When should I add plants to my new aquarium?

When should I add plants to my new aquarium?

Marc Grover (Professional Aquarist) gives expert video advice on: What plants are best for my freshwater aquarium?; How do I choose a healthy plant for my aquarium?; What kind of lighting will my aquarium plants need? and more...

When you are adding plants to an aquarium, there are a couple of schools of thought. Because they absorb fish waste as food, you can sometimes get away with adding them pretty much right away when you start cycling your aquarium, because it's going to absorb the fish waste as food. That's the new school of thought. The old school of thought is to wait until your tank has gone through its cycling period or its breaking period if you will, and then go ahead and add the plants at that time.