Does more air(oxygen) in a new aquarium help cycle it?

Question

Should I plug in my air pump?

Answer 1

I completely disagree with PeeTee. Regardless what people tell you, air pumps do little to diffuse oxygen. Water movement does though, so i would highly recommend buying a powerhead to increase the flow in your tank. It also provides your fish excercise and makes it easier for the filter to pick up debris. Raising the temp. to 80 is not a good idea, in fact is a very bad idea. First of all, such a high temp. is unhealthy for freshwater fish, as most lakes that they live in our much colder. I would recommend a temp of about 74-76. The higher the temp, the harder it is for oxygen to diffuse into the water.

2 Things:

1. Buy a powerhead to increase flow. (Very helpful)
2. Keep temp. from 74-76. (If you can't keep the temp. this high, buy a heater. If you can't keep it this low, buy a chiller. Note: a chiller, while a bit expensive, is one of the best investments you can make for your aquarium. It reduces the chance that on a hot sunny day the temp. might rise to high and cause all your fish to die. Not Pretty...)

Answer 2

When your tank cycles it means that there is enough bacteria in the filter media that it feeds on the ammonia and impurities in the water. It takes about fourteen days for a tank to cycle. If you don't oxygenate the water it just slows down the time it takes for the good bacteria to build up on the filter media. Once you get your tank cycled do a partial on your tank once or twice a week with water that has been treated and the temperature is real close to what is in the tank. When you clean you filter media don't use hot water. Just use 80°(approx) water to rinse out the sponge or what ever you are using. This way you don't expunge all the good bacteria.

Answer 3

Yes,lots of oxygen will definitely help,O2 is the other part of the equation,the bacteria colonies that you are growing need O2 to do their jobs. Also if you don't have fish in there yet you could raise the temperature to around 80F to encourage the bacterial growth. Even with all of this encouragement it will still take a few weeks to get the cycle up and running.
Are you adding fish food to create the ammonia? Your bacteria colonies need something to start the ammonia cycle.
If you do raise the temperature,be sure to lower it gradually before adding fish,or you might damage the newly grown bacteria.

Answer 4

Yes. The bacteria that you want to grow need lots of oxygen to thrive.