour it kn or fill tank with substrate then pour in water? Thanks so much!

[ItsKourtneyYoC8]

It's possible to.do a fish.in cycle.if.you have no other.option. and put the substrate first then decor and plants the add water.
maybe you can let it cycle.overnight too. I'm sure someone will be here to help.

[LebronTheBetta]

I agree with the poster above 1+^

The cycling process doesn't mean to let the filter run overnight. It's a process that can take up to 6 weeks to finish. The bacteria (Nitrospira and Nitrosomus) eat ammonia and nitrite, they grow in the media of the filter. You just need to build a big enough colony for the number of stock you'll have. Read the stickies about cycling fish-in and good luck!

[ItsKourtneyYoC8]

I'm pretty aurebifbyou read oldfishladys sticky how to natural planted tank it tells you the tank is going to go through is called the silent cycle and you should only do like 25% and 50% changes for 2 or 3 weeks I believe.

[LebronTheBetta]

Um.. Isn't this tank just planted? It doesn't mean it's a NPT.

[Gracie8890]

I, not entirely sure what the difference is between the two, but yes i think its just going to be planted, and thank yall so much! I will read up on fish in cycles

[LebronTheBetta]

A NPT uses real organic soil for the plants. The bulb needs to be at least 6500K and all that. It's HEAVILY planted. Not heavily, it's HEAVILY planted. Like, you cover 50% of the tank with plants or more, no joke. :o
A planted tank just has plants whether sand or gravel. Not heavily planted, just some in most cases.

[Gracie8890]

Oh, then i have a planted tank! A Npt does sound cool tho!

[LebronTheBetta]

Yeah, it is. But all the plants might make you have a headache.

[Silverfang]

Starting a tank with live plants is far more forgiving on a fish than any other way. While this might not be an npt, it is likely you will still go through a silent cycle. Depending on the amount of ammonia put out by the fish, and the amount "eaten" up by the plants. Especially if you have alot of stem plants. If you only have 2-3 plants like anubis or swords or java fern, I would be more concerned about a regular cycle.

As a note, anubis, swords and java fern are all "easy" plants, and do well in lower light.