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How To Guide – Cycling your Aquarium
One of the most important steps in starting up a successful aquarium is a process we refer to as “cycling”. Basically this is the process of building up levels of beneficial bacteria in your aquarium. This bacteria is what breaks down biological waste, i.e. decaying fish & plant matter, faeces and over feeding. This process works in a couple of stages. Firstly fish produce waste in the form of ammonia which is extremely toxic to fish in aquariums. Beneficial bacteria break down or “eat” this ammonia and convert it into nitrites which although are still harmful are not as harmful as ammonia is to your fish in your aquarium. A second colony of bacteria cultivates and consumes these nitrites and converts it into nitrates which are relatively harmless to freshwater fish. To keep nitrates at minimal levels is easy. In a freshwater aquarium this is done by either doing regular water changes or by including living plants into the aquarium. In saltwater aquariums this is usually done by regular water changes or in some instances you can use filtration equipment called a “nitratereductor” which passes the water through a pressurised filter full of media at relatively slow speed. This encourages the growth of anaerobic bacteria which break down nitrates and release them into the aquarium in the form of nitrogen gas which removes itself via aeration of the aquarium.
Following is a step by step guide of how we “cycle” our aquariums.
Step 1
When choosing your aquarium select a suitable Aquarium Filter depending on the size of the aquarium and the type of fish you intend to keep in it. Remebering that the better the aquarium filter the less ongoing maintenance will be required and the whole process will be less stressful. For freshwater aquariums we recommend the use of canister filters, and for saltwater aquariums we recommend trickle filters.
Take your aquarium home and set it up where you want it. Make sure you thoroughly rinse the gravel and ornaments before putting them into the aquarium. We do this as we don’t know what contaminants they may contain. So rinse your gravel and put it into the bottom of the aquarium and place any ornaments where you think they will look good. Now its time to start filling the tank with water. Depending on the size of the aquarium I usually use a garden hose and run the water into a jug or something similar so it doesn’t disturb the gravel. While the aquarium is filling with water I usually set up the filtration, heaters and start to place the plants in if you have any. Once the aquarium is full you will need to treat it with water conditioner. We use Sera Aqutan.
Step 2
Now that your aquarium is set up and running its time to test the pH of the water. The ideal pH will depend on the type of fish you intend to keep. For instance cichlids and marine fish will prefer a high or alkaline pH of 7.5 or higher whereas most tetras and discus will prefer a pH of 6.8 - 7.0. If your unsure what your pH should be you can either send us an email at sales@petshop-online.com.au or consult your local aquarium shop. After you test your pH adjust it with either a pH up which will increase the numeric value of your pH, i.e. take it from 7.5 to 8.0 making it more alkaline. Alternatively use pH down to decrease the pH.
Step 3
Now we begin the cycling process. To start with we add Sera Nitrivec which is a bio starter for aquariums. This basically is a bottle of concentrated bacteria which dramatically speeds up the process. We add this to the water for the first 10 days and then whenever we do a water change. After adding the Sera Nitrivec we introduce the first couple of fish. Normally we use mollies as they are very hardy and inexpensive. Most importantly do not introduce too many fish as this will result in an “ammonia spike” which will kill all the bacteria as well as the fish and you will have to start again. For most tanks one or two is enough to start the process. Every 5 – 7 days it is usually safe to put one or two more fish in as long as there is no ammonia registering on a test kit (if you have one). If you don’t have a test kit the water will usually go a little cloudy and smelly when there is a high ammonia present.
If you have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits you can test the water every couple of days and you will actually be able to see the process happening. In the first 3 – 5 days you will notice an increase in the ammonia level of the tank. As long as this doesn’t go too high this is normal. At 3 – 10 days the Ammonia level should start to decrease and the Nitrite level should start to increase. Then finally at 10 – 20 days the nitrites should decrease and the nitrates should start to show at small levels. If Sera Nitrivec isn’t used this process takes a fair bit longer.
Step 3
The cycling process is basically complete. Keep in mind that the bacteria levels will take 45 – 60 days to reach their optimum level so until then you should add fish in small increments and not add a heap at once as this will possible end in disaster. Doing regular water changes is also a very important step in maintaining a healthy aquarium. The amount you change and the frequency you change it will depend on the amount of fish or “bio-load” of your aquarium. As a general rule we usually recommend 30% water changes to be done once a fortnight.
For more information on doing water changes see our How To Guide on water changes.
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