Hi Kez,
I'm sorry-I should have posted these links for you a couple of days ago
after Dawn's message but I had been so busy it completely slipped my mind &
Amber's post has just jogged my mind! The reason for cycling any new system
be it tank or pond is to get a stable eco-system up & running for the fish
to feel at home. By simply dropping fish into water their waste immediately
starts to pollute the water & unless there is some biological process in
place then the water will soon become polluted. There are 3 stages to
cycling & is where filters come in-the fish waste collects in them & the
filter is the main place that the cycling happens-think of the filter as a
sewage farm. The first stage is the beneficial bacteria [good bugs] turning
the ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is also highly toxic but another set of
good bugs turns the nitrite into far less harmful nitrate. This nitrate is
still a problem if left unchecked & unfortunately there is no third set of
good bugs to help us out so this is where the water changes come in-the
more water you change the more dilution of the accumulated nitrate.
Obviously the smaller system you have & also the more fish then the quicker
it will get polluted meaning more frequent & larger water changes.
Some people still use 'disposable' fish to do this cycling job but the
levels of toxicity during the process are not only stressful for the fish
involved but can also be permanently damaging-hence the use of raw ammonia
[or fish food-see link] to simulate the fish waste. I have been told by
unscrupulous stores in the past to simply set up a system & let it run for
a week but of course without anything producing ammonia I could let it run
for a year & it still wouldn't change anything. The process of cycling can
take anything from a couple of weeks to over a month depending on so many
different factors but daily testing with a good kit such as the API Master
Test Kit will tell you how your eco-system is developing. Have a look at
the links here:
http://theaquariumwiki.com/The_Art_of_Fishless_Cycling
http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm
The graph in the last link clearly illustrates how firstly the ammonia &
then secondly the nitrite [NO2] will spike & then fall giving rise to a
healthy nitrate [NO3] reading. I'd also mention that although the second
link is from a Cichlid website the information in it is exactly the same
for all types of fish.
Sounds all very technical I know but it really isn't that hard once you get
into it & we are all here to help you if you have any problems-let us know
what you think.
John*<o)))<
*
On 2 June 2012 03:25, Amber Berglund <arberglund@gmail.com> wrote:
> You have to do more than just 'wait' for the water. if you want it to be
> cycled before you add fish to the tank you'll have to get some plain
> ammonia (without surfactants/soaps), I don't know how much you have to
> add each day off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone can help you out.
>
> Amber
>
>
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