im confused about "cycling" my aquarium?

Question

I have asked a few questiogn abotu my aquarium. I set up a 5 gallon aquarium since my 40 gallon aquarium has seem to be on the fritz.. I have a full grown black moor (i dont know if he;s full grown but he's about 7 inches long) and 3 african dwarf frgos (they seem to do fine int he water. i have had them for over a year) and a smaller goldfish. my blackmoor is very friendly and non territorial.

but i set up my 5 gallon aquarium yesterday with a proper fileter and ait stones. (the 40 gallon aquarium has all this too)

but my question is. i know i have to let the 5 gallon aquarium cycle for 4 to 6 weeks. some people are telling me to add in a hardy fish and others are talling me to not put anythign in it till the 4 to 6 weeks are up? what to do?

shoudl i put in my smaller goldfsh in there to start the cycle or what?

thank you.

Answer 1

How about I tell you a shortcut. :)

Get your new tank and fill it with water and add whatever anti-chlorine conditional you have leave it for about 2 days. If you have air pump for this new tank you can switch it on and at the same time if you have a new filter you should also switch it on.

After running the empty tank of water for 2 days, move your filter from your old tank to the new tank ( do not wash it ) after that you could move all your lifestock over from the old tank to new tank too.

You see the objective of cycling the tank is to grow bacterial, since the filter in your old tank already have all the bacterial it can support in the media, you just need to move it over. The initial 2 days I mention earlier is bascially (extra insurance) to let the conditional get rid of chlorine and stuff.

By the way, I assumed you mean 50 gallon tank instead of 5 ???? It it's shifting from 40 gallon to 5 gallon ....... I don't think that is a very good idea.

Answer 2

First run the new tank with the filter in it overnight to aerate the water.

Since you already have a tank set up, fill up the new filter with the filter media of the old tank - this is where most of the bacteria resides, so the new tank, once you do this, will be instantly cycled - all the bacteria already exists!. It's simple, better then bacteria in a bottle, it's certainly better then cycling the tank all over again, and it's free.

You'd better get a bigger tank soon though, if you plan on putting all those fish in a 5 gallon, or you'll start to lose livestock in that little thing.

Answer 3

The "cycle" is the period of time your tank needs to establish a healthy population of nitrifying bacteria - enough bacteria to adequately process the amount of waste produced in the system. A full cycle usually takes about a month to complete.

To start/continue your cycle, you will need test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. One for pH is always a good idea too! You will need to add some waste for the bacteria to feed on - a piece of shrimp left to break down in the water will do the trick nicely, or anything else you have on hand - fish flakes, bloodworms, etc... Test your water every few days - write down the results if you need. You'll see the ammonia levels increase first. These will peak and start to drop, and when the ammonia starts falling you will see higher nitrite readings. These levels too will peak and then start to decline, with your nitrate rising. When you have ZERO ammonia and ZERO nitrite, the cycle is complete and your fish can safely be safely returned to the tank.

If you have no plants to feed on the nitrate produced by the cycle, you will need to do small weekly water changes to keep the nitrate from rising to dangerous levels. 10% weekly should be enough of a water change, along with removing visible waste. Re-test for ammonia etc. with each water change. In a healthy tank, ammonia and nitrite will always be zero - the cycle is ongoing. If the sponge/cotton fleece in your filter gets really grungy, rinse it out in TANK water, not tap water. Bacteria live in the filter media, and chlorinated tap water will kill them and you'll be back to square one!

The stress of living in a cycling aquarium can weaken the immune system of even the strongest animal and leave the door open to disease, so no, it's not a good idea to have your fish in there while it's cycling.

Answer 4

STOP, fix the 40 gallon. A 7 inch goldfish needs at least 20 gallons. He will not survive in 5 gallons. 5 gallons is not big enough for one fish let alone 3 or 4 you are making a huge mistake!! Please take my advice, a fish that big deserves better, you have a rare thing don't kill it!

Answer 5

A Short Brief on the Nitrogen Cycle.


When you start a new aquarium it will go through what is called the nitrogen cycle.

The nitrogen cycle is a process which allows "good" bacteria to establish and multiple in the tank, thus breaking down the fish wastes.

Fish excrete ammonia as a waste product. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and even small quantities in the water can kill your fish. The first bacteria that establish as part of the nitrogen cycle break down ammonia into a product called nitrites.

Nitrites are also toxic to your fish, but not nearly as toxic as ammonia is. As the nitrites start to rise in the tank the bacteria that feed on nitrites will start to multiply and consume the nitrites breaking them down into nitrates.

Nitrates are also toxic to fish, but only in very high quantities. The nitrates will continue to rise in your tank as long as you have fish and are feeding them. Water changes are used to reduce the nitrate levels.


How long does this process take?

Typically the nitrogen cycle takes between 4-6 weeks to complete. During this time it's recommended that you take samples of your tank water to the local fish store and ask them to test it for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The test levels will progress as follows:


Stage 1:

Ammonia zero
Nitrites zero
Nitrates zero

Stage 2:

Ammonia starts to rise
Nitrites zero
Nitrates zero

Stage 3:
Ammonia continues to rise
Nitrites begin to rise
Nitrites zero

Stage 4:
Ammonia levels drop
Nitrites continue to rise
Nitrates begin to rise

Stage 5:
Ammonia: zero
Nitrites levels drop
Nitrates continue to rise

Stage 6:
Ammonia: Zero
Nitrites: Zero
Nitrates continue slow rise



Tips to reduce the time of the nitrogen cycle.

The easiest way to reduce or eliminate the nitrogen cycle is to use a filter from an established tank. This filter already has the bacteria needed to breakdown ammonia and nitrites. By using an established filter you essentially bypass the nitrogen cycle.

Another easy way to shorten the cycle is to use "seed" gravel from an established tank. Simply take a few cups of gravel from an established tank and add it directly into the new tank. This gravel will contain a starter of the bacteria needed. If you don't want to add the gravel to the tank because it is a different color/stone than your gravel you can simply put it into a nylon stocking or cheese cloth "bag" and drop it into the tank. Using this method can cut your cycle time by 50%.

Finally there are live cultures of bacteria such as Bio-Spira (available at http://www.fishstoretn.com ) which will seed your tank with the bacteria needed. This product can virtually eliminate the cycling process.



Stocking your tank during this period.

During the cycling process you want to stock your tank very lightly. This is because if you have too many fish the ammonia will build up faster than the bacteria can break it down and your fish will die. I recommend only 1 or 2 hardy fish such as mollies. You want a fish that can tolerate the fluctuating ammonia and nitrite levels during the cycling process. There are many fish which should be avoided during this process including all catfish and any scaleless fish such as loaches.



Feeding during the cycling process.

I recommend that you feed your fish only once per day, and only as much as they will eat in 5-10 seconds. You should net out any food left over after feeding to prevent it from breaking down into ammonia. Once the cycling process completes you can double the feedings to twice a day.



Water changes during the cycling process.

If done correctly your tank shouldn't need any water changes during the cycling process. However should you find that your ammonia or nitrite levels are dangerously high during the cycling process you should do an immediate 25-50% water change to lower those levels. Water changes during the cycling process can extend the time it takes for your tank to cycle. Once the tank has completed cycling you should start your weekly 10-25% water changes to lower the nitrates in the tank.

Answer 6

you can put a smaller fish in to cycle the tank...but to cycle it even faster you can buy bacteria..in a bottle...I think nutrafin has one called nutravec...that you add daily to the water to speed up the process.....If your 40 gallon tank is still running at all..it may still have viable bacteria in the gravel..you can try transfering some of this to the smaller tank to start the cycle as well. If you don't put anything ...fish or bacteria in it will be a much slower process.

Answer 7

to answer your question in a simple form, you can take the gravel from your 40 gallon (along with all the dirty poop that is in there) and put it in the 5 gallon tank...wallah, your cycle is complete. the cycle is just about your fish pooping and your tank cycling so that it's nitrate level off.

Answer 8

"cycling" is just to get the good bacteria that fish need in order to survive. Hardy fish like goldfish do well in almost any water and they will get the bacteria growing.

It has to get the nitrogen cycle going to the fish can stay healthy.
http://www.thatfishshop.com/chemistry/nitrogen_cycle.htm

Answer 9

what about the 40 gal is the problem?? is it leaking? is it the filter? air pump? why not just replace the things that are not working, instead of putting fish in new aquarium?

but i agree with a previous post, i think that about a week would be good

Answer 10

4-6 weeks sounds off.. I would recommend adding a hardy fish or two to the tank and letting it cycle for only a week or two.