Post by mralgae on Nov 14, 2007 20:13:24 GMT -5
Fishless Cycle
There are two ways of cycling your aquarium, both take time and patience. The first way I will describe is called fishless cycling this way is by far the kindest and quickest way to set up your aquarium. It will take approximately 4-6 weeks to cycle using this method. This time can be used to research the fish you want to keep, how big they will grow, feeding habits, temperature and compatible tank mates.
First set up your aquarium, heater, filter, lights for any plants, if you know someone who already has an aquarium they may be willing to give you a few handfuls of gravel from their aquarium, this gravel is already seeded with beneficial bacteria and will help to speed up the process. Plants also help to speed up the cycling process as they use both ammonia and nitrates for food as well as providing a home for the bacteria. As a bonus plants are usually so well established after the cycling process that the fish have trouble pulling them up and destroying your beautiful aquascape.
Now you have to provide a source of pure AMMONIA, it is very important that it is only pure ammonia as anything else added to it except water will poison your aquarium. An ammonia solution may be obtained from a chemist, make sure you tell them you want pure ammonia. Then buy an aquarium test kit. You are going to need nitrite, ammonia and nitrate tests.
Add your ammonia to the tank at the rate of 1 drop per gal. Wait about 10 mins after adding the drops before testing the water to ensure that the ammonia is mixed well throughout the aquarium. Then test the water, you are aiming for a test result of 5.0ppm. Keep a written record of how many drops you add, you will need this later.
After the first day in which you add ammonia, you should test for ammonia and nitrites every day. Then, every day, after testing for ammonia and nitrite, add the same number of drops of ammonia until you see a NITRITE reading. Now you only need to add half of the drops of ammonia every day, keep adding this amount until you get a 0 reading for ammonia and nitrite at this time you will notice the nitrate reading is probably off the scale, now is the time to do several massive water changes, on the same day if needed, do not clean the filter as most of your beneficial bacteria is residing in here and on the gravel. Once you have got your nitrate reading down to about 10ppm by doing the large water changes it is time to add the fish, this has to be done quite quickly so that the bacteria in the filter and tank don’t starve to death.
Aim for the 1inch of fish per gallon rule (remembering to calculate the fish’s adult size).
An aquarium that is slightly UNDER STOCKED will always be healthier than an over stocked or even fully stocked one.
By using ammonia to cycle the aquarium you are adding far more than a fish would ever be able to and will have created a huge amount of beneficial bacteria so you can add more fish at the same time than you would using any other method of cycling. Once the fish have been added the bacteria will adjust to the bio load and any further additions will have to be added in the traditional way, singly or in small shoals (if small like tetras).Remember to always test your water regularly and do not overfeed.
Cycling with fish
Have to admit I don’t like this method as it puts unnecessary stress on the fish
The aquarium is set up in the usual way with lights, heater and filter and left for 24 hours for any gasses to be oxidized from the water. If you look in a freshly set up tank you will notice bubbles appearing on every surface, these can get into the bloodstream of fish and causes an effect much like the bends in divers.
Next add a couple of very hardy fish (depending on tank size), some people use the common goldfish as it is a very messy fish and can usually be put into a pond afterwards, The fish will suffer from the build up of ammonia and nitrite while the tank is cycling and the process takes longer due to the fact that water changes are necessary to keep the fish healthy.
Monitor the water carefully with test kits. Change a small amount 20% twice weekly.
Once you have a zero nitrite and ammonia reading you may begin to slowly build up your fish collection, adding one or two fishes per week, then testing the water until the ammonia and nitrite readings are zero. Nitrate reading should be as close as possible to 10ppm; this can be achieved by regular water changes and hovering of the gravel.
This method can take anything up to 6-8 weeks depending on stocking levels
There are two ways of cycling your aquarium, both take time and patience. The first way I will describe is called fishless cycling this way is by far the kindest and quickest way to set up your aquarium. It will take approximately 4-6 weeks to cycle using this method. This time can be used to research the fish you want to keep, how big they will grow, feeding habits, temperature and compatible tank mates.
First set up your aquarium, heater, filter, lights for any plants, if you know someone who already has an aquarium they may be willing to give you a few handfuls of gravel from their aquarium, this gravel is already seeded with beneficial bacteria and will help to speed up the process. Plants also help to speed up the cycling process as they use both ammonia and nitrates for food as well as providing a home for the bacteria. As a bonus plants are usually so well established after the cycling process that the fish have trouble pulling them up and destroying your beautiful aquascape.
Now you have to provide a source of pure AMMONIA, it is very important that it is only pure ammonia as anything else added to it except water will poison your aquarium. An ammonia solution may be obtained from a chemist, make sure you tell them you want pure ammonia. Then buy an aquarium test kit. You are going to need nitrite, ammonia and nitrate tests.
Add your ammonia to the tank at the rate of 1 drop per gal. Wait about 10 mins after adding the drops before testing the water to ensure that the ammonia is mixed well throughout the aquarium. Then test the water, you are aiming for a test result of 5.0ppm. Keep a written record of how many drops you add, you will need this later.
After the first day in which you add ammonia, you should test for ammonia and nitrites every day. Then, every day, after testing for ammonia and nitrite, add the same number of drops of ammonia until you see a NITRITE reading. Now you only need to add half of the drops of ammonia every day, keep adding this amount until you get a 0 reading for ammonia and nitrite at this time you will notice the nitrate reading is probably off the scale, now is the time to do several massive water changes, on the same day if needed, do not clean the filter as most of your beneficial bacteria is residing in here and on the gravel. Once you have got your nitrate reading down to about 10ppm by doing the large water changes it is time to add the fish, this has to be done quite quickly so that the bacteria in the filter and tank don’t starve to death.
Aim for the 1inch of fish per gallon rule (remembering to calculate the fish’s adult size).
An aquarium that is slightly UNDER STOCKED will always be healthier than an over stocked or even fully stocked one.
By using ammonia to cycle the aquarium you are adding far more than a fish would ever be able to and will have created a huge amount of beneficial bacteria so you can add more fish at the same time than you would using any other method of cycling. Once the fish have been added the bacteria will adjust to the bio load and any further additions will have to be added in the traditional way, singly or in small shoals (if small like tetras).Remember to always test your water regularly and do not overfeed.
Cycling with fish
Have to admit I don’t like this method as it puts unnecessary stress on the fish
The aquarium is set up in the usual way with lights, heater and filter and left for 24 hours for any gasses to be oxidized from the water. If you look in a freshly set up tank you will notice bubbles appearing on every surface, these can get into the bloodstream of fish and causes an effect much like the bends in divers.
Next add a couple of very hardy fish (depending on tank size), some people use the common goldfish as it is a very messy fish and can usually be put into a pond afterwards, The fish will suffer from the build up of ammonia and nitrite while the tank is cycling and the process takes longer due to the fact that water changes are necessary to keep the fish healthy.
Monitor the water carefully with test kits. Change a small amount 20% twice weekly.
Once you have a zero nitrite and ammonia reading you may begin to slowly build up your fish collection, adding one or two fishes per week, then testing the water until the ammonia and nitrite readings are zero. Nitrate reading should be as close as possible to 10ppm; this can be achieved by regular water changes and hovering of the gravel.
This method can take anything up to 6-8 weeks depending on stocking levels
