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i konw that it is good to cycle your tank. i thinking about stsrting a new tank. not sure what size yet. the question i have is "can anyone tell me what exactly it means to cycle your tank", what the process is,how can i tell if my tank i cycling,and do i have to have fish in a new tank to cycle it. i have test kit and i know when my paremeters are high/low but i not sure when to tell if /when my tank is cycling .your information is very much appreciated.


Thank you.



"better to burn out than fade away."

"The Earth is God's Fish Tank"

lets see if I can tackle this one. Cycling your tank is the process by which bacteria in your tank turn harmful ammonia into a little bit less harmful nitrite and finally turn this nitrite into nitrate. A large amount of nitrate is also harmful to your fish but its the safest one of the three. To check to see if your tank is cycling you'll need to test for these three parameters. When your tank is finished cycling your tests should show 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and nitrates should gradually rise. This rising nitrate level is overcome through scheduled water changes. Most people hold the view that the liquid test kits are the most reliable so I suggest getting those if you don't already have some.

There is an alternative route to simply throwing fish in your aquarium to get the whole cycle started. There is a good article on this website located here. This method keeps fish from having to go through ammonia and nitrite poisoning. So I guess the answer to your question of "do I need fish in the tank to cycle it?" is yes, to the extent that you need some source of ammonia to get the cycle gong. I'm sure someone else will be along to explain this better if I made it sound a little confusing.

To answer the question of do you need fish to cycle your tank, the answer is both yes and no. If you purchase a product such as Cycle, or some other equivalent bacterial starter product, you do not necessarily -need- fish to start your tank cycling.

However, it is not 100% guaranteed to cycle your tank properly with the bacteria colonies that your future fish will need to survive and prosper.

I personally recommend an actual fish cycling process with a school of zebra danios, at least 8, and maybe 2 or 3 mollies. This will give you a great school of fish for starting your tank's bacteria colonies, as well as being both pleasant and amusing to watch in the tank. And also relatively cheap to purchase! Zebras and mollies also get along well with MOST community and semi-aggressive fish as well, so future stocking won't be as much of a concern. And if it still is, well, a 10g tank with HOB filter and small heater is a small investment for an entertaining and amusing school of fishthat is also well serving for cycling new tanks. IMO.

Listen! Do you smell that?

One way or another a tank does need to be cycled, whether fish do it , or you do it chemically, since obviously there is a risk of fish deaths even if you cycle a tank using tough fish like danios.

I much prefer the fishless method, its much more humane. The species of fish that can be kept in uncycled water for extended periods with no ill effects whatsoever are few and far between in the hobby, and includes among their number such unsuitable aquarium fish as african lungfish etc. Almost all other species will find living in uncycled water very difficult, and always potentially life threatening, despite the various differences in tolerance.

The basic principle of the cycle is to bacterially manage the more harmful forms of ammonia, namely ammonia and nitrite, which can be dangerous at concentrations as little as 1 part per million and convert it into into nitrate which is not as dangerous until it reaches concentrations of over 100 ppm, therefore reducing the overall toxic effects of ammonia 100 fold. Even them, most of us strive to keep the converted ammonia (nitrate) at concentrations of less than 40 ppm via water changes for peak fish health.

Basically the presence of nitrate tells you that the reaction of bacterial cycling has occurred, but its usually only safe to introduce fish at a minimum of 21 days of cycling, when the ammonia and nitrite are showing no reading or only the tiniest (less than 1 ppm) occassional fluctution above zero. Ever increasing nitrate readings and no ammonia and no nitrite mean the tank is cycled, and ready to go for fish stocking.

Putting fish in midway through a cycle when the nitrite peaks highest is the time when you are actually most likely to kill the fish, which is why I have a massive problem with the advice LFS's sometimes give out,that you can cycle a tank in a week. You cant. It takes 21 days to over a month.

Cycling is about patience, and careful water monitoring. Fools rush in and all that. There are no theoretical shortcuts to water quality monitoring and a test kit should be a part of every fishkeepers equipment. Go on the readings from an accurate test kit, and never guess the results.

To reiterate youre cycled when the readings are.

0 ammonia
0 nitrite

...and a detectable nitrate reading, usually around a 5-10 ppm or more buildup.

Thank you guys so much, you posess so much information, all of which i am aquiring. I guess the next question i wanna ask i does a well established tank go through cycling? I have a 55 gal which i have had for just about a year none of my fish have ever died. i actually cycled my tank without knowing it according to longhairedgit. i filled it up with water and just didnt have time to put fish in it for about a month. unfortunately my test kit does not test for nitrates, only nitrites and ammonia.

55Gallon ,5 Angels, 2 Silver Dollars, 1 bolivian cichlid, 1 Common Pleco, 1 Dragon Gobi, and 10 black skirt tetra's

My last test, a day ago read as follows
Ph:7.4(has never changed at all)
Nitrite: .1ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm

I thing my tank is doing well, no sighn of stressed fish, and the water looks crystal clear, i also put some live plants in it, and my filter is an aquaclear 70.

Thanks

"The Earth is God's Fish Tank"

Hi,
In addition to the information give above, you need to read
this article in the FAQ section of Fish Profiles:
http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/begin-cycling.asp

Yes, every tank cycles. The bacteria are found everywhere,
and the waste products from the fish, fish food, and dying
plants create the ammonia and other organic compounds that
the bacteria live on, and change. The fish eliminate
ammonia, the bacteria eat the ammonia, and eliminate
nitrite, and another form of bacteria eat the nitrite and
eliminate nitrate. To eliminate the nitrate you need
live plants AND water changes.

If you read the FAQ article you will find that only
when the ammonia and nitrite readings are zero, is
the tank fully cycled. The small nitrite reading could
be a fluke caused by inaccurate testing, an old test kit,
testing after feeding, a recently deceased fish/snail,
recently introduced new fish(s), or could be
introduced directly from the tap water.
Take a sample of your tank water to your
LFS, have them test it with their test kit, and see if the
results are duplicated. If they come up with zero for both
then consider replacing your kit, it has aged and is no
longer producing accurate results.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank you always put it in perspective. thank all of you so much, i now have a better understanding of whats going on in my tank that i cant see.

Thank you.


ooops one more thing, my tap water ph is 7.4 and so is my tank, is it good for ypour ph to not change?

"The Earth is God's Fish Tank"

Hi,
Yes, a stable pH is vital to good fish health.
It takes a lot of energy to adapt their metabolism to
changing pH. The stress of that leads to susceptibility
to various diseases, such as Ich, and even death.

However, that being said, don't get carried away worrying
or trying to lock a tank at a specific pH. Fish can deal
with small changes, and even large ones over time.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

If you have a tank that has been running for a year then you can use it to seed the new tank. I have done this many times and it makes the whole process faster. Just use bacteria from the old tank to cycle the new tank. I am sure you know as an Aquaclear owner you can get media bags for your filter. Fill these bags with filter media from the old tank and place them in your new filter. The bacteria will help to colonize the new tank. You can also fill those bags with gravel from your established tank. Using gravel and decor from an established tank in your new tank can help too. Using the Cycle product mentioned by Lysaer combined with this can certainly help too. Even with this little trick you are still looking at 3 weeks as LongHair said. Good luck!


"Talk is cheap. Action can be almost as affordable"

i appreciate the information guys. Using the knowledge that i have learned, i now know that my tank is healthy and doing fine, i think its amazing that my tank survived this long without knowing what i do now. actually i have been doing the good stuff for my tank without knowing, like the cycling, i didnt know to do that but i put a few zebra's and never had time to stock more fish, GOOD THING I DIDN'T.



"The Earth is Gods FISHTANK"

"The Earth is God's Fish Tank"