how do i speed up cycling in my new tank??

Question

i have a 29 gallon tank with an oscar in it and i just set up a 75 gallon tank for him i know that it must cycle but since i already have an astablisthed tank could i speed it up??

Answer 1

If you have an oscar I will warn you against trying to hury the cycling process. toss in a few pieces of fish or shrimp and allow it to rot. Basically. However with a fish in the tank this is not the best way to do things. NO FISH during cycling.

DO not move your filter. This is another bogus myth. There isn't enough bacteria on a filter to start anything. this is why you pitch them.

Feed the tank and toss in some fish or shrimp it will jump the biofilter faster. It should be good in a few days.

Ok you can read the entire cut and paste from a forum or listen to copperhead or toss in a few pieces of fish.

Answer 2

The only way i could think of that would speed up the cycle is to either get some water, gravel or other sort from a existing aquarium and putting it into the new tank. Another would be to put small fishes to kickstart the cycle.

Answer 3

I've always cycled using the old fashioned way using comet feeders , doing regular 25% water changes every three days during the first month, and adding active culture treatments. Or if you feel like being risky, drain the water from the 29 to the 75 and add water from there, just keep a close eyes on the water condition and levels of ammonia, nitrates, etc.... iknow i will be bitched about that but i managed to cycle a 90 gallon tank this way from a 20....

Answer 4

Put some fish food in it

Answer 5

You can move everything from his current tank (substrate, rocks, and filter) to the new tank, keeping everything wet so the bacteria don't die. If his current tank is cycled, that should be enough bacteria to support him while additional bacteria reproduce to fill any extra gravel for the larger tank.

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Answer 6

goldfish produce alot of waste, so feeding him small goldfish will help, assuming he doesnt eat all of them right away.

a bio filter will add everything you need to cycle the tank almost immediatly.

What Is the Nitrogen Cycle?
Like all living creatures, fish give off waste products (pee and poo). These nitrogenous waste products break down into ammonia (NH3), which is highly toxic to most fishes. In nature, the volume of water per fish is extremely high, and waste products become diluted to low concentrations. In aquariums, however, it can take as little as a few hours for ammonia concentrations to reach toxic levels.

How much ammonia is too much? The quick answer is: if a test kit is able to measure it, you've got too much (i.e., it's in a high enough concentrations to stress fish). Consider emergency action (water changes and zeolite clay) to reduce the danger. (A more detailed discussion of ammonia toxicity can be found later in this section.)

In aquaria-speak, the ``nitrogen cycle'' (more precisely, the nitrification cycle) is the biological process that converts ammonia into other, relatively harmless nitrogen compounds. Fortunately, several species of bacteria do this conversion for us. Some species convert ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (N02-), while others convert nitrite to nitrate (NO3-). Thus, cycling the tank refers to the process of establishing bacterial colonies in the filter bed that convert ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate.

The desired species of nitrifying bacteria are present everywhere (e.g., in the air). Therefore, once you have an ammonia source in your tank, it's only a matter of time before the desired bacteria establish a colony in your filter bed. The most common way to do this is to place one or two (emphasis on one or two) hardy and inexpensive fish in your aquarium. The fish waste contains the ammonia on which the bacteria live. Don't overfeed them! More food means more ammonia! Some suggested species include: common goldfish (for cold water tanks), zebra danios and barbs for warmer tanks, and damselfishes in marine systems. Note: Do not use ``toughies'' or other feeder fishes. Although cheap, they are extremely unhealthy and using them may introduce unwanted diseases to 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 (and ammonia and nitrite levels are zero). To determine when the cycle has completed, buy appropriate test kits (see the TEST KIT section) 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!

It is sometimes possible to speed up the cycling time. Some common procedures for this are detailed later in this section.

Warning: AVOID THE TEMPTATION TO GET MORE FISH UNTIL AFTER YOUR TANK HAS FULLY CYCLED! More fish means more ammonia production, increasing the stress on all fish and the likelihood of fish deaths. Once ammonia levels reach highly stressful or toxic levels, your tank has succumbed to ``New Tank Syndrome''; the tank has not yet fully cycled, and the accumulating ammonia has concentrations lethal to your fish.
How Much Ammonia Is Too Much?
In an established tank, ammonia should be undetectable using standard test kits available at stores. The presence of detectable levels indicates that your bio filter is not working adequately, either because your tank has not yet cycled, or the filter is not functioning adequately (e.g., too small for fish load, clogged, etc.) It is imperative that you address the problem (filter) in addition to the symptoms (high ammonia levels).

The exact concentration at which ammonia becomes toxic to fish varies among species; some are more tolerant than others. In addition, other factors like water temperature and chemistry play a significant role. For example, ammonia (NH3) continually changes to ammonium (NH4+) and vice versa, with the relative concentrations of each depending on the water's temperature and pH. Ammonia is extremely toxic; ammonium is relatively harmless. At higher temperatures and pH, more of the nitrogen is in the toxic ammonia form than at lower pH.

Standard test kits measure total ammonia (ammonia plus ammonium) without distinguishing between the two forms. The following chart gives the maximum long-term level of ammonia-N in mg/L (ppm) that can be considered safe at a given temperature and pH. Again, note that a tank with an established biological filter will have no detectable ammonia; this chart is provided only for emergency purposes. If your levels approach or exceed the levels shown, take emergency action IMMEDIATELY.

Water Temperature
pH 20C (68F) 25C (77F)
_________________________________
6.5 15.4 11.1
7.0 5.0 3.6
7.5 1.6 1.2
8.0 0.5 0.4
8.5 0.2 0.1


Minimizing Fish Stress During Initial Cycling
Should ammonia levels become high during the cycling process, corrective measures will need to be taken to prevent fish deaths. Most likely, you will simply perform a sequence of partial water changes, thereby diluting ammonia to safer concentrations.

As a final caution, several commercial products (e.g., ``Amquel'' or ``Ammo-Lock'') safely neutralize ammonia's toxicity. Amquel does not remove the ammonia, it simply neutralizes its toxicity. Biological filtration is still needed to convert the (neutralized) ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. Thus, adding Amquel causes the ammonia produced by the fish to be neutralized instantly, yet still allows the nitrogen cycle to proceed. Using Amquel during the cycling phase has one significant drawback, however. Amquel (and similar products) may cause ammonia test kits to give false readings, making it difficult to determine exactly when cycling has completed. See the TEST KIT SECTION for details.

It is also possible to cycle a tank without ever adding fish. The role fish provide in the cycling process is simply their steady production of ammonia; the same effect can be achieved by adding chemical forms of ammonia manually (e.g., ammonium chloride). However, it is a bit more complicated than using fish because the water chemistry needs to be monitored more closely in order to add the proper amount of ammonia on a day-to-day basis.
Speeding Up Cycling Time
(For the Impatient)
The nitrogen cycle can be sped up or ``jump started'' in a number of ways. Unfortunately, they require access to an established tank, which a beginning aquarist may not have available. The basic idea is to find an established tank, take some of the bacteria out of it and place them in the new tank.

Most filters have some sort of foam block or floss insert on which nitrifying bacteria attach. Borrowing all or part of such an insert and placing it in the new tank's filter gets things going more quickly.

If the established tank uses an undergravel filter, nitrifying bacteria will be attached to the gravel. 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).

If you have a box, sponge or corner filter, simply connect it to an established aquarium and let it run for a week or so. Bacteria in the water will establish a bed in the new filter. After a week, move the now ``seasoned'' filter to the new tank.

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.

Some (not many) aquarium stores will provide aquarium buyers with a cup of gravel from an established tank. 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. If possible, seed a filter with bacteria from a non-store tank.

Of course, there are many variations on the above that work. However, it is a bit difficult to give an exact recipe that is guaranteed to work. It is advisable to take a conservative approach and not add fish too quickly. In addition, testing the water to be sure nitrates are being produced eliminates the guesswork of determining when your tank has cycled.



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This information presented below may be rather boring to most people, but it is absolutely essential to understand this process if you want to be successful at keeping tropical fish!

Some call it the biological cycle, the nitrification process, new tank syndrome or even the start-up cycle. They all are referring to the same cycle - The Nitrogen Cycle. This very important cycle is the establishment of beneficial bacteria in the aquarium and in the filter media that will help in the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then the conversion of nitrite to nitrates. Check out the aquarium water chemistry page for more information on these terms.

This process can take from 2 weeks to 2 months or longer to complete. It is vital for anyone planning on keeping an aquarium with tropical fish to understand this process. Learning about this process will help you to be successful in keeping tropical fish. The best way to monitor the nitrogen cycle is to purchase a freshwater test kit or saltwater test kit that will test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph.

Test your aquarium water every other day and write down your readings. You will first see ammonia levels rising. A few weeks or so later you should see the nitrite levels rising and the ammonia levels dropping. Finally, after a few more weeks you should see the nitrate levels rising and the nitrite levels dropping. When you no longer detect ammonia or nitrites but you can detect nitrates you can assume that it is safe to add your tropical fish.

Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
Photo Credit: Ilmari Karonen

Nitrogen Cycle Stages
Stage 1
Ammonia is introduced into the aquarium via tropical fish waste and uneaten food. The tropical fish waste and excess food will break down into either ionized ammonium (NH4) or un-ionized ammonia (NH3). Ammonium is not harmful to tropical fish but ammonia is. Whether the material turns into ammonium or ammonia depends on the ph level of the water. If the ph is under 7, you will have ammonium. If the ph is 7 or higher you will have ammonia.

Stage 2
Soon, bacteria called nitrosomonas will develop and they will oxidize the ammonia in the tank, essentially eliminating it. The byproduct of ammonia oxidation is Nitrites. So we no longer have ammonia in the tank, but we now have another toxin to deal with - Nitrites. Nitrites are just as toxic to tropical fish as ammonia. If you have a test kit, you should be able to see the nitrite levels rise around the end of the first or second week.

Stage 3
Bacteria called nitrobacter will develop and they will convert the nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are not as harmful to tropical fish as ammonia or nitrites, but nitrate is still harmful in large amounts. The quickest way to rid your aquarium of nitrates is to perform partial water changes. Once your tank is established you will need to monitor your tank water for high nitrate levels and perform partial water changes as necessary. There are other methods to control nitrates in aquariums besides water changes. For freshwater fish tanks, live aquarium plants will use up some of the nitrates. In saltwater fish tanks, live rock and deep sand beds can have anaerobic areas where denitrifying bacteria can breakdown nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas that escapes through the water surface of the aquarium.

Getting The Nitrogen Cycle Started
There are two ways to get the aquarium cycle started, either with fish or without fish.

Starting The Nitrogen Cycle With Fish
This is not the preferred way to get the nitrogen cycle started because the fish are being exposed to ammonia and nitrites during this process. Many fish can not and will not make it through the cycling process. Often times the fish become stressed and fish disease starts to break out. I wonder what percentage of disease is caused by the cycling of new aquariums?

Certain species are hardier than others and seem to tolerate the start-up cycle better than others. For freshwater tanks, the zebra danio is a very hardy fish that many use to get the nitrogen cycle started. For saltwater tanks, some have reported success using damselfish to get the process started. Again, using fish to cycle is not a good idea and you may be throwing your money (on dead fish) out the window. There is a better way. Read on, young grasshopper.

Starting The Nitrogen Cycle Fishless
There are a few different ways to get this process started. To easily get an ammonia reading from your tank water try the Seachem Ammonia Alert. It sticks inside the tank and has a circle that changes color depending on the ammonia levels in the tank.

* Option 1:
Using Fish Food
Drop in a few flakes every 12 hours. As the food decomposes it will release ammonia. You will have to continue to "feed" the tank throughout the process to keep it going.

* Option 2:
Use a small piece of raw fish or a raw shrimp
Drop a 2 inch by 1 inch chunk of raw fish or a raw shrimp into the tank. As it decomposes it will release ammonia into the tank.

* Option 3:
Use 100% pure ammonia.
Using a dropper, add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water. Continue this process daily until you start to get nitrite readings with your test kit. Once you can detect nitrites you should only add 3 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water. Continue this process daily until you get nitrate readings with your test kit. Do a 30% water change and your tank is ready.

* Option 4:
Use gravel and/or filter media from an established and cycled tank
This is the best and fastest way to go. This will seed the tank with all of the necessary bacteria for the nitrogen cycle. "Feed" the tank daily with flake food until you are getting nitrate readings. Depending on how fast you were able to get the gravel and filter media into your tank, you may be getting nitrate readings in only a day or two. There are some drawbacks to this method. Ask your source if they have recently used any copper medications in the tank. If they have and you are planning to have invertebrates in the tank you should probably not use this method. Invertebrates will not tolerate copper. Get a copper test kit to determine if it's safe to use.

* Option 5:
Using live rock in Saltwater Tanks
The use of live rock in saltwater tanks has really taken off over the past few years. The reason for this is because it is one of the best forms of biological filtration available for saltwater tanks. The shape the rock is in when you get it will determine how long the nitrogen cycle will take. See step 7 on the saltwater setup page for more information on live rock.

* Option 6:
Use Biospira made by Marineland. This product claims to contain some patent pending species of nitrifying bacteria that will cycle your tank in 24 hours. Some of the FishLore forum members have tried it and it sounds like it is legitimate. It is kind of expensive, but if you already have fish in your tank and they are suffering through the cycle, you may want to check this stuff out. 1 ounce of this product is supposed to treat a 30 gallon freshwater tank. There are both freshwater and saltwater versions of Bio-spira. Please let us know if you use this and if it works for you by submitting comments below.

Once the cycle has started only add one or two fish at a time. Wait a couple of weeks before adding more fish. This will give your tank the time it needs to catch up with the increased bio-load.

Speeding Up the Cycling Process
There are things you can do to speed along the process of cycling your aquarium.

* Increase the temperature of your aquarium water to 80°F-82°F (27°C-28°C)
* Get some beneficial bacteria colonies. Borrow some gravel from an established and cycled aquarium. If you have another tank with an extra filter you can use it. If you have a really nice friend with an established and cycled aquarium, ask if you can have one of their used filter media. It will be loaded with the good bacteria that we are looking for.
* There are products on the market that claim to introduce the benefical bacteria. For more information, check out this product called Cycle Water Conditioner.

Also check out Bio-spira in option 6 above.

The Biological Cycle or Nitrogen Cycle

You must exercise patience when setting up a new freshwater tropical aquarium. It takes time for nature's biological process to begin working in your aquarium... usually a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks.

Here's an explanation of the Biological Process...
The biological cycle depends on beneficial bacteria to break down toxic organic compounds into less toxic compounds. We can then safely manage these less toxic compounds thru weekly water changes.

The beneficial bacteria that we need to culture in the aquarium is called Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria.

Nitrosomonas bacteria breaks down deadly ammonia to less toxic nitrite. Nitrobacter bacteria then converts nitrite to an even less toxic nitrate.

You can't see these toxic chemicals in the aquarium, they can only be detected with test kits. Sometimes algae blooms are an indication of excessive nitrates.

How do I start the Biological Cycle?
The biological cycle can be started by adding 2 or 3 very hardy fish to your new aquarium. The hardy fish that you introduce to your tank have small amounts of the bacteria in their digestive tract which will get released into the aquarium.

Both Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria live in the substrate of your tank. They depend on oxygen to live. That's why its important to keep your powerheads or air pumps working at all times. They pull air from the water thru the gravel giving the bacteria a continuous supply of oxygen.

Some say not to do it... but you can speed up the biological process by adding gravel from an established tank into the new freshwater tropical aquarium. I've done this several times with no problems. The bacteria will spread from the old cultured gravel to the new gravel.

Another proven method of speeding up the biological cycle is by adding Stress Zyme® to the aquarium water when you introduce your first fish. Stress Zyme contains over 300 million beneficial bacteria per teaspoon.

How do I know when the Biological Cycle is complete?
Testing, testing and more testing. You'll need to buy a water test kit that tests for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. The first thing that will happen in a new aquarium is that you'll see a spike in Ammonia levels a few days after you've added your 2 or 3 hardy fish. Keep testing the water every couple of days and eventually you'll see the Ammonia level drop and the Nitrite level will spike. This is a good indication that the biological process is beginning to start. Continue testing every couple of days and eventually you'll see the Nitrite level drop and the Nitrate level will spike.

Nitrate is easily managed by changing 10% to 20% of your aquarium water on a weekly basis.

Where does Ammonia come from?
Ammonia starts the entire process. Ammonia comes from fish respiration, and decomposing organic wastes such as fish feces and left over food particles.

When can I add new fish to my Aquarium?
Usually after 6 to 8 weeks its safe to add 2 or 3 more new fish to the tank. Wait a couple of weeks then add another 2 or 3 new fish again. In the meantime keep testing your water. Wait 2 weeks and then add a couple more fish until you reach the population density that your tank can safely handle.