what does it mean when someone says "tank cycling" in my aquarium? how do i do it?

Answer 1

Leave the tank with every thing running for at least a week putting a very small amount of food in the water every day.This is to start a natural proces of maturation. First you need to create ammonia in the tank then this is comsumed by natural bacteria and nitrates are produced, this is what your plants feed off. When the ammonia is first produced the water looks like a little milk has been added to it making it very cloudy but not dirty. This will gradually dissapear and the tank will become gin clear.Then find a frendly aquatics shop that will do basic tests on your water for you, many like us will not charge for this service. First test is the ph or acidity level, this should be as near to 7 or neutral as possible for fresh water community fish or gold fish. The second test is for ammonia, this need to be as near to zero as possible. The third test is for nitrate, again this needs to be as near to zero as possible. If you water passes all these tests then you will be able to take a few fish home with you. Don't rush to stock your tank to capacity a too many fish at the start will over load the nitrifying bacteria with too much ammonia and you will loose all your fish.

Answer 2

Cycling, in short, is introducing ammonia into the tank to start what is referred to as a Cycle.

The cycle essentially works like this:

Fish produce ammonia, which is toxic.

Bacteria forms which converts ammonia to nitrites, which is slightly less toxic.

Another bacteria forms which converts nitrites into nitrates, which is non-toxic at reasonable levels.

Nitrates are then removed through regular water changes.

There are two ways to cycle the tank - with fish and without fish. The bonus to fishless cycling is that no fish are exposed to the toxins at any point. Once the tank is finished cycling you can add any fish you desire.

Go onto google and type in 'fishless cycling'. There are a few ways to do it. Here's a good start:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycling.php

A typical cycle takes about 5 weeks to complete, but you can shorten this time period immensely by getting your hands on filter media with bacteria already on it. Put this media in your own filters. You can get this media in the form of sponge, foam, or gravel substrate from a tank of a friend or someone you know, or the fish store will often give or sell you some. The more you can get, the more quickly the cycle will complete. If you can get enough of it you can skip the entire cycle altogether and just add fish.

Another alternative to help speed it up is a product called bio-spira, which is bottled bacteria. It's the only product of its kind that actuallyy works, and while it isn't as good as healthy bacteria from a mature tank, it is the next best thing.

Answer 3

An aquarium is a mini-ecosystem, not just a tank filled with tap water. Cycling is the act of allowing/encouraging the Nitrogen Cycle to take place.

The link describes the process in detail and provides instructions on how to make it happen.

Answer 4

"Cycling the tank" means that you are establishing a bacteria bed in your biological filter to remove the toxins that the fish's metabolism creates. There are right and wrong ways to do this, and several things you can do to slow this process (which you don't want to do). There are two steps to cycling, but you don't have to do anything special for either of them. First, your filter will grow a culture of bacteria that digest ammonia and turn it into Nitrite (which is more toxic than the ammonia in hard water or water with a higher pH), then your filter produces bacteria that digest Nitrite and turn it into relatively harmless Nitrate. However, Nitrate will contribute to loss of appetite and stress in your fish, as well as contributing to algae growth, so it is important to do regular small water changes to keep your tank in best condition.

How Do You Cycle Your Tank?
You should cycle your tank with a small number of fish. They should be hearty fish, and something that you will want to have in your tank in the long run. Do not cycle your tank with lots of feeder goldfish. Do not cycle your tank with any goldfish unless you intend to keep goldfish. Unfortunately many pet shops suggest this. If you want to know why, you could review my no goldfish page.

What Fish Should You Use?
For a tank of small community fish, White Clouds or Zebra Danios are good cycling fish; Cherry Barbs or Tiger Barbs are good for a slightly more aggressive tank; or Pseudotropheus zebra is a good choice for an African Cichlid tank. Your local pet shop should be able to point you toward some hardy fish of the type you are looking to keep. Purchase a small number (the number will depend on the size of your aquarium and type of fish and -to a lesser degree- the type of filter) of these fish and introduce them to your tank. For a ten to twenty gallon tank, two or three small schooling fish or one small cichlid would be more than sufficient. Let the tank sit for a couple of days, feeding your fish carefully to prevent excess food from decaying and fouling the water. There are several reasons that you do not want to cycle your tank with a large number of fish, here are a few:

Cycling a tank with many fish will produce a lot more waste, which will be stressful to your fish, resulting in higher die-off and greater susceptibility to disease.
Cycling with a large number of fish will increase water problems incurred during the cycling process.
Cycling with a lot of fish can contribute to a foul smell coming from the tank.
Every couple of days, do a 10%-15% water change, and after about a week, take a sample of your water to a fish store to get it tested. Most pet shops will test fresh water for a minimal fee, or even for free! If the store you got the fish from won't, check to see if there is another local store that will. At this point, your water should test with high ammonia and maybe a trace of nitrite. If it isn't, don't worry. Just give the tank time. The cycling process usually takes four to eight weeks.

After about eight weeks, your ammonia and Nitrite levels should be acceptable (about trace levels), and you can add more fish. Do not add more fish until the ammonia and Nitrite levels have both dropped. Remember to add new fish a few at a time to prevent over-stressing the filter. If you add too many at once, your tank will have to cycle again, yet if you add a few at a time, your bacteria growth rate will just increase for a short time, with minimal effect on your fish.

Answer 5

Tank cycling merely means getting it ready for the fish. All you have to do is fill the tank, get everything ready, run the filter and heater( if you are using a heater) and conditioning the water. You can but stuff to add to the water to help the tank start cycling, some stores even sell live bacteria which is even better. All in all, this can usually be done in 24 hours. Just remember to add the fish slowly and gradually

Answer 6

it would really depend on the type of tank you are trying to have because if it's salt water you'll need to buy starter fish and if it's fresh water then it only needs to run for 12 hours only