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The Nitrogen Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle is the most important aspect of any new aquarium. Without the Nitrogen Cycle, your new goldfish can get ammonia poisoning. By performing this cycle once, we will build teams of beneficial bacteria to break down ammonia and turn them into nitrates. Ammonia is the first form of fish waste. Nitrite is a very slightly less toxic form of ammonia. Nitrate is the last form of fish waste and isn't toxic to fish, unless it's in very large numbers. Nitrates can be removed in weekly water changes. Start by purchasing a test kit. API Freshwater Master Test Kit is the most reliable and best kit to use. It's about 25 US dollars, but it's definitely worth it as you can do over 800 water tests. Now get a source of ammonia. This could be fish if you wanted it to, but there's a large chance your fish could get sick, which is why we're doing it in the first place. Ground up fish flakes can make a good source of ammonia, but they can get messy. You can also purchase pure ammonia online. Try to get ammonia that's specifically made for cycling fish tanks. Dr. Tim's Aquatics Ammonium Chloride Solution is a great product to use. Now for the cycle. Be sure your filter is plugged in, turned on, and being used in the tank. Start by adding in 3-4 ppm of ammonia. Your test kit will help you tell how much ammonia is in the water. Now simply wait for your filter to do it's job. Test the water each day, and wait. The ammonia levels should go down, and nitrites should rise. Then, nitrites should go down, and nitrates should rise. Once you have 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, and some number of nitrates, your tank is ready for fish. This means the colonies of bacteria have been established on your filter cartridge. Because of this, NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CHANGE YOUR FILTER CARTRIDGE! If you lose your bacteria colonies, the ammonia can no longer be broken down, which means it will affect your fish. If you really want to change it, add in some filter media to your filter (can be purchased online) and wait a couple of months with the cartridge still in. This will build the same bacteria on the media, so that when you change your cartridge, you won't be losing all of your bacteria colonies. This process can take up to 2 months, but there are ways to speed it up. There are plenty of brands of live bacteria for your tank. Tetra SafeStart is a great product to use for cycling, and it can really speed it up. |