# Sticky  Nitrogen Cycle: The Basics.



## ron v

I thought I would start a thread about the persistent problem of cycling a new aquarium. Maybe ya'll could add to it and we could "sticky". Newcomers could then be referred here instead of having to explain it over and over.

Cycling is a process that all aquariums must go through before they are ready for fish. I personally am convinced that most new aquarists drop out of the hobby, in fustration, because they do not understand or respect this event. It is a biological process that normally takes place during the first four to six weeks and involves the establishment of bacteria that consume toxic ammonia and converts it into nitrite ( which is also toxic ) and ultimately into nitrate which is relatively safe. 

Set your tank up with heaters filters ect. and treat water for chlorine.
To begin cycling, your tank must be supplied with a source of ammonia. There are a couple of way to do this. Probably the simplest way is to add a small fish or two. Ammonia will be produced and the cycling process is off and running. These fish will be exposed to a high level of toxic ammonia and nitrite during the cycle and should be considered expendable, in my opinion. Eventually the bacteria will develop to the point where all ammonia produced by your two fish will be converted, almost immediately into nitrate and your tank is cycled and ready to sustain those two fish. If more fish are added, more ammonia is produced and more bacteria must develop to handle the new bio-load. This is called a mini-cycle and takes place in a relatively short period of time. 

You can track the process of the cycle with commercially available test kits. You will need one for ammonia, NH3, nitrite, NO2 and nitrate NO3. During the first 2-3 weeks, the ammonia will continue to rise. No nitrite or nitrate will be detected. Nitrite will then start to show up and ammonia will decrease. Eventually nitrite will decrease and nitrate will be detected. When ammonia and nitrite both drop to zero, you are done. A water change will dilute the nitrate and everyone will live happily ever after.....Except those first two fish. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly poisons and it is common for all of your starter fish to die from exposure. It is also a fact that damage to gills caused by ammonia is, to some degree, permanent even if the fish survives.

Cycling technique number two is called "fishless cycling" and involves puchasing pure ammonia and adding it to the aquarium every day. The cycle proceeds exactly the same way and can be tracked the same way with your test kits. 

Set your tank up as before with heater, filter, etc. But no fish. Instead add pure ammonia until your ammonia test kit reads 3.0 ppm. Keep checking your ammonia level every day and add as necessary to keep the 3ppm. It may take several days. Nitrite will start showing up and you will need to add more and more ammonia to keep it a 3ppm. Keep adding until ammonia and nitrite both drop to zero after 24 hrs. Your nitrate will be extremely high at this point. A 90% water change will dilute the nitrate to an acceptable level. You are done and can now completely stock your tank. 

The advantages of fishless cycling are numerous. First and foremost is that you don't have to sacrifice any fish. Another is that you can fully stock your tank as soon as the cycle is complete. The 3 ppm ammonia that you add each day is far more than a tank full of fish can produce, so it will be ready for more fish than you could put in. The massive dose of ammonia may also decrease the length of time for the cycle to complete. 

This is an oversimplication of a complex event and I'm sure much can be added but I'm tired of typing. I would welcome your comments, and together maybe we can create something that will be of help to a new hobbyist or two.


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## Alin10123

Thanks for this Ron. When i first started i wish i would've done the research instead of just listening to the folks at the LFS who told me that my tank was ready. I'm sure this will help a LOT of the new folks out. 

By the way, another way to do a fishless cycle is to add a source of ammonia that isn't ammonia. For example i did the shrimp method. I basically just dropped a ****tail shrimp in the tank for about 5 days and my test showed a huge increase in ammonia. I took the shrimp out before it started to stink up the tank. Then i added some fish flakes in order to keep up the ammonia source while the flakes rotted away at the bottom. My 55 gallon tank cycled in exactly 1 month. Of course i also took the filter media out of my cycled 20 gallon and let it sit in my 55 for about an hour. But i didn't do that until i was positive of an ammonia source. 


thanks again for the info.


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## mousey

Well we could also add that most cities and towns add Chloramine to the water supply and it needs to be removed.make sure you get a conditioner that handles that as well as plain chlorine.
In my opinion fish are NOT expendable in cycling the tank. Every life is valuable. therefor as the ammonia starts to rise you can add a product such as Ammo lock to neutralize the ammonia into a non toxic form. When the nitrite starts to rise the addition of aquarium salt will prevent the fish from being stressed by that toxin and they usually come sailing thru.
I used the same platy to cycle 3 tanks this way and she lived to just over 2 years.
mousey


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## ron v

mousey said:


> In my opinion fish are NOT expendable in cycling the tank. Every life is valuable.


Any fish used to cycle an aquarium will likely be damaged in the process. So they SHOULD be considered expendable.

"Every life is valuable" .....SO TRUE. That is why I wish everyone would "fishless" cycle and not expose these poor creatures to ammonia/ nitrite poisoning. 

Ammo lock, and other products, will bind ammonia and salt will help fish withstand nitrite poisioning. Water changes will help also. But they are not perfect answers. How much ammo lock to add. How often? Does ammo lock bind the new ammonia produced after it has been added. How much ammonia is in my tank ( a regular test kit won't detect the bound ammonia ). How do I track the progress of my cycle? How much salt do I add for nitrite..... I guess the last question might be... With all this poison in my water, am I sure that my fish "which I don't want to consider expendable" are really OK????? Is all this stuff I'm adding really working????

Why not be patient for 4-5 weeks, use pure ammonia to cycle your tank and avoid the problems.


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## chrisinha

I have a question concerning the nitrogen cycle. I have been helping a friend to get her tank cycled and she's been having problems with lowering her nitrItes (they are always on 2.5ppm). I told her to increase the amount of water changed to 35 - 40% and she asked me a question I can't answer. She's wondering if the thing with cycling is to "build" good bacteria, wouldn't the water changes be a drawback?

Can someone here help me answer that?


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## leveldrummer

the water changes dont remove much bacteria, but your trying to get everything low enough so that it doesnt harm fish. the bacteria will do just fine, but the fish wont, untill the bacteria is there. the bacteria grow on the surfaces of the tank, not in the water itself. if you dont vaccum the gravel, taking out water shouldnt remove any bacteria at all.


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## chrisinha

Thank you so much for your response!!


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## TheOldSalt

If her nitrites are "always" at 2.5, then there may be a problem somewhere in the system. Incomplete nitrification can be caused by a clogged filter or a lack of oxygen. Is the gravel really deep or anything?
If the tank is still new & cycling, then don't worry about it, but if it's over 3 months old, then have her take a good look at things.


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## chrisinha

Her tank has been running since jan 5, so it's still cycling. I think one of the problems is because it's too small. it' a 5 gallon tank. i've always found the smaller the tank the harder it is to cycle, but that might be just me.


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## ron v

Change water to keep the level of nitrite down to about 1. The high level of nitrite is actually killing your bacteria.


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## chrisinha

Oh she's been changing 25% of the water every day and nitrites dont get lower


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## ron v

I wonder about the test kit. If you change 25% of the water, it should dilute the concentration by 25%.


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## bpswim90

I'm going to be moving some goldfish from my 10 gallon tank to a pond outside later this spring. Afterwards I want to keep my tank in shape so that I can move in some new fish soon after. 

Should I add ammonia so that the bacteria in my tank stays alive, and if so how much?


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## ron v

Add enough to get the test reading at 3. No more. You will need to that every day.


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## DigiDan

ok, so i read all this, and im a little confused, but is the purpose of cycling to create bacteria?

im so confused, you guys make it sound so damn complicated......

i need to take these things one step at a time....

are there ways to promote growth of the bacteria?
isnt there solutions at the LFS that help promote bacteria growth?


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## xerxeswasachump

Yes, there is a product called bio-spira. It is essentially refridgerated bacteria (to slow down their metabolism). This stuff can be added to a tank and have it cycled within 24 hours. The only issue is that you have to be ready to fully stock your tank, otherwise there won't be high enough levels of ammonia to keep that large a bacteria colony alive.


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## DigiDan

xerxeswasachump said:


> The only issue is that you have to be ready to fully stock your tank, otherwise there won't be high enough levels of ammonia to keep that large a bacteria colony alive.


why not just keep adding more pure ammonia instead.


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## DigiDan

does temperature affect the type of bacteria that grow in the tank, cuz im currently cycling a 10 gal tank for my fry, but i have no heater in it at the moment.....

do i continue to cycle or wait until i get the heater?


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## xerxeswasachump

DigiDan said:


> why not just keep adding more pure ammonia instead.


You could. I just meant if someone wanted to speed up the process.
Also, how hard is it to get pure ammonia? Do they sell it at places like home dept or something?


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## harif87

So wait, would another alternative be just adding somehting like Cycle or another source of nitrifying bacteria before you add your fish right away?


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## The Gallonator

xerxeswasachump said:


> You could. I just meant if someone wanted to speed up the process.
> Also, how hard is it to get pure ammonia? Do they sell it at places like home dept or something?


they sell it at walmart, target, ect, in the cleaning supplies, clear plastic or glass bottle


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## judya

But get the ammonia that is plain, doesn't have scents or other stuff added.


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## dolifisis

I got my pure ammonia at the grocery store. Believe it was labeled clear ammonia.


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## eastkygal

So, can someone mention "new tank syndrome"... cloudy water. How long should that last? What about when water changes do nothing to help it? I've had a 29 gal. up since December and still have cloudy water.


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## Fishfirst

Cycling is the cause of new tank syndrome aka they are the same thing. Cloudy water isn't what new tank syndrome is, its just a product of new tank syndrome. Cloudy water is just bacteria floating in the water column often looking like a whitish haze, these bacteria will eventually colonize the filter media and take care of your fish waste. New tank syndrome is when you have fish death during the cycling period. This is caused by too much nitrite or ammonia in the water, or your fish being damaged by these chemicals and dying later. It takes 4-6 weeks to completely cycle if nothing hinders it. Water changes can hinder the cycle but it also can save your fish from dying.


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## oliesminis

my first taqnk took little over a week to cycle and all i did was set it running. i tested it at 7, 10 and 12 days and i got results of

ammonia 0 
nirite 0.1
nitrate 10

my new tank however has been cycling for a week and still has

ammonia 0
nitrite 0.9
nitrate 40-50

it has been like that for 3 days. i have added good bacteria from my other filter to this one and added some food to help cycle. any ideas to lower it farther


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## Kyoberr

That's an oversimplication!?!?! Wow, well thanks for telling me that. I'm glad that I didn't have to cycle my own tank. Geez.


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## krismee

Hi guys - newbie here. 
So if your 'expendable' starter fish die during the 4-6 week cycling period - do you need to replace them for the cycle to finish appropriately?


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## Cichlidsrule

Hmmm....I've let tanks sit for only a few days and my guppies are fine in there. I wonder why?


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## RSidetrack

Moved to different thread...


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## Ray Ray's Pop

i have a problem i dont know if the reason why my nirite is to high cause i put in to ammonia blocker filter is that why my ammonia is low and my nirite is off the charts


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## trashion

RayRay, this post is old. Don't post to old threads. Your tank is not cycled, that's what your problem is.

My bad, it's a sticky. Post all you want.


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## Guest

This thread is a sticky? It's at the top anyway  People have been randomly posting on it since its inception.

Ray Ray, it's going to take a little more info and a lot of answers to see what's wrong with your tank. It isn't cycled, that's the obvious issue. Are you saying you added something like AmmoLock or what did you mean? If you add a chemical like that while your tank is cycling, it defeats the purpose. You really shouldn't add any unnecessary chemicals while your tank is cycling; not sure if that's what you were saying. Try phrasing what you're saying a little better, or we can't be sure how to answer you.


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## pxexaxcxex

So, I am interested in buying a 55 gallon tank and I want to cycle it. Can someone give me more info on purchasing refrigerated good bacteria to help the tank cycle faster? I am not very interested in using a fish for cycling the tank, and using pure ammonia would be my second choice. In the past when I got new tanks I did not know about cycling. I did however buy ammonia controlling liquids and aquarium salt because I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Of course this was before the proliferation of the internet and information! Any info would help, thanks for helping a newbie.


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## COM

^^ Uhh, what? You want a fish tank, but you don't want fish? But you want refrigerated bacteria?

Bio-Spira is refrigerated bacteria. Worked well for me, but you won't need it if you don't want fish.


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## ron v

COM, the statement is "I don't want to expend any fish"... I read that as not wanting to damage fish by cycling. It sounds perfectly valid to me... pxe, there are several "bacteria in a bottle" products out there. There are also differing opinions on all. One that seems to work in many cases in Stability by Seachem. Several experienced hobbyist on this forum have used it with success. The only way to be sure is to understand now the cycle works and test your water frequently.


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## pxexaxcxex

*Okay thanks*

I revised my sentence so it no longer says expend...as not to confuse anyone thinking I want to buy a tank solely for bacteria growth. lol, thanks ron for the info.


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## lyrikz

pxexaxcxex said:


> I revised my sentence so it no longer says expend...as not to confuse anyone thinking I want to buy a tank solely for bacteria growth. lol, thanks ron for the info.


So i have a totally seperate question. After my tank is cycled, how often do i change my water, how much do i change, and do i ever change my filter material? I have a magnum 350 with carbon media. Do i change that ever? It also has a water scrubber that you can put in place of the media when you are cleaning the gravel to SCRUB the water. It looks like a bio wheel...

I have the cycling part down, now im just worried about maintaining it...


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## ron v

The final product of your cycle is nitrate. The amount of nitrate will depend on how many fish and how big the aquarium. A general "rule of thumb" is about 10% water change once a week to dilute the nitrate. I usually do about 25%. When I do a water change, I clean the filter media by rinsing it out in aquarium water. Don't use chlorinated water because lots of good bacteria is in your filter media that you don't want to damage. Sooner or later the media will wear out from your rinsing. That is the only time I ever replace it. Of course the pet shops would love for you to come in and purchase a new filter media once a month... LOL. On alternating weekly water changes, I will vacuum the gravel. I'm not familiar with the scrubber so I can't advise there. The only time I ever use carbon is after I have treated with some sort of medication. Carbon will only absorb for a few days "at most" after that it probably does more damage than good. I would not use the carbon. Good luck and I hope this helps.


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## lyrikz

So, pretty much every filter i have seen has that blue mesh with black carbon in it...

What the heck do i use in my filter, to, filter my water???

Just when i think i know whats going on, i get set back. Right now the tank has been up for a full week. I know have 4 fish in it. There is no ammonia present, the ph is a tad high but i just added some ph dropper to lower that a bit.... I will test in anotehr week... WHile you are cylcing your tank, do you do weekly 25% water changes, or only after its cycled?


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## bmlbytes

I have an idea to make your own filter cartridge lyrikz. Take one of those cartridges like you said. Cut off the blue mesh so you just have the black piece of plastic. Buy one of those $0.99 mesh filter bags from PetsMart. Staple it to the black plastic with the hole facing up. Fill the bag with activated carbon and pull the drawstring. Insert in filter. 

I think it should work. That filter has a rough sponge in it also, right? So the carbon in the bag is a chemical and mechanical filter, and the sponge is a biological and mechanical filter.


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## FishyFishy91

ron v said:


> I thought I would start a thread about the persistent problem of cycling a new aquarium. Maybe ya'll could add to it and we could "sticky". Newcomers could then be referred here instead of having to explain it over and over.
> 
> Cycling is a process that all aquariums must go through before they are ready for fish. I personally am convinced that most new aquarists drop out of the hobby, in fustration, because they do not understand or respect this event. It is a biological process that normally takes place during the first four to six weeks and involves the establishment of bacteria that consume toxic ammonia and converts it into nitrite ( which is also toxic ) and ultimately into nitrate which is relatively safe.
> 
> Set your tank up with heaters filters ect. and treat water for chlorine.
> To begin cycling, your tank must be supplied with a source of ammonia. There are a couple of way to do this. Probably the simplest way is to add a small fish or two. Ammonia will be produced and the cycling process is off and running. These fish will be exposed to a high level of toxic ammonia and nitrite during the cycle and should be considered expendable, in my opinion. Eventually the bacteria will develop to the point where all ammonia produced by your two fish will be converted, almost immediately into nitrate and your tank is cycled and ready to sustain those two fish. If more fish are added, more ammonia is produced and more bacteria must develop to handle the new bio-load. This is called a mini-cycle and takes place in a relatively short period of time.
> 
> You can track the process of the cycle with commercially available test kits. You will need one for ammonia, NH3, nitrite, NO2 and nitrate NO3. During the first 2-3 weeks, the ammonia will continue to rise. No nitrite or nitrate will be detected. Nitrite will then start to show up and ammonia will decrease. Eventually nitrite will decrease and nitrate will be detected. When ammonia and nitrite both drop to zero, you are done. A water change will dilute the nitrate and everyone will live happily ever after.....Except those first two fish. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly poisons and it is common for all of your starter fish to die from exposure. It is also a fact that damage to gills caused by ammonia is, to some degree, permanent even if the fish survives.
> 
> Cycling technique number two is called "fishless cycling" and involves puchasing pure ammonia and adding it to the aquarium every day. The cycle proceeds exactly the same way and can be tracked the same way with your test kits.
> 
> Set your tank up as before with heater, filter, etc. But no fish. Instead add pure ammonia until your ammonia test kit reads 3.0 ppm. Keep checking your ammonia level every day and add as necessary to keep the 3ppm. It may take several days. Nitrite will start showing up and you will need to add more and more ammonia to keep it a 3ppm. Keep adding until ammonia and nitrite both drop to zero after 24 hrs. Your nitrate will be extremely high at this point. A 90% water change will dilute the nitrate to an acceptable level. You are done and can now completely stock your tank.
> 
> The advantages of fishless cycling are numerous. First and foremost is that you don't have to sacrifice any fish. Another is that you can fully stock your tank as soon as the cycle is complete. The 3 ppm ammonia that you add each day is far more than a tank full of fish can produce, so it will be ready for more fish than you could put in. The massive dose of ammonia may also decrease the length of time for the cycle to complete.
> 
> This is an oversimplication of a complex event and I'm sure much can be added but I'm tired of typing. I would welcome your comments, and together maybe we can create something that will be of help to a new hobbyist or two.


Thank for the instructions, I'm going to try it.


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