Posts by BryceM
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What "cycle" are we talking about here exactly?
If we're referring to waiting for populations of bacteria that convert ammonia => nitrite => nitrate, then I don't see the point. Use a bunch of plants and keep the bioload low. Any ammonia that shows up will be easily consumed.
There isn't much evidence that bacterial processing of ammonia in a nicely planted setup is all that important.
If we're talking about waiting until the bacterial, algal, microbial, and invertebrate populations stabilize then that I agree with. Despite what we'd like to think, our little glass boxes are enormously complex little systems. Our understanding of the underlying physiology and biochemistry is pretty limited.
Waiting a while to add fish is probably a good idea, but it isn't for the same reason that one would do it for the standard fish-only tank.
If we're referring to waiting for populations of bacteria that convert ammonia => nitrite => nitrate, then I don't see the point. Use a bunch of plants and keep the bioload low. Any ammonia that shows up will be easily consumed.
There isn't much evidence that bacterial processing of ammonia in a nicely planted setup is all that important.
If we're talking about waiting until the bacterial, algal, microbial, and invertebrate populations stabilize then that I agree with. Despite what we'd like to think, our little glass boxes are enormously complex little systems. Our understanding of the underlying physiology and biochemistry is pretty limited.
Waiting a while to add fish is probably a good idea, but it isn't for the same reason that one would do it for the standard fish-only tank.
1 - 2 of 35 Posts
