MountGuppy
Fishaholic
what is cycling and how do you do it 
what is cycling and how do you do it
- Thread starter MountGuppy
- Start date
semper fi
mrs southeast michigan 2005
here is an article that i wrote for another forum that i mod on.
cycling is the first step to starting a fish tank. there are basically two ways to cycle one is to start with adding ammonia to jumpstart the tank. the other is to add fish to start the cycling. with a fishless cycle you need to start the cycling by adding some element other than fish to start raising the levels of ammonia. ammonia is created mostly by fish waste, uneaten food or decomposing plant matter. you can acheive this by one of two ways. either purchase ammonia and add it by drop til the levels of ammonia are raised. you can tell if the ammonia is raised by using a test kit that should be on hand whenever keeping fish. the ammonia should be pure. if you shake it and it bubbles it is not pure but has additives to it. another way is to feed the empty tank letting the food decompose on the gravel bed. ammonia is then turned into nitrites. nitrites is a lesser concentrated form of ammonia. still harmful to fish but not as harmful as the purer form, ammonia. once the levels of ammonia peak, the levels of nitrites should start to raise and the levels of ammonia lower.
the nitrite step is important as this is where the nitrifying bacteria is formed. this is also called the beneficial bacteria. nitrobacter and nitrosomona are the two beneficial bacterias that are present in the gravel bed and other elements of the aquarium such as the filter medium and water. the greatest amount is detected in the gravel bed. when maintaining the aquarium after cycling, you want to make sure that you do not vaccuum to far into the gravel bed. this can remove the bacteria and cause the tank to go into a minicycle. a minicycle occurs when the beneficial bacteria cannot handle the load of the tank and must multiply to rid the tank of nitrites. this bacteria feeds on the nitrites in the tank.
nitrites are then turned into nitrates. the lesser concentrated of the three. nitrates are essential in planted tanks. aquatic plants feed on nitrates. faster growing plants require higher levels of nitrates than slower growing ones. once the nitrates have risen plants can be introduced to lower the levels of nitrates.
once the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates have peaked and lowered and remained at zero, the tank is considered cycled. the biological filter has been established to handle the load of the tank. some aquarists will experience a bacterial bloom. this is a milky white cloudiness to the tank water. blooms will normally dissipate in a few days. fish can be introduced slowly so the bacteria colony can increase to handle the higher amounts of waste produced by the fish.
semper fi
cycling is the first step to starting a fish tank. there are basically two ways to cycle one is to start with adding ammonia to jumpstart the tank. the other is to add fish to start the cycling. with a fishless cycle you need to start the cycling by adding some element other than fish to start raising the levels of ammonia. ammonia is created mostly by fish waste, uneaten food or decomposing plant matter. you can acheive this by one of two ways. either purchase ammonia and add it by drop til the levels of ammonia are raised. you can tell if the ammonia is raised by using a test kit that should be on hand whenever keeping fish. the ammonia should be pure. if you shake it and it bubbles it is not pure but has additives to it. another way is to feed the empty tank letting the food decompose on the gravel bed. ammonia is then turned into nitrites. nitrites is a lesser concentrated form of ammonia. still harmful to fish but not as harmful as the purer form, ammonia. once the levels of ammonia peak, the levels of nitrites should start to raise and the levels of ammonia lower.
the nitrite step is important as this is where the nitrifying bacteria is formed. this is also called the beneficial bacteria. nitrobacter and nitrosomona are the two beneficial bacterias that are present in the gravel bed and other elements of the aquarium such as the filter medium and water. the greatest amount is detected in the gravel bed. when maintaining the aquarium after cycling, you want to make sure that you do not vaccuum to far into the gravel bed. this can remove the bacteria and cause the tank to go into a minicycle. a minicycle occurs when the beneficial bacteria cannot handle the load of the tank and must multiply to rid the tank of nitrites. this bacteria feeds on the nitrites in the tank.
nitrites are then turned into nitrates. the lesser concentrated of the three. nitrates are essential in planted tanks. aquatic plants feed on nitrates. faster growing plants require higher levels of nitrates than slower growing ones. once the nitrates have risen plants can be introduced to lower the levels of nitrates.
once the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates have peaked and lowered and remained at zero, the tank is considered cycled. the biological filter has been established to handle the load of the tank. some aquarists will experience a bacterial bloom. this is a milky white cloudiness to the tank water. blooms will normally dissipate in a few days. fish can be introduced slowly so the bacteria colony can increase to handle the higher amounts of waste produced by the fish.
semper fi
MountGuppy
Fishaholic
what does it do is it good
semper fi
mrs southeast michigan 2005
you create the biological filter in the tank that will help to rid the tank of the toxins that are created by fish waste, excess food and decaying plant matter. you must cycle your tank before putting in any fish or use an established tank to get some of the bacteria colony from. you want to grow the beneficial bacteria to handle the toxins.
cycling is very important unless you are talking about the bike kind. that has no use at all in fishkeeping. you get enough excersise doing weekly water changes.
semper fi
cycling is very important unless you are talking about the bike kind. that has no use at all in fishkeeping. you get enough excersise doing weekly water changes.
semper fi
MountGuppy
Fishaholic
is there any way you can explain it in easier form
semper fi
mrs southeast michigan 2005
take a glass box with water and set it up like there are fish in it. put some food in to feed your imaginary fish. let the food decay on the bottom. get a test kit and test the water every day. you will notice the ammonia raise first and then start to lower, next the nitrites and lastly the nitrates. when the three levels of toxins have risen and zeroed out (undetectable by your test kit) you may notice a milky white color to the water. that is a bacterial bloom. some see this and some do not. when all three levels are at zero and stable it is ready for fish. add fish slowly to allow the bacteria colony in the gravel to multiply to handle the greater amounts of ammonia produced.
cycling a tank properly can take up to 6 weeks.
semper fi
cycling a tank properly can take up to 6 weeks.
semper fi
MountGuppy
Fishaholic
thanks that was alot clearer
MountGuppy
Fishaholic
why
MountGuppy
Fishaholic
what do you meen by that im very young
MountGuppy
Fishaholic
whats that supposed to mean
semper fi
mrs southeast michigan 2005
alright i think this needs to be dropped here. i think his request was legitimate. my first post was a little involved.
play nice in the sandbox guys.
semper fi
play nice in the sandbox guys.
semper fi
S
smb
Guest
I think MountGuppy asks great questions.
Not only do they help him/her, but they help so many other people that just read the forums and if you don't know something and don't ask, then I say your pretty stupid to risk your fish's lives when it's so easy to find out by asking. Please keep asking questions, MountGuppy. All of us here learn from the answers.
MountGuppy, semper fi said it so much better than I ever could but may I make a suggestion? IMO, it's always better to do a fishless cycle. I don't want to sound like a broken record so I'll leave it like that.
Not only do they help him/her, but they help so many other people that just read the forums and if you don't know something and don't ask, then I say your pretty stupid to risk your fish's lives when it's so easy to find out by asking. Please keep asking questions, MountGuppy. All of us here learn from the answers.
MountGuppy, semper fi said it so much better than I ever could but may I make a suggestion? IMO, it's always better to do a fishless cycle. I don't want to sound like a broken record so I'll leave it like that.
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