This site is supported by the advertisements on it, please disable your AdBlocker so we can continue to provide you with the quality content you expect.
  1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.
  2. We are after as many aquarium plant images that we can get, doing so will assist us in completing the aquarium plant database.

    https://barrreport.com/threads/aquatic-plant-images-wanted.14374/
    Dismiss Notice
Cookies Aquarium Plant Images Wanted

fishless cycle but with turtles

Discussion in 'General Plant Topics' started by t2lieu, Apr 23, 2008.

  1. t2lieu

    t2lieu Junior Poster

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2008
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Local Time:
    11:31 PM
    Hi what i get from a cycled tank is that it requires time, surface area for bacteria to colonize, and fish waste

    so i thought generally turtle waste approximately the same as fish waste

    so would it be possible to have a not so much the "fishless" cycle but a turtle cycle to start a tank?

    Let me know what you guys think

    Thanks for reading,

    TL
     
    #1 t2lieu, Apr 23, 2008
  2. VaughnH

    VaughnH Lifetime Charter Member
    Lifetime Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2005
    Messages:
    3,011
    Likes Received:
    89
    Local Time:
    11:31 PM
    Plant the tank heavily with fast growing stem plants from the beginning and you don't need to cycle it at all. At most you need to use just a few fish in it for a couple of weeks or so, then you can treat it as fully cycled and add the fish you want. The whole point behind cycling a tank is to avoid a buildup of ammonia and/or nitrites, which would harm the fish. The fast growing stem plants will use those nitrogen compounds for food, preventing them from building up at all.
     
    #2 VaughnH, Apr 23, 2008
  3. t2lieu

    t2lieu Junior Poster

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2008
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Local Time:
    11:31 PM
    any chance i can go without the massive load of plants instead go for a medium one?
    i'm limited on my budget suppose i increase the temperature of the water and increase oxygen to the tank?

    I'm trying to build some bacteria cultures?
     
    #3 t2lieu, Apr 24, 2008
  4. tkos

    tkos Junior Poster

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2007
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Local Time:
    11:31 PM
    If you use a lesser amount of fast growing plants then I would guess that you would need to use less fish and test to make sure that ammonia and nitrite aren't becoming an issue.

    The fishless cycle would work as well, but from what I understand you should add plants during a fishless cycle that uses ammonia. Turtle poo may be a different story.
     
    #4 tkos, Apr 25, 2008
  5. Tom Barr

    Tom Barr Founder
    Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2005
    Messages:
    18,660
    Likes Received:
    597
    Local Time:
    11:31 PM
    It's like plowing a field and then only planting 1/2 the field.
    The other parts will get weeds(algae in our case).

    You can clean and add herbivores(weed the field yourself) till things fill in, or use the Dry start method(see article threads), which cycles the bacteria, as well as allows for the foreground plants to fill in nicely,.

    Going cheap on the initial planting is one of the major common mistakes made in new tank start ups.

    Get lots of plants, this is why local clubs and friends can really help when starting a new tank, then it's not so costly and the quality is 5X better than mail order.
    Turtle waste is extremely rich, I'd stay away from that.
    Increasing temp should help, to about 82-84F.

    But the dry start will help a lot, except with some stem plants, swords, Crypts, any foreground weed, all do well, and there's no work involved, just wait 3-6 weeks, then fill the tank, add the stem plants that do not respond well to terrarium culture.

    Since the sediment is saturated, and there's plant roots and other sources of organic nutrients, the bacteria grow much faster and establish larger colonies than that of NH3 based fishless cycling. Once there's enough plant biomass, the plants can take over and really add to the bacterial cycling.


    Regards,
    Tom Barr
     
    #5 Tom Barr, Apr 25, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Loading...
Similar Threads - fishless cycle turtles
  1. ilaizm

    EI problem during a fishless cycle

    ilaizm, Apr 28, 2009, in forum: Estimative Index
    Replies:
    20
    Views:
    254
    Tom Barr
    Feb 22, 2010
  2. GR1KTR

    Fishless Cycling

    GR1KTR, Jul 4, 2013, in forum: General Plant Topics
    Replies:
    4
    Views:
    150
    GR1KTR
    Jul 11, 2013
  3. th3budd

    PAR for Finnex Planted 24/7 on 24/7 cycle

    th3budd, Apr 19, 2017, in forum: Lighting
    Replies:
    0
    Views:
    379
    th3budd
    Apr 19, 2017
  4. jb1974

    new 190g...added fish and no cycle? should I add ferts now?

    jb1974, Jan 23, 2017, in forum: Aquatic Plant Fertilization
    Replies:
    2
    Views:
    155
    jb1974
    Feb 7, 2017
  5. Gustavo Woltmann

    Light cycle

    Gustavo Woltmann, Feb 16, 2016, in forum: Lighting
    Replies:
    2
    Views:
    56
    Dennis Singh
    Feb 16, 2016

Share This Page