Can you decorate AFTER you cycle? Can you cycle without decorations?

Ridewithme38

Ok, so i'm going out today(after work) and buying a 29 gallon tank to hopefully keep some guppies, Glofish and Platy in and (maybe if it won't kill anything) angelfish(s)

But currently my financial situation only allows me to buy the 29 gallon starter kit(this one Top Fin® 29 Gallon Starter Kit - Fish - Sale Category - PetSmart ) but no substrate, gravel, plants, decorations etc...

Can someone cycle with just water or do you need Something in the tank for the bacteria to sorta, take hold of?

SaltwaterTaylor14

You should cycle the water with things that will produce ammonia. If you dont have any you can go to your local store and purchase ammonia and slowly add it to your tank. That is the fish less cycle but in order to do that, you need to get good bacteria from a healthy running aquarium

bigfish93

I guess you could do it with just the filter and tank, but you would end up with very little bacteria. I would at least pick up a bag of play sand while you are out. It is only 2 or 3 dollars and a 50 pound bag would be more than enough for your tank. Most of the beneficial bacteria lives in the substrate so it would be best to get it. As far as the rest of the decorations, you can get those later. Those don't hold much bacteria, so not having them now won't hurt much. Most of the starter kits come with a sample of food, so you can use that as a source of ammonia as I did

KendraMc

i agree with bigfish, get some substrate at least. the substrate is one of the major places the necessary bacteria will grow. everything else can be added whenever you have the money to do so and with time will have bacteria on it as well, but not as much as the substrate and filter material.

Byron

Do not get any fish today. The tank must fully cycle before fish can be added, and that takes up to 8 weeks. You can read about cycling here:
A Beginner's Guide to the Freshwater Aquarium Cycle

If your intention is to eventually have plants, it would help to add them first (with or after the substrate). Live plants can help the cycle tremendously.

Byron.