Cycling and Bio-Filter in Planted Tank

So, you basically move the water around with the powerhead without any
filtration?

That's cool. I suppose I need to wait and get my bio-filtration going
until my plants are more established and dense.

It would be great to run a tank with plants as the only filter.

thanks for the info!

Shorty wrote:
So, you basically move the water around with the powerhead without any
filtration?

Yep. Or an empty filter, or an airstone for small tanks where I'm using
Flourish Excel.

That's cool. I suppose I need to wait and get my bio-filtration going
until my plants are more established and dense.

Yes. Don't try it without lots of established plants.

It would be great to run a tank with plants as the only filter.

thanks for the info!

You're welcome. It's a lot of fun to get a balanced tank going. I tend
to consider removing the filter in lightly stocked tanks with small,
fully grown fish where I can feed very lightly. I wait until the plants
are growing well enough that nitrate goes to zero if I don't add any.
Then I remove the biomedia from the filter gradually, testing for
ammonia as I go. Once the filter is empty, you can use it for water
circulation or switch to a powerhead. You do have to keep the plants
healthy. If their growth slows down, you no longer have the safety net
of a filter.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com