Joshua W. Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Hi all! So I have had my planted tank for a week as of today, and I have a few questions. Should I wait before doing water tests with the API Master Water Testing Kit or test as I go through the cycle. Should I have waited to plant until it the tank had cycled? I have seen answers go either way, my Vallisneria appears to be "melting" which I understand is normal as it adjusts to the new tank. I guess my question is when should I worry that it's gone? I did do a test this morning. Nitrates looked to be at 2 PPM, Ammonia was 0, and Nitrate was 0. PH was 7.6 on the standard, 7.4 on the High PH Test. Im wondering if these numbers mean anything at all in this one week. I feel a bit dumb to be honest cause I watch videos, and read articles and everything seems to either go in either direction. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 plants right away is a good thing, they help filter the tank, and speed the cycle. have you added any fertilizer for the plants? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua W. Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 3 minutes ago, lefty o said: plants right away is a good thing, they help filter the tank, and speed the cycle. have you added any fertilizer for the plants? Yes I have put root tabs into the Eco-Complete substrate under each of the plants so that will stay in the substrate and I also have dosed twice with the Easy Green Fertilizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 thats good. just figure some plants will melt back, and some might die altogether. plants like fish, some are easier to keep than others, and then one person can keep them no problem, and another will struggle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSH OUTDOORS Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 58 minutes ago, Joshua W. said: Hi all! So I have had my planted tank for a week as of today, and I have a few questions. Should I wait before doing water tests with the API Master Water Testing Kit or test as I go through the cycle. Should I have waited to plant until it the tank had cycled? I have seen answers go either way, my Vallisneria appears to be "melting" which I understand is normal as it adjusts to the new tank. I guess my question is when should I worry that it's gone? I did do a test this morning. Nitrates looked to be at 2 PPM, Ammonia was 0, and Nitrate was 0. PH was 7.6 on the standard, 7.4 on the High PH Test. Im wondering if these numbers mean anything at all in this one week. I feel a bit dumb to be honest cause I watch videos, and read articles and everything seems to either go in either direction. Thanks in advance! Give you tank and your Vallisneria time. I don't see much for cycling yet based on those test results. I planted my Vallisneria a month ago, the leaves that it came with have either melted away or have not grown, the new leaves from the base however have reached the top of my 36" tall aquarium and are throwing runners out left and right. I did something right with them... My water is pretty hard and I started my cycle with Ammonium Chloride which might have given them a boost from the start. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBOzzie59 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, DSH OUTDOORS said: Give you tank and your Vallisneria time. I don't see much for cycling yet based on those test results. I planted my Vallisneria a month ago, the leaves that it came with have either melted away or have not grown, the new leaves from the base however have reached the top of my 36" tall aquarium and are throwing runners out left and right. I did something right with them... My water is pretty hard and I started my cycle with Ammonium Chloride which might have given them a boost from the start. Yep a pinch of Ammonium Chloride, a dash of food, some live plants, and if possible a seeded sponge filter and boom. If I'm in a hurry I'll dose some quickstart as well. (fishless cycle) Edited March 15, 2021 by KBOzzie59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) If you are in no rush to add fish you technically don't need to test your water. The only thing you are doing is using more test solution which you can save when you add fish. But it doesn't hurt to do it and I think learning and keeping track of how your system grows is invaluable. Just to remind you in case you weren't aware, since you are doing a planted cycling do not look at rising nitrates as a sign of progress. Since you are dosing easy green, you are adding the nitrates into the tank. Instead I would raise up the nitrates a little more maybe like 10ppm through easy green and wait till you start seeing it come down. Thats when you know your plants have converted and are starting to consume nutrients. And keeping an eye out for new growth would be your visual queue that there is progress. Also I know it will look ugly but I would leave all the melted leaves in the tank for now. Because technically your cycle hasn't started yet since there is no ammonia present in your system. You source of ammonia will come from the decayed leaves. If you have some fish food you can throw some in there too. But I think using old leaves would be the easiest source to introduce ammonia without having to go out and buy more things. But this is if you are not in a rush to add fish and enjoy the slower process of watching plants grow. Edited March 15, 2021 by Koi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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