Article on cycling by a wonderful very experianced aquarist

Info: On Cycling A New Tank

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CYCLING A NEW TANK:

There are 2 ways to Cycle a new tank, either with fish, using their waste products to help create ammonia or without fish (which is called Fishless cycling). You must always cycle a new tank!

First set the tank up and let it run for atleast a week to allow the water to age and regulate the temperature.

What is cycling ?:

It’s a little complicated, but it’s very important to know when you own an aquarium. With a new tank/filter, you do not have enough beneficial bacteria to remove ammonia from the water, so if you aren't careful your fish could die. Cycling a tank is basically breeding a bigger colony of beneficial bacteria to convert the amount of waste your fish produces and any decaying food. There are two types: one converts ammonia to nitrite, and the other converts nitrite to nitrate. Buy a test kit to monitor the levels of these three to see how far along your cycle is, and to make sure they don't reach dangerous levels for your fish along the way. While the tank cycles, you should see a spike of ammonia and it will go down, then a spike of nitrite and it will go down, then nitrate will start to increase. Do not rinse the gravel or anything in the filter in tap water or the chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria.

The Cycling process has 3 phases:

1st Phase:

The cycle starts as soon as there are fish in the tank or you start feeding the tank (if using fishless cycling). The waste products, & any uneaten food, break down into either ionized or unionized ammonia, which usually starts to form around the 3rd day after putting fish in the tank. The ionized form, Ammonium (NH4), can be present in a pH below 7, and is not usually harmful to fish. The unionized form of ammonia (NH3), exists in a pH of 7 or above, and this ammonia is highly toxic to fish & any amount can be dangerous, but if levels reach 2 ppm, the fish start to stress & will suffer. P.W. changes are the best way to stop high levels of ammonia forming.

You usually need to test for ammonia from the 3rd dy. & everyday from then on until you see it start to drop & then you continue testing every 2nd dy. until it remains at 0.

2nd Phase:

This is where the ammonia starts being eliminated by the “Nitrosomonas” bacteria, this process is what produces the nitrite, which is also highly toxic to fish. Nitrite levels of 1 ppm can be very harmful to some fish.

Nitrite usually appears at the end of the first week after adding fish, (but can take longer to start), which is when you should start testing for nitrite, & keep testing every 2nd dy until it reaches 0.

Again p.w.changes will help keep nitrite levels down.

3rd Phase:

This final phase of cycling (which can happen very suddenly), is when bacteria called "Nitrobacter" bacteria change the nitrites into nitrates, which in moderate levels is not too harmful to fish, an acceptable level is 5 ppm, but can be as high as 30 ppm before it starts harming fish (but it isn't a good idea to leave it that high if it does get to that level). In a cycled/established tank you should normally get a nitrate reading that is between 5-10 ppm.

P.W.changes will keep levels down if they get too high, & once the tank has been established you only need to check the nitrates every 3 months or so.

Once you have a constant reading of ammonia = 0 nitrite = 0 nitrate = 5 ppm (but nitrate may be a bit less/more) for a couple of dys, you're tank has finished cycling.


The different ways to cycle a tank:

Cycling with Fish:

When setting up an aquarium, buy some hardy fish (definitely not neons) to get the cycle started. These fish are often called "Starter Fish" & the purpose of these fish is to provide ammonia through respiration, fish waste, and decaying food. The ammonia allows the first set of nitrifying bacteria to colonize and to initiate the cycling of the tank.

During this time of cycling, ammonia and later nitrites will spike up to dangerous levels for the fish, so after 3 dys of adding the fish, you need to monitor these levels daily & do partial water changes every 2 to 3 dys (it may be needed every dy if levels get too high, as well as cutting back on feeding or stop feeding for a day or so). Some fish may not survive the cycling process, so it is best to be prepared for some losses.

The cycle is complete as soon as ammonia and nitrite levels are no longer measurable and you have a nitrate reading as mentioned earlier. This form of cycling takes anywhere from 4-8 wks.

Fishless Cycling:

All you need to do is set up the tank with at least gravel, a filter and water and preferably a heater to maintain a temperature Of around 80*F as bacteria grow faster in higher temps. (but it is not absolutely necessary). Add cheap fish flakes daily and siphon every two weeks just as if you had fish in the tank & keep monitoring the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Once your nitrogen cycle is fully established, do a series of water changes over a few days (still feeding) and then add your fish. This way you can add more at a time and none of the fish will be harmed from ammonia or nitrite levels, and it's much less work and stress on yourself.

Seeding the tank can speed up this process. (Seeding basically means the introduction of existing bacteria colonies into a new tank). The decaying food will provide ammonia for these colonies to settle and grow in the new tank. This method also takes 4-8 weeks.

There is also a second way to do a fishless cycle which requires a bit more effort, which is:

Using Pure Ammonia to Cycle:

Instead of using fish food for ammonia production, you can also introduce pure ammonia to the tank.

After the tank has been set up, add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 Gallons into the water on a daily basis.

Ammonia will rise to 5 ppm and higher. As soon as you can measure the nitrites, reduce the ammonia to 3 drops per day. Nitrites will rise to similar levels. Keep adding 2-3 drops until the measurements of ammonia and nitrites come out with 0 ppm. The tank has then completely cycled.

With the fishless method, when the fish are introduced into the tank there is a risk of creating by-products such as phosphates, which occurs by decaying food. The ammonia produced might not be sufficient to create enough bacteria colonies to hold the fish when they are introduced, and this will trigger another growth of bacteria with spikes in ammonia and nitrites.

These re-renewed spikes however will be much shorter and less intense compared to the initial ones experienced during the primary cycle. Consequences for the fish are minimal, making this at least fish-friendlier. This method is usually quicker taking approx. 2-3 wks, but it can vary.


Remember:

The tank needs to be well oxygenated as the bacteria require oxygen.

A tank may become cloudy during cycling which is normal, it is usually caused by a bacterial bloom as the bacteria establish/colonise and usually will clear up on its own.


If using ammonia cycling:

The ammonia used should be free of any perfumes and additives, but just in case, use act.carbon to remove any traces of them after the tank has cycled.

Do not treat the water with conditioners that remove ammonia.

Water changes are only necessary if the ammonia and nitrite levels are too high, which should only occur if more than 5 drops is used per 10 Gallons of water.

After stocking your tank with fish, general maintenance of the aquarium is all that is required. The bacteria will adjust to the fish load and if you plan to add more fish the bacteria will need to adjust again.

Remember that a tank has cycled if ammonia and nitrites are back at 0 ppm. At this time you can stock the tank with fish. If no fish are introduced, the bacteria will still need to be fed.

HAPPY CYCLING:


References: Bernie, LittleHippyGirl, Algone.com, freshaquarium.about.com

Thanks Dano, I have been looking for a step by step guide to this. Very helpful and informative.

What about the bottled bacteria?

philuponthepho wrote:

What about the bottled bacteria?

Bottled bacteria are waste of money. I have no idea how long they are viable for. Somehow they need to feed on something to be kept alive on a bottle or kept in the right temperature to remain dormant. And then the conditions must be right for them to thrive in the tank once introduced.

Since I have a lot of tanks I never cycle any of my new tanks. I just use half of old water from my other running tanks, half new treated water off the tap and move 3 big seeded sponges from my established tank on the new tank. I for one have no patience in waiting for the tank to cycle.

I have mixed feelings about it also as to which ones actually work.....I know for a fact that some do......I will say that I do not believe in "instant cycles".

You say you don't have the patience for tank cycling.....I mean no disrespect, but I would be reluctant to buy fish from tanks of unknown quality.

dano wrote:

I have mixed feelings about it also as to which ones actually work.....I know for a fact that some do......I will say that I do not believe in "instant cycles".

You say you don't have the patience for tank cycling.....I mean no disrespect, but I would be reluctant to buy fish from tanks of unknown quality.

I keep expensive African cichlids and exotic plecos each costing more than $100 each. I have L046 and L66 and L260 and wild caught Frontosa.

By no means I am going to risk those expensive fish on uncycled tanks. What I am saying is I do not do cycles but is does not mean I put my fishes in uncycled tanks. That would be crazy...

Re-read up my post and see what I am saying. I do short cuts and calculated risks. I run 30 plus tanks and waiting for a tank to go through cycles when I have other tanks to aid in speeding up the process is not practical.

Sorry but the words did give me a wrong impression.................No matter where I buy fish I ask about the water quality.......It ain't no fun to get home and find out the water in the bag has an ammonia level of .5 and a pH of 8.0 when the home tank is 0 ammonia with a 6.5 pH.............Hours and hours of careful acclimation or send them back if possible......................I have walked away from some pretty fish at great prices because of suspect water quality.

Thanks for the info dano and khrister
lots of people always ask questions about this topic

By feeding an empty tank with food you can keep it cycled.
I don't trust the pure ammonia method.... You are never really sure that the ammonia you are getting does not contain surfactants.... I trus the fish food method for being the safest and most humane all the way around.
I have used tadpoles to cycle a tank before though. I always swapped out the tadpoles each week though so I didnt end up with frogs in the house.....
Another method I have heard of people using is to throw a raw shrimp in the tank and let it rot.

This is a great article! I know people always have questions regarding cycling a tank and this is very informative.

However, I disagree on the amount of pure ammonia to use to cycle a tank. From my personal experience, 5 drops for every 10 gallons isn't enough. I have used 2 drops per gallon each time I have cycled a tank and the ammonia has never gotten above 2ppm. However. . . the water parameters must be checked daily, around the same time each day, to determine how much ammonia to add daily. Then, only add enough ammonia each day to reach the 2ppm reading. For example, if you added 20 drops to a 10g on day 1, and then by day 14 the ammonia read 1ppm, you would only add 10 drops on day 7 to get the ammonia reading back up to 2ppm. Just my 2 cents from my personal experience.

khrister wrote:

philuponthepho wrote:

What about the bottled bacteria?

Since I have a lot of tanks I never cycle any of my new tanks. I just use half of old water from my other running tanks, half new treated water off the tap and move 3 big seeded sponges from my established tank on the new tank. I for one have no patience in waiting for the tank to cycle.

This form of "quick-cycle" is certainly a viable alternative when you have tanks to take water from. I have done this for many years without any issue what-so-ever. If I know I will be adding a tank to my "collection", I will try to get the filter started in an existing tank prior to getting the new tank. If I'm not expecting the wind-fall, I'll simply move an established filter, and place the new one on the established tank (most of my tanks have two or more filters or methods).

When I had my installation/maintenance business, this was often the only method to use. In an emergency (i.e. a blown seal or cracked glass), you don't have time to fully cycle a tank before placing the fish in the new one to keep them alive.

With the fish khrister has, I'm sure the parameters are checked regularly, so there should be no problem with the quality of the water.

The thing with a quick cycle, is that you will want to keep an eye on your water parameters for the first week. I have never had a problem, but I have always been prepared for the worst. Regular checks of the parameters will give you advance notice that something is amiss, and water changes are required.

This can be summed up with a quick cycle being equal to a 50% water change. Not always the best way to go, but certainly acceptable when you have all the necessary tools to make it work.

As far as a bacteria "seed", you can always ask your lfs for a starter culture. As long as it is not a chain store, I've never had them deny me upon request.

Just my two cents from personal experience.

I love this article is just answered all my questions and explained why things are done that way. Thank you for sharing this!

It is also worth noting that sometimes you can have Ammonia spikes sooner than indicated in this article. You can have them in a tank in as little as 24 hours (I've seen Ammonia in a new tank spike up to over 1 ppm in right at 24 hours- causing the fish stress).

You should also note that it can take a fair bit longer to drop your water temp from 80 degrees to something more like 75 degrees or so, than it can take to bring it up to that temp (this would not be something to do while fish are in the tank). Or, if the temp is to be kept at 80 degrees, an air stone should be added to resolve the issue of depressed levels of dissolved oxygen in higher temperature ranges.

On the subject of bottled bacteria, I've had great success using Microbe Lift Special Blend in conjunction with Microbe Lift Nite-Out II, but out of the different products for that purpose, this is the only one I've found that works with any sort of regularity. But you must be mindful of it's shelf life and expiration date.