How many plants are needed for a silent cycle?

[RicSh]

Here's my aquarium plant update...

I've added vinyl to the back, but had some air bubble issues. Still looks alright, though!




Found some water wisteria in a pond, gave it a good clean and added it to the tank. It was half out of the water, but seems to be doing fine.



Got some frogbit too. The vinyl's not looking great from the top, if I'm honest.
If I've got enough plants now and can sort out the pH issue, I'm thinking of adding a couple of fish every week.

[bronze_shield]

Looks like you're off to a good start with your aquarium plants.

[whetu]

Appears decent to me.

[Lurcher]

Haven't used Wisteria myself but came across something interesting - apparently, it can just float on the surface. Is that right? If so, do you think it'll be more effective for cycling when left on the surface of the tank?

[bronze_shield]

Haven't used Wisteria myself but came across something interesting - apparently, it can just float on the surface. Is that right? If so, do you think it'll be more effective for cycling when left on the surface of the tank?

Wisteria does work as a floating plant, but I think it's better suited to being partially submerged, like you have it now. I'd keep it in the tank, maybe move it more to the sides, and supplement with some dedicated floating plants - you could always get more of what you already have, like frogbit. Personally, I'm a fan of Salvinia, it's a great option for a floating plant.

[Lurcher]

Not a fan of Salvinia, I've got plenty of Frogbit and Water Lettuce, they're doing the job for me.

[sSjey]

I had a salvinia experience a while back - it all went brown and died in a couple of weeks during a heatwave. Someone suggested at the time that the condensation under the lid was the culprit, as plants with hairy leaves like salvinia supposedly don't like condensation dripping on them. Not sure if that's true, but it did die off.

I've since switched to hairless-leaf floating plants, just in case that theory holds water.

[RicSh]

Looks like you're off to a good start with your aquarium plants.

I'm still a bit concerned though, is the amount of plants I have sufficient? What percentage of the tank are they occupying?

[Raynae]

Aim for a balance between aesthetics and functionality, where your plants take up a decent amount of space but still leave enough room for your future fish to swim. Since you're starting with smaller plants, you'll naturally trim and replant stems as they grow, so when you introduce fish, do it gradually and keep a close eye on ammonia levels to ensure your plants and beneficial bacteria can handle the added load.