Knowing nothing I purchased most of this for my don’t to get his first betta. The wood was from a well established tank and I have the live plants . Do I still need to add anmnoinia to get the cycle started ? I’ve read many articles at this point and I’m still unsure if I should add ammonia . I set it up last night and ammonia still measures zero . There is much more to starting this all then I had any idea about so I feel I may jumped the gun now lol . I’m just trying to do something cool for
My son so go easy on me as I admit I know nothing .
Posted by VirtualPain4413
3 Comments
Is that black sand or some kind of aqua soil?
Also if it helps – I did a water conditioner before adding water and once it was going I added a starter bacteria . That’s all I’ve done so far .
Any leaves that die off from your plant (“melting”) will decompose and become ammonia. You already have plants and bacteria starter so your bacteria will develop. And as with new plants and new tanks, some leaves will most likely melt off (dont worry they grow back new leaves).
If you want to speed up the process, youu can add just a bit of fish food (not too much, just like what u can take between ur fingers) and let it rot, it will become ammonia. Im not that experienced also a beginner, but I have personally added a bit of fish food (like 3 times maybe, days apart) to try and get as much bacteria formed as possible before getting fish, as well as the bacteria starter u mentioned.
Regardless, test your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates before bringing in new fish. And with plants in now, give it at least 2-4 weeks to get your bacteria going.