As you have already learned, owning a fish tank provides hours of enjoyment and relaxation. If you think you might be interested in owning your own fish tank for whatever reason, you need to know some important pieces of information to ensure your tank looks great and the fish are healthy. When you get ready to set up your fish tank, you will need to "cycle" the tank, which occurs at the time of set up. In this article, you will learn how to cycle your fish tank so you have the perfect tank.
GETTING STARTED
In this section, you will learn what cycling is, how you do it, how long it will take, the number of fish needed, and much more!
What Is Cycling The Tank?
Unfortunately, many people have never even heard of cycling and if they have, many ignore it. However, if you want to ensure your fish live in a healthy environment, it is imperative.
- Cycling is also called "New Tank Syndrome", meaning you are making a bed of good bacteria in your biological filter as a way of removing toxins created by the fish's waste. While cycling is not necessarily difficult or time-consuming, there is a right and wrong way
- The goal of cycling a fish tank is to establish a bed or colony of bacteria in your biological filter to help eliminate toxins made by the fish's metabolism.
- The bacteria grown will then digest the ammonia from waste, turning it into Nitrite. Although Nitrite in hard water or water with a high pH level is actually more toxic than ammonia, what happens is that the bacteria filter turns the Nitrite into Nitrate, which is relatively less harmful to the fish.
- If the water in your fish tank is not changed on a regular basis, the Nitrate accumulates and becomes harmful, causing fish to stop eating and becoming stressed. Additionally, the growth of algae is accelerated. Therefore, it is imperative that you follow the cycling process and maintain a clean tank (which regularly removes nitrates) for the health of your fish.
ADDING FISH
One way to cycle a freshwater fish tank is with a small number of relatively hardy fish. To do this properly, we have provided guides for you to follow:
How Many Fish Should I Use?
To cycle your fish tank, start with the following steps:
- Begin with the smallest number of fish possible. For example, when you first fill your tank with water, you need to add no more than about two to three one-inch fish per ten gallons of water in your tank. However, these are not just any fish but ones considered hardy, which would include guppies and mollies, among others.
- Goldfish are not ideal fish for tank cycling. One reason is that goldfish kept in a tropical fish tank are much more susceptible to disease, meaning the tank can easily become diseased (Goldfish are cool water fish, and are not meant to be kept in tropical fish tanks that require warmer temperatures). Finally, the type of goldfish typically used for cycling are feeders. These fish are different from top quality goldfish and can carry diseases.
- In addition to the fish mentioned, other good species for a smaller tank would include Zebra Danios, White Clouds, and then Cherry or Tiger Barbs. If you have a fish tank that is 10 to 20 gallons, five fish would be adequate.
- One of the most important things is to remember to limit the number of fish with which you cycle your tank. If you cycle the fish tank with a large number of fish, you could have devastating results. For example:
- There would be a high production of excess waste, causing a great deal of stress to the fish. When this happens, chances are you will have fish die and the risk of disease rises significantly.
- Water problems would increase dramatically during the cycling process
- When you cycle with a large number of fish, the tank will develop a very unpleasant odor
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