Cycling an Aquarium.

godtabh · 02-09-2010 1:39pm #1

The biggest cause of the lose of fish is putting them in a tank that hasn’t been cycled. Get properly cyled tank and maintain it correctly the chances of having a stress free hobie ( for both you and the fish!) will greatly increase.
Nitrogen cycle. he process by which fish waste (Ammonia) is changed into a harmless/ less toxic substance (Nitrate) that won`t kill your fish.
Fish produce Ammonia (nh3)through waste from feeding (ie their urine and poo) and through their gills. Another significant cause of ammonia is rotting food and plant decay. This Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and will eventually kill them.

What happens through the Nitrogen cycle is that Ammonia is broken down/processed by Bacterialess toxic substance called Nitrite(no2) and then through further bacterial breakdown is converted into Nitrate(no3) which is the least toxic by-product to the fish. Nitrate is the reason why a correctly maintained tank still requires a weekly (at least) water change to reduce the levels of nitrate in your tank.

When starting off a tank you should not add fish straight away. It must be cycled. Cycling a tank done in a few different ways:

The ones I recommend are:

1) “Feed” the empty tank

2) A kick start.

3) Buy commercial products

All three have their pros and cons.
1) Simply adding small amounts of fish food to an empty tank can help kick start the cycling process. As the food is broken down the bacteria colony in the filter begins to break down the ammonia and gradually over time begins to expand and grow.

2) Many people (who probably aren’t beginners!) think the the best, simplest and quickest way to cycle a tank is by getting the squeezing from mature filter ie you squeeze the bacteria from one sponge into another thank.

3) You can buy off the shelve products that have dormant bacteria in them. Adding them to your tank allows bacteria colony to establish itself in your filter.
Some people swear by them. Some people think they are a waste of money. I’ve used a few different ones such as Special Blend but not sure if I would recommend them. Do your research and you will be sorted.

The only way to be sure that your tank is cycled is if you test it regularly. You will see the ammonia spike->its reduction->the increase in Nitrite-> its reduction and then a stable system should develop.

Things to remember.
1) Tap water contains Chlorine which can kill bacteria. Use De-chlorinator in your water to prevent this. This also helps prevent new tank syndrome.

2)Test your water regularly.
3) Add fish slowly. Dont over load the bacteria by adding 20 fish in one go. By them over a period of time

Cookie_Monster · 02-09-2010 1:44pm

Good stuff.

Mods - Can we sticky this please?

Noopti · 02-09-2010 2:05pm

Just to add that for Marine systems, you don't want or need to add livestock to start the cycle. Adding Live Rock should do this.

Also, very low nitrate levels are important for marine systems in particular with a lot of corals. It is generally advised that 5ppm or less of Nitrates is needed.

Nitrates can be kept low by:
* Not overfeeding
* Not overstocking
* Water changes
* Using a protein skimmer
* Using a Nitrate Reactor
* Having a refugium with macro algae (chaetomorpha and/or Caulerpa sp.)

whitelightrider · 02-09-2010 2:10pm

godtabh wrote: »

The biggest cause of the lose of fish is putting them in a tank that hasn’t been cycled. Get properly cyled tank and maintain it correctly the chances of having a stress free hobie ( for both you and the fish!) will greatly increase.
Nitrogen cycle. he process by which fish waste (Ammonia) is changed into a harmless/ less toxic substance (Nitrate) that won`t kill your fish.
Fish produce Ammonia (nh3)through waste from feeding (ie their urine and poo) and through their gills. Another significant cause of ammonia is rotting food and plant decay. This Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and will eventually kill them.

What happens through the Nitrogen cycle is that Ammonia is broken down/processed by Bacterialess toxic substance called Nitrite(no2) and then through further bacterial breakdown is converted into Nitrate(no3) which is the least toxic by-product to the fish. Nitrate is the reason why a correctly maintained tank still requires a weekly (at least) water change to reduce the levels of nitrate in your tank.

When starting off a tank you should not add fish straight away. It must be cycled. Cycling a tank done in a few different ways:

The ones I recommend are:

1) “Feed” the empty tank

2) A kick start.

3) Buy commercial products

All three have their pros and cons.
1) Simply adding small amounts of fish food to an empty tank can help kick start the cycling process. As the food is broken down the bacteria colony in the filter begins to break down the ammonia and gradually over time begins to expand and grow.

2) Many people (who probably aren’t beginners!) think the the best, simplest and quickest way to cycle a tank is by getting the squeezing from mature filter ie you squeeze the bacteria from one sponge into another thank.

3) You can buy off the shelve products that have dormant bacteria in them. Adding them to your tank allows bacteria colony to establish itself in your filter.
Some people swear by them. Some people think they are a waste of money. I’ve used a few different ones such as Special Blend but not sure if I would recommend them. Do your research and you will be sorted.

The only way to be sure that your tank is cycled is if you test it regularly. You will see the ammonia spike->its reduction->the increase in Nitrite-> its reduction and then a stable system should develop.

Things to remember.
1) Tap water contains Chlorine which can kill bacteria. Use De-chlorinator in your water to prevent this. This also helps prevent new tank syndrome.

2)Test your water regularly.
3) Add fish slowly. Dont over load the bacteria by adding 20 fish in one go. By them over a period of time

Our tank is about 6 weeks old. We followed the pet stores instructions and left it to mature for 7 or 8 days before we bought fish. And even then we bought 5 mollys and guppies. Now we are expanding but is there something we can buy to test the water to make sure its ok?

Noopti · 02-09-2010 2:17pm

You can buy test kits in any decent pet store. Not sure which are the best brand for freshwater though.

whitelightrider · 02-09-2010 2:19pm

Noopti wrote: »

You can buy test kits in any decent pet store. Not sure which are the best brand for freshwater though.

Ill take a look this evening. Its a tropical tank, and our first so its a real learning curve.

godtabh · 02-09-2010 2:35pm

Noopti wrote: »

You can buy test kits in any decent pet store. Not sure which are the best brand for freshwater though.

Generally the strips are piss poor. Go for the "test tube" tests

Degsy · 30-04-2011 8:25pm

I also keep fish in a pond..if i add a small amount of pondwater to the tank with it help cycle it?

Cookie_Monster · 01-05-2011 4:50pm

Degsy wrote: »

I also keep fish in a pond..if i add a small amount of pondwater to the tank with it help cycle it?

Is the tank coldwater too?

I'm not sure how much good it would do tbh. the bacteria needed live on filters or rocks and stuff in a pond rather than the water itself.

orchidsrpretty · 14-08-2011 8:36am

Am I correct in thinking that I just need to put water in my tank, some fish food leave it for about 10days and it will be ok to put fish in? I have just bought a new tank so want to make sure I am doing it right. I was looking at all the products you can buy in the pet shop and it is really confusing.

kingerae86 · 02-02-2012 8:53pm

my new tank is half way through cycling,if i take old filter media and place it in new tank for a week to speed up the cycle,will my old tank be ok with no filter for the week?

vibe666 · 02-02-2012 9:37pm

kingerae86 wrote: »

my new tank is half way through cycling,if i take old filter media and place it in new tank for a week to speed up the cycle,will my old tank be ok with no filter for the week?

generally (from what i've read) people will take their filter media out of the old tank and give it a good squeeze out in the new tank water and let the new filter pull all the good stuff from the water into itself where it will settle in and start doing it's thing and help speed up the cycling process.

you can then put the old filter back where it was and leave it to carry on in it's old home.

kingerae86 · 02-02-2012 9:39pm

thats perfect thanks vibe666

Sleepy · 02-02-2012 9:41pm

I've done it before, just did it again yesterday in fact and it definitely speeds up the cycling process.

Joe Exotic · 09-02-2012 8:42pm

godtabh wrote: »

Things to remember.
1) Tap water contains Chlorine which can kill bacteria. Use De-chlorinator in your water to prevent this. This also helps prevent new tank syndrome.

i just bought my aquarium set up kit. i was told there would be a De-chlorinator inside what i got was "Aquael actibaktol" i reckon this is the bacteria to jump start the cycling process am i wrong

im a complete noob at this and dont want to have to restart my cycling by putting bacteria into chlorinated water

any help appreciated:)

sorry if im hyjacking the thread

fungun · 09-02-2012 9:24pm

yep a quick google search suggests you are correct - you will need dechlorinator also, thats the first step

Joe Exotic · 09-02-2012 10:07pm

ok back to the fish place tomorow it is.

thanks

Cookie_Monster · 09-02-2012 11:29pm

fungun wrote: »

yep a quick google search suggests you are correct - you will need dechlorinator also, thats the first step

I never bothered with that tbh, just leave the water sitting in an open top container for an hour or two, it dissapates.

Silverfish · 09-02-2012 11:38pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I never bothered with that tbh, just leave the water sitting in an open top container for an hour or two, it dissapates.

Chlorine does, but chloramine does not.

godtabh · 10-02-2012 12:04pm

Silverfish wrote: »

Chlorine does, but chloramine does not.

is chloramine present in irish water? My understanding was it doesn't in the majority of Irish water supplies

Silverfish · 10-02-2012 7:00pm

godtabh wrote: »

is chloramine present in irish water? My understanding was it doesn't in the majority of Irish water supplies

Well, you'd hope not, but I'd be paranoid about these things, based on how much clorine there is in ours. Also, there's a lot of metals / minerals in water that are harmful to fish, so I use Prime which removes all these, better safe than sorry. I've heard from a few sources that there is cloramines added to water in Ireland, where I don't know.
You'd honestly not know what was in your water, I know of someone who's tapwater tested 10-20ppm in nitrates, yet the info from their council said nitrates were 0. Better just to use something that neutralises the bad stuff and won't harm the fish, than taking the risk on whether you're harming them or not with straight tapwater.

godtabh · 10-02-2012 9:01pm

Silverfish wrote: »

Well, you'd hope not, but I'd be paranoid about these things, based on how much clorine there is in ours. Also, there's a lot of metals / minerals in water that are harmful to fish, so I use Prime which removes all these, better safe than sorry. I've heard from a few sources that there is cloramines added to water in Ireland, where I don't know.
You'd honestly not know what was in your water, I know of someone who's tapwater tested 10-20ppm in nitrates, yet the info from their council said nitrates were 0. Better just to use something that neutralises the bad stuff and won't harm the fish, than taking the risk on whether you're harming them or not with straight tapwater.

I always use something to treat the water but I would add small amounts of untreated water if evaporation resulted in a top up

Silverfish · 10-02-2012 9:15pm

godtabh wrote: »

I always use something to treat the water but I would add small amounts of untreated water if evaporation resulted in a top up

I doubt that'd do any harm.

fungun · 15-02-2012 8:48pm

at one stage i was having loads of deaths and so was a local friend of mine. Worked in an industry where we could actually do water quality checks.....the level of copper in the water was 10X the legal drinking limit for the USA. Conveniently enough, we didnt have a legal limit, just a 'guideline' :rolleyes:

Anyway, point being, as Silverfish says you never know whats coming out of your tap.

Hmm, hang on a sec, so I dont trust it for my fish, but I drink that ****, wtf, my priorities are fcuked up :pac:

vibe666 · 15-02-2012 8:53pm

i don't suppse you know of somewhere that would do water testing on tap water do you?

i believe my local tap water is causing skin problems, but i have no real way to prove it. if i could get it properly tested, i'm sure something would come up.

fred funk }{ · 15-02-2012 11:45pm

I honestly believe a lot of tummy bugs come from tap water and we tend to blame it on something else.

Sometimes my tap water has an extreme amount of chlorine in it, almost smells like bleach. My suspicious mind thinks they increase the levels of chlorine after they have a high reading of some sort of bacteria etc.

kylith · 16-02-2012 10:34am

I heard of on water treatment plant where they'd throw in a week's worth of chlorine on Monday and call it job done for the week. I didn't see it myself, but the water quality was definitely all over the place.

Silverfish · 16-02-2012 9:17pm

vibe666 wrote: »

i don't suppse you know of somewhere that would do water testing on tap water do you?

i believe my local tap water is causing skin problems, but i have no real way to prove it. if i could get it properly tested, i'm sure something would come up.

Yup, there's a couple of labs about, I only know there's one in Oldcastle. Not sure if you can post a sample, but might be worth giving them a buzz to find out.

No messing, I stopped drinking tap water about a year ago, haven't been sick once this year, apart from a mild cold.

tommyh1977 · 08-03-2012 9:01pm

In OP, when it says feed the tank, with what? Stupid question I know but I've heard feed it with food and feed with ammonia?

fungun · 08-03-2012 9:32pm

Food! See the note 1) just below where it says that!

tommyh1977 · 08-03-2012 9:41pm

Should have gone to specsavers:D

Cookie_Monster · 08-03-2012 10:29pm

Ammonia if you can get it, otherwise just fish food that'll rot and produce it

campo · 31-03-2012 8:55pm

Hi all long time reader 1st time poster I have recently took the plunge and bought a Juwel Rekord 600 Tank 2hich is 63L , so if you would not mind trying to help with a couple of questions with regards the cycling process

firstly I live in a hardwater area does this make any difference
some website say you should start with adding fish from beginning like Tiger Barbs etc but other say to not add fish my question is which is the best way.

What chemicals should I look at picking up and also is their any fish I should stay away from as a beginner , any feedback on the tank would also be appreciated

kylith · 01-04-2012 10:42am

I wouldn't cycle with fish, as they will experience quite a bit of stress when the ammonia starts to bruild up and they may well die. I cycle my tanks by feeding the empty tank a pinch of fish food a day. Some people use pure ammonia, but I tend to go for the less fussy option.

You will need to buy dechlorinator for your water, and a test kit so you can check your water parameters (if you experience any problems the first question you'll be asked is what your parameters are). You want Ammonia at 0, Nitrites at 0, and Nitrates below 20*. Get the test kit with test tubes, not the strips that you dip in the water. You can buy dechloriantor and test kits on Ebay cheaply.

I know that some fish need different water hardnesses, but I don't know any specifics. If you know exactly how hard your water is most fish info sites give that information for various species.

What fish you start with really depends on where you are, what you can get, and what you like. I find that aqadvisor.com is good for working out what fish are suitable for tanks. At 63L you're not going to be able to fit in any big fish. You best bet might be a school of tetras and some dwarf gouramis, but get browsing info sites; there are some fantastic fish out there.

*I hope I haven't gotten nI and nA mixed up again...

fred funk }{ · 01-04-2012 11:10am

firstly I live in a hardwater area does this make any difference

Most fish can happily live in different water types once the water parameters are consistent. Big swings in PH will shock fish and could result in deaths.In saying that, different fish will do better in different types of water. African cichlids would thrive in your water so maybe consider those. I keep them myself and they're great fish to keep.

some website say you should start with adding fish from beginning like Tiger Barbs etc but other say to not add fish my question is which is the best way.

This is a contentious issue. I have always used fish to cycle my aquariums and never lost a fish doing so but I understand why people do a fishless cycle. A tank of your size would only need one fish, like a tiger barb. Keep tabs on the ammonia levels and keep it down by doing water changes.

What chemicals should I look at picking up and also is their any fish I should stay away from as a beginner , any feedback on the tank would also be appreciated

You will need to get yourself some test kits, these are vital to fish keeping. You'll need a test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH and depending on what type of fish you choose to keep you might need to test for GH and KH, those are basically water hardness tests.

tommyh1977 · 01-04-2012 12:23pm

Ok here goes, as a complete novice 5 weeks ago, with the help of this board and other web references, this is how I got my Juwel Rekord 600 stocked with 5 fish 4 weeks ago, and touch wood no loss of life yet.

I cycled my tank for a week before putting fish into it. For the fishless cycle I used Nutrafin Cycle over a 4 day period, and fed the empty tank with a few flakes of food. I also treated the tap water with Nutrafin Aqua Plus.

Here I am with 3 Danio's & 2 Guppies all happy and content. Measure my ammonia levels every 2 days with a liquid test kit, and test the other water parameters with a Tetra Test Stick. I've seen Ammonia & Nitrite spikes as a cycling tank should produce. I also added an Airstone to help oxygenate the water. Currently Ammonia is 0, Nitrite 0.

Just my two cents worth and best of luck.

campo · 01-04-2012 12:58pm

Thanks for all the feedback guys think I will go with TommyHs suggestion and start with a fishless cycle and pick up the test kits etc,
One final question I plan to stock the tank with small size fish like tetras etc but my question is how many fish should I look at eventually having in the tank

tommyh1977 · 01-04-2012 1:13pm

As I say I am a complete noob too, but that's what worked for me. I'm open to criticism to the more experienced Aquarium keepers.

campo · 01-04-2012 1:22pm

tommyh1977 wrote: »

As I say I am a complete noob too, but that's what worked for me. I'm open to criticism to the more experienced Aquarium keepers.

cheers tommy went with your suggestion as you have the same tank as me and it seems to have worked for you , would love to see a pic of your tank to get a idea how yours looks with fish in etc if it is not too big a ask

vibe666 · 02-04-2012 8:59am

also bear in mind that it's going to end up costing you more than you think it will and it can become very addictive.

before you know it, you'll have 3 or 4 different tanks and a bunch of mad looking fish and you'll be wondering where all your money went, but not nearly as much as your mrs will!

tommyh1977 · 02-04-2012 9:19am

vibe666 wrote: »

also bear in mind that it's going to end up costing you more than you think it will and it can become very addictive.

before you know it, you'll have 3 or 4 different tanks and a bunch of mad looking fish and you'll be wondering where all your money went, but not nearly as much as your mrs will!

Ya i'm waiting patiently for my tank to fully cycle to add another fish or two. Any suggestion's on a breed that would work with my guppies & danios? My small fella want's a fighting fish:eek:

campo · 02-04-2012 9:24am

vibe666 wrote: »

also bear in mind that it's going to end up costing you more than you think it will and it can become very addictive.

before you know it, you'll have 3 or 4 different tanks and a bunch of mad looking fish and you'll be wondering where all your money went, but not nearly as much as your mrs will!

Dont know about that if I was to get more then 1 tank I think the Mrs would use me as the fish food

kylith · 03-04-2012 9:47am

tommyh1977 wrote: »

Ya i'm waiting patiently for my tank to fully cycle to add another fish or two. Any suggestion's on a breed that would work with my guppies & danios? My small fella want's a fighting fish:eek:

I love my fighter, he's a sweetie. I wouldn't trust him with anythinwith big fins though, as he'll attack them, and tetras tend to hip his fins, so he's all alone for the time being.

Maybe look into Dwarf gouramis. They're a nice looking fish. I don't know what they'd be like with guppies though

Sleepy · 03-04-2012 12:40pm

I suspect one of my Dwarf Gourami's of killing a few tank-mates. There's no other obvious cause of death and while I've never witnessed a killing, he's the only one I've seen any level of aggression from.

Silverfish · 03-04-2012 9:19pm

campo wrote: »

Dont know about that if I was to get more then 1 tank I think the Mrs would use me as the fish food

I use the 'What tank? That tank? That was always there, are you feeling okay?' defence.

campo · 05-04-2012 11:47am

Quick question regards when you put the water 1st in the tank should the water be warm or just direct cold water from tap the reason I ask is I have been cycling it now for 4 days and the water is still pretty cold plus the water looks far from clear as the fish food seems to be resting at the bottom of the tank .

I know I am going wrong somewhere not sure of the heater is not working or if the filter is not working but I just seem to be going backwards

vibe666 · 05-04-2012 11:55am

you need an in-tank thermometer (either analogue or digital, stuck inside on the glass) to be able to tell exactly what the temperature is, as without that you'll have no idea if it's at the correct temp or not.

ideally, you'll want around 26-28 degrees celcius for a tropical community tank.

depending on the size of the tank though, i'd be surprised if it wasn't up to the correct temp after 4 days assuming you have the right sized heater in it.

Sleepy · 05-04-2012 12:03pm

Depending on the temperature of your house, it can be quite difficult to measure temperature by putting your hand in too. I've often gotten in a panic that the heater isn't working because the water feels colder than it should when it's just been a case that the air temperature was warmer in that room than it usually would be!

campo · 05-04-2012 12:03pm

vibe666 wrote: »

you need an in-tank thermometer (either analogue or digital, stuck inside on the glass) to be able to tell exactly what the temperature is, as without that you'll have no idea if it's at the correct temp or not.

ideally, you'll want around 26-28 degrees celcius for a tropical community tank.

depending on the size of the tank though, i'd be surprised if it wasn't up to the correct temp after 4 days assuming you have the right sized heater in it.

Using the heater that came with that tank set at 26 degrees but water still seems cold ( im only going bu putting my finger in water but I would have thought it would need to be luke warm at least ), tank size is 63L

ozzy jr · 05-04-2012 12:06pm

campo wrote: »

Using the heater that came with that tank set at 26 degrees but water still seems cold ( im only going bu putting my finger in water but I would have thought it would need to be luke warm at least ), tank size is 63L

You'd be surprised how cold 26 degrees feels. Get a thermometer. They're only a couple of euro.

fred funk }{ · 05-04-2012 12:12pm

campo wrote: »

Using the heater that came with that tank set at 26 degrees but water still seems cold ( im only going bu putting my finger in water but I would have thought it would need to be luke warm at least ), tank size is 63L

I have yet to see an accurate heater thermostat, they never work. A little in-tank thermometer is less than a fiver.

Cycling an Aquarium.

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