Just Put Sand And...

[Sheridanp]

Nope.

I am just going to add my fish now, and do some water tests tomorrow. Thanks, like I said, it was a great sucess and I am really happy.

 

[Torrean]

If you said nope about the nitrogen cycle question you should really look into it. The filter in your tank is actually a bacteria house. Your fish poo and release ammonia from there gills, the poo is broken down into ammonia which is very poisonous to fish. Thankfully, ammonia can be broken down by a bacteria which colonizes your filter shortly after the fish are added to the tank. These bacteria break down the ammonia into something called nitrIte (emphasis on the capital I). Sadly nitrIte is highly toxic to fish aswell...after a bit of ammo (ammonia) has been turned into nI (nitrIte) another sort of bacteria colonizes your filter. This bacteria turns the nI into nitrAte (emphasis on the capital A) nA (nitrAte) is moderatly toxic to fish and can build up for a while before causing any harm to your fish. nA is removed by plants and water changes. This is the main reason biweekly 20% water changes are a neccessity.

The Nitrogen cycle usually takes around a month to complete during which time your fish will be swimming in a toxic soup. There are a few things you can do about this...

1. Get filter media from a healthy tank and seed your tank with beneficial bacteria. This will exponentially decrease your cycle time. gravel and ornaments also carry a good bit of ben. bact. but not nearly as much.

2. Go to the store and buy a cycling aid. There are several different cycling aids. Some of excellent repute and some considered not so hot.

2A BIOSPIRA is generally considered to be a great cycling aid. It is refrigerated has a shelflife and you can fully stock your tank immediatly. It claims to cycle a tank in 24 hours but this seems to vary from case to case

2B biozyme and other cycling aids which are not refrigerated and do not have a shelf life. These cycling aids are iffy. I've heard of them working great and also of them not working at all. Apparently the bacteria has a dormant stage or something...anyway I wouldn't personally recommend them but many people swear by them.

2C Ben. Bact.... some stores sell ceramic balls that have ben. bact. colonized on them allready. These should work beautifully as long as the tank they come from is healthy and they are shipped to your house in water. I make aquarium ornaments and I'm testing them to see if I can use them for this.

3 Ammolock. This stuff supposedly locks up the ammonia into a harmless form that the bacteria can still consume. This keeps your cycle going while keeping your fish safe from ammonia poisoning. However I am not aware of an nI-lock so I would not recommend this method of cycling a tank

4 waterchanges... you can always go the old fashioned route =)...buy some test kits (which you should do anyway) and test your water atleast bidaily. If the levels get up to .5-1 then do a 20% water change. This makes your cycle take much longer because you are constantly removing the ammonia that keeps the cycle going. But lots of people use this method.



I personally recommend using bio spira or seeding your tank somehow. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

[Sheridanp]

I will look into that. Thanks.

 

[Sheridanp]

So, I can use any of of those methods? I think the biospira will be the fastest. That won't take a month.

 

[Torrean]

yes... I'm sure it's not a complete list though... If you didn't allready have fish I'd say do a fishless cycle but oh well. =)

 

[Sheridanp]

Well, I didn't really do a fishless cycle ever. My brother had the tank before me, and he passed it on. It still had a fish, I got rid of it, cleaned the tank, and put new fish in. I was told it was unnecessary.

 

[Torrean]

i suppose that's a matter of opinion. a cycle will happen no matter what you do as long as you add fish... that doesn't mean that the fish will survive the cycle. I think we should do something to make it easier on them.

 

[Sheridanp]

Ok, well, bless you for all your help. I'm sure it has improved my fish tank in many ways. I will make new threads when help is needed.

I can finally go out and buy some more fish!

 

[Torrean]

No. You should not add any more fish until your cycle is complete.

Wait until your tank has readings of 0 Ammo 0 nI 40 or less nA once you get to that point you can add a few more fish...unless you are planning on buying some biospira. If you are then you can go ahead with a full stocking list.

Oh and what kind of algae eater do you have?

 

[Sheridanp]

Not sure, but he's a big sucker. 3 inches.

I will use the Biospira. I tested last night, everything was excellent. But, I need a new testing kit because I am missing the ammonia test, and that's a huge element.