Dying plant in fishless cycling tank

konstargirl

Hi guys! It has been almost 3 weeks since I started the fishless cycle in the 5 gallon. One of the live plants is dying. The mystery plant is the one that is dying. This is how it look before:



And this how it looks now:


Here are my tank levels now:
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 2.0
Nitrate: 5.0

I'm using the add and wait method and I'm not sure if I should do a huge water change. Please help! Thanks.

Byron

The plant looks like a crypt species, possibly Cryptocoryne cordata, and the second photo shows it is "melting" which is normal when this plant (or most any crypt) is moved. Siphon out the mush, and do not disturb the roots. New leaves will appear, it can be a few days to a few weeks or even longer.

What exactly is the "add and wait" method?

konstargirl

Oh it just basically adding ammonia in until you get readings of a 4 and just let it do it;s think until it gets to 0. Then you add more ammonia in it until you get Nitrite and Nitrate readings too. It's really quite easy to do. :D

Byron

I always have plants in my tanks, so I never cycle. I don't know how many plants you have, or what they are, but if sufficient I would not mess with adding ammonia. Let the natural biology do the job for you.

konstargirl

Oh okay. I just cute off the leafs that were melting. I didn't mess with the roots. The Nitrate levels were high like a 160! 0.0 Not sure of I should do a water change though.

The plants I have are moss, 2 java ferns and the mystery plant.

Byron

You should do a water change to lower the nitrates, at least before any fish are added. If you are using the API liquid nitrate test kit, you are aware that Regent #2 should be shaken for a good 2 minutes before adding the drops to the test tube? The instructions say 30 seconds, but this often results in faulty and high readings.