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Did you know that when setting up a fish tank you must....?
CYCLE IT FIRST.
I see a huge amount of posts where people just set up thier tank and put fish in it the next day. Or people saying "wait a week then put fish in"
This does no do. A tank must be cycled before fish can be put in it.
Cycling is the process of establishing beneficial bacteria in the tank. During this time, large amounts of ammonia and nitrites are present which are extremly toxic and damaging to fish. This is why so many tanks fail, because people don't cycle FIRST.
I highly reccommend that people read this article before they set up thier next tank. It will save your fishes life, and save you a lot of money and stress!
Also, if anyone would like me to further clarify, or if you have questions, I am very happy to help. lunar_flame@hotmail.com
Yes, Biospira is the only known product that, when used correctly, can instantly cycle a tank. Products like "Cycle" do not work.
Aussies: I am not sure what you think you are talking about. Of course, all water needs to be treated with chlorine and heavy metal remover, but that is not the same as establishing bacteria in an aquarium. Please read up on the nitrogen cycle.
I am not wrong. If you bother reading the article I posted, you will see what the nitrogen cycle is about. No matter how you go about it, the nutrogen cycle will occur in your tank., It is just best to do it without fish, as it can kill them.
As well: when you clean a tank, you should NEVER break down the whole tank and remove all the water. It makes no sense to do so, you ruin your entire habitat. weekly small water changes using a syphon keep the tank clean.
You are going by very "old school" methods of fish keeping which have been proven to not be in the best interest of the fish.
4 Answers
- GuZZiZZitLv 51 decade agoFavorite Answer
Yes, good point. But keep in mind there is a product called "Bio-Spiria" that is widley sold in the United States the will cycle a tank over night. Awsome stuff.
- angelmwilsonLv 51 decade ago
Great post!
I also agree with the guy above me. And there are other things similar to what he mentioned that does the same. But I chose to do things the right way just in case.
The are a few ways to start the process....Most fish stores say to add a few (2) fish to de-chlorinated water and that will start it or to add water from an established tank.
Also cycling a tank can take longer then a few weeks!
- Aussies-OnlineLv 51 decade ago
You are very wrong about this...
There is a product sold by pet shops to neutralise your water in a matter of seconds... providing that you are using clean tap water to start with... water which you can drink. (You might want to re-think this if your water has a very strong taste of chlorine and is un-drinkable). However... most of the chlorine would evapore in 24 hours.
I have kept aquarium fishes for 20 years and have used this product everytime I had to re-fill the tank. Never had a problem.
While your idea sound good... it is extreme...
When people decides to buy a fish tank... they are not going to wait six months to put the fishes in it.
And even so... through my years of experience... I have learned to keep a tank clean for almost two years without having to empty it... there come a stage where you have have to empty it in order to clean it properly... What do you do then?
Don't tell me... You buy a second tank and set it up six months before cleaning the old one. Very practical...
You don't need to establish a fish tank before putting the fishes in it. What you need are plants. The plants lives from the waste of the fishes and an echo system is established between fishes and plants. You also need large sucker fishes which will eat all the algae and keep your glass clean.
