How to do a Fishy Cycle....safely. A step by step guide.

[TheFishLady]

**This article will discuss FISHY cycling.**

There are other methods of cycling, including fish-less cycling, plant cycling, and the use of seed material for cycling. There are pro's and con's that must be weighted carefully when trying to decide what method of cycling is right for you. There is an abundance of information on the web regarding ways of cycling. Due your research and decide what method is best for you.

Not all fishy cycles are crated equal...there is a right way and a wrong way. The right way results in a a cycled tank and live healthy fish. The wrong way may result in a cycled tank with live fish, if you are lucky. But the lives of said fish will be dramatically shortened due to ammonia and nitrate poisoning. The following is a step-by-step guide for doing a fishy cycle. If you follow these step, you will successfully cycle your tank without causing harm to your fish.


PRO'S of the Fishy Cycle
The benefit of a fishy cycle....fish. In the tank, to look at, immediately, which is sort of the reason we keep tanks.
CON'S of the Fishy Cycle
Time. Your time. A lot of it. A correctly done fishy cycle requires twice daily tank care. You must decide up front if you are willing to put in the time required. If not, this method isn't for you.

Step-By-Step Guide
1. Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start

**** If the terms such as bioload, nitrogen cycle, or ammonia/nitrite/nitrate
are unfamiliar to you, stop right here! Please, go to each of the following links and read each article, twice.
Your first tank--
http://www.firsttankguide.net/

Water changes--
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/a...article52.html


Cycling, more than you ever wanted to know-
http://www.fishaholics.org/cyberu/cycle/player.html

Then come back here and finish reading.****


2. Clean the tank, yes even new ones. Place your gravel and decor in the tank. Fill with water and add water conditioner. Install and plug in your filter. Install and plug in your heater.

3. Go to the fish store...this is where most people make their first mistake.
The number/size of fish that you use to do a fishy cycle is your choice. However, the bigger your bioload (the amount of waste produced by fish...this is determined by number of fish, size, and to some extent species), the more work you will have to do. My suggestion would be to start with a few small fish, 2 or 3, no more. By small fish I mean danios, neons, guppies, baby platies, small cories, ect. The type and number of fish is dependent upon the size of the tank. PLEASE, ask for advice on this matter in the forums. You will likely get many and varied suggestions. Seek out the advise of a knowledge fish keeper as to what species of fish and how many to stock initially.

CAUTION: DO NOT purchase fish without doing your due diligence. Research! Research!! Research!!! Do not rely on the advice of lfs employee. Do not rely on the advice of your fellow fish keepers. Let your fingers do the walking...search search search. Gather as much information as you can on a particular breed so that you can make an informed decision. These are living creatures....It is your mission (and obligation!), should you choose to accept it, to provide these fishy friends with a healthy safe environment.
End of lecture.

4. Acclimate your new fishy friends, and then net them into the tank.

5. Now the work begins....

6. Starting on DAY 1, every AM and every PM, twice a day, every day, you will test for ammonia and nitrite. If either of these values exceed .25 ppm, you will immediately do a water change. How much you say? As much as it takes! If you have a reading of 4ppm ammonia (or nitrite), not only have you not been following directions, you have a big problem!

A 50% water change will still leave you with 2 ppm of ammonia, which is still a critical level. A 75% water change will still leave you with 1 ppm, still too much. A reading above 2 ppm will likely require two back to back water changes. Yes, really. Yes, this is ok. No, this will not remove all the good bacteria.

7. Rinse and repeat every morning and night.

8. On day 14, start testing for nitrate in addition to ammonia and nitrite.

9. Keep testing, keep changing water. Rinse and repeat.

10. When your ammonia and nitrate test at zero, and your nitrate tests at 5 ppm +/-..... the cycle is complete. You may now rejoice.

Basic Cycle = Waste (food, poop, etc)=> Ammonia (NH3)=> Nitrite (NO2)=> Nitrate (NO3)=> Plant food=>Ammonia (NH3). Requires two types of bacteria to transform ammonia into ultimately nitrate.

First picture describes what happens when you begin cycling a tank.
http://research.yale.edu/peabody/CICHLID/MO/n-cycle.gif


Second picture is a visual of the Nitrification Cycle (also called Nitrogen Cycle) that cycling you tank jumpstarts: if you don't have live plants, that just means you'll have to wc and gravel vacuum more than a planted tank (heavily planted tanks typically don't vacuum gravel much).

[Exilium]

One suggestion I would make would be to test your tap water before you start cycling. Don't know if I missed that part in the links or not. It would seem my South Florida tap water (which I've seen the news stories about our aquifers being contaminated by fertilizers)starts out with a 1 ppm level of Nitrite. So for me a part water change straight from the tap does nothing to lower those levels. Either have to buy bottled water or treat my tap for nitrite a few days before doing a water change.

[Kittyfiends]

I also live in south florida. I had a problem with a level 1 ammonia in the water becaue they use chloramine in the water. I found that the pur water purifier that is added to a regular faucet filters the ammonia out.

[Pris]

Originally Posted by Kittyfiends

I also live in south florida. I had a problem with a level 1 ammonia in the water becaue they use chloramine in the water. I found that the pur water purifier that is added to a regular faucet filters the ammonia out.

Careful. A Pur water filter will also remove minerals the fish need.

I would not use filtered water if you have the choice, except in special circumstances. The bacteria in the tank will take care of any ammonia in the tap water used for partial water changes.

If you want to use filtered water, make sure you add the minerals back in. There are products at your local fish store for this purpose. But, why purchase what you don't have to?

[Shea]

When can one add in their additional fish (other then the 2-3 used for the fishy cycle)?

After the fishy cycle?

[Pressure Ranger]

Since this is your first tank Shea, I would wait until your tank cycles before adding additional fish.

[Shea]

Originally Posted by Pressure Ranger

Since this is your first tank Shea, I would wait until your tank cycles before adding additional fish.

Thanks. Thats what i needed to hear.

[cp_19]

most of the links described in the fishy cycle no longer work!

[Pressure Ranger]

Originally Posted by cp_19

most of the links described in the fishy cycle no longer work!

Probably because it was written 2 yrs ago.