I just bought a 10 gallon tank ... is there anything I have to do before it is safe for fish?

Answer 1

Yep, you have to cycle it. The general idea is that to cycle, you just have to let your tank run for a couple days. But there's a lot more to it than that. It's not a difficult process, but it's a lot easier when you understand why you have to do it. In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will beready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish. http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank)

While it's cycling, you have the chance to go to the petstore to choose your fish. Bring a pen and paper, write down the names of the fish you like and that are in your budget and come home and research them to make sure they are small enough for your tank and that they are compatible with each other. And do not ask the petstore guys for information; more often than not, they are wrong. Can't forget that they're just random shmoes working for minimum wage who do not have any experience or education with fish.

Answer 2

short answer: rinse it with clear cold water, rinse gravel & all components (decor filter etc) add water, water conditioner, run filter for 24-48 hours. At this point you could get 1-2 hardy fish to cycle the tank. You may also want to look into adding a live bacterial culture to the tank, to speed up the process. Do not add any more fish untill the nitrogen cycle is established. Test your water regularly (either yourself or at your local fish store-LFS) to monitor ammonia, nitrites & nitrates. Do partial water changes(25%) as needed (about every 3-5 days) When ammonia is at 0 ppm nitrites are at 0 ppm and nitrates are under 40 ppm, your tank is healthy & ready to be stocked with more fish.

Another opinion:
many people believe that cycling with fish is cruel and harms the animal,I use Zebra danio for the process & have even used goldfish, and have not had an issue with disease, during the cycling process. I don't think the animals are harmed, they showed little or no signs of stress during the process, and it is sure fire.

If you would like to fully cycle your tank without fish (meaning looking at an empty aquarium for 4-6 weeks) research "fishless cycling" online or by purchasing a beginner aqarium book. I think this can be a bit tricky for the beginner, because if you aren't sure about water testing, and you forget to "feed" your bacteria, the whole cycle can be shot in a matter of days.

Answer 3

Yes, lots of things. Some 1-2 people here will post a page long answer detailing all the steps to setting up a tank and even at that will miss something important...maybe more. Not to mention you need to know what to do in the coming few weeks as you move fish into the tank.

I would suggest you search the net for a few sites with starting an aquarium articles. Don't use just one, but read several. Also drop by any book store or pet shop and buy a basic aquarium book. It will answer most all of your questions and is very good to have around for reference later. A good book will be worth far more than the little you pay for it thats for sure.

Try those things before you even fill the tank with water, you will be very glad you did.

Best of luck with your new hobby

EDIT: No insult intended to those providing lengthy answers, but we all know you just can't cover everything a new hobbist needs to know in a single post.

Answer 4

I would set up the tank how you want. FIll it up with water, and run the filter as there were fish in it. I also recommend a water clarifer. Gets all the harmful chemicals out of your water. Let your tank run for a few days. Also when I buy new fish, I NEVER put the water from the store tank in my tanks. You never know what is in that water. Good Luck!

Answer 5

There are quick ways to cycle your tank.

During the cycling process, ammonia levels will go up and then suddenly plummet as the nitrite-forming bacteria take hold. Because nitrate-forming bacteria don't even begin to appear until nitrite is present in significant quantities, nitrite levels skyrocket (as the built-up ammonia is converted), continuing to rise as the continually-produced ammonia is converted to nitrite. Once the nitrate-forming bacteria take hold, nitrite levels fall, nitrate levels rise, and the tank is fully cycled.

Your tank is fully cycled once nitrates are being produced. To determine when the cycle has completed, buy appropriate test kits and measure the levels yourself, or bring water samples to your fish store and let them perform the test for you (perhaps for a small fee). The cycling process normally takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks. At temperatures below 70F, it takes even longer to cycle a tank. In comparison to other types of bacteria, nitrifying bacteria grow slowly. Under optimal conditions, it takes fully 15 hours for a colony to double in size!
you will read here people giving advice on using a filter from an established tank. or removing gravel from an established aquarium containing nitrifying bacteria which are attached to the gravel. (In other words, take some of the gravel (a cup or more) and hang it in a mesh bag in your filter (if you can), or lay it over the top of the gravel in the new tank (if it has an UGF).

THIS IS NOT A RECOMENDATION for a new tank. The down falls of this process is introducing parasites and other unwanted guests into your new tank. Most seasoned aquarists wouldn't do this and being new to the fish just DON"T do this. Chances are you will be asking for more problems in the future. This also goes for fish shop gravel.A word of caution is appropriate here. Due to the nature of the business, tanks in stores are very likely to contain unwanted pathogens (bacteria, parasites, etc.); you don't want to add them to an established tank. For someone setting up their very first tank, however, all fish will probably be purchased from the same store, so the danger is relatively small, as the newly purchased fish will have been exposed to the same pathogens.

More recently, products containing colonies of nitrifying bacteria have become available at pet shops (e.g., ``Fritz'', ``Bio-zyme'', ``Cycle''). In theory, adding the bacteria jump-starts the colonization process as above. Net experience with such products has been mixed; some folks report success, while others report they don't work at all. In principle, such products should work well. However, nitrifying bacteria cannot live indefinitely without oxygen and food. Thus, the effectiveness of a product depends on its freshness and can be adversely effected by poor handling (e.g., overheating). Unfortunately, these products don't come with a freshness date, so there is no way to know how old they are.

A quick way (emergency cycle) to cycle your tank is to get scallops, fish shirmp from your local store. Cut it into small pieces and put them into your tank. This will start the decaying process for bacteria. You should have water test levels up to par within a couple of days. (as little as 2 as much as a week) I have used this process when a contractor cracked one of my tanks containing my elephantnose. I called the fish store where I buy 99.9% of my fish and this was what they told me to do in an emergency. All fish survived and were fine with no ill effects.

Here is a step by step guid to get started:
http://www.fishlore.com/FirstTankSetup.htm

Welcome to the world of Fish!

Answer 6

Clean with cold and hot water only. No cleaning fluids and chemicals that will leave a residue on glass and bottom. That what I been doing for many years.