Cycling Tanks

Preparing a tank for Fish

The process of cycling a tank is what we call the nitrification of water. This process allows bacteria to build within the tank to make it safe for fish. Let's use an analogy. For instance, we need healthy bacteria in our bodies to ward off disease and sickness. In a similar sense, fish need the same thing. When a fish excretes waste, this produces ammonia. Without beneficial bacteria, nothing prevents this ammonia from being toxic. Therefore, allowing this process to occur before introducing fish, there's less likelihood of death due to suffocation or ammonia burn.

Now for ways we do this.

1. The Natural way. This process is done by adding water, tap water conditioner, a heater, and your filter. The water will naturally gain bacteria from the air through oxygenation. However, this is a long process. On average, it will take 3-6 weeks to convert ammonia into nitrites, then into the safer product nitrates. Once the tank no longer shows nitrites or ammonia, its a signifier of a cycled tank.

1. Ways to speed up the natural process.

   1. Turn the heat up (80+)

   2. Add a bubbler, the extra aeration of the water will build bacteria faster

   3. Ghost feeding (add a bit of food every 3 day) By adding food it will decay into ammonia from which will kick start the process.

2. Artificial way. All of the above should still be done. However, where we differ is in adding chemicals—specifically synthetic bacteria. Doing so will kick start this process and lessen your cycling time by nearly half. 2-4 weeks. This ultimately depends on the size of the tank and the quality of bacteria you add. This artificial bacteria is exactly what it sounds like; it kick-starts the process and speeds it up for us impatient types.

1. Types of bacteria I recommend

   1. Turbo smart by Fritz. This is a chilled live bacteria

   2. Dr. Tims, a dead bacteria but proven to work.

   3. Do other work? Yes….. however, it seems very unreliable and likley a waste of money most the time.

3. The hobbyist way. This process is the most efficient and quickest. However, it requires a bit of extroverted action at times. Follow the steps from #1. Use water from an already-established tank. (The older the tank, the better) Grab filtration from an established tank and ring it out into your new tank( sponge filters, cartridge filters, etc. The dirtier the filter, the better. These filters are absolutely loaded with beneficial bacteria. It's essentially a free version of Turbo smart or Dr. Tims. In my experience, I have been able to cycle tanks within days, sometimes even 24 hours. Essentially you are using another tank to start a tank.

1. Another thing to consider is using a filter from another tank. If you bought a filter for the new tank, use it on the old tank and put the old one on the new tank. Essentially it's like cleaning your old filter.