Beginner's Reference - New Tank Syndrome
For someone new to fishkeeping, or wish to learn more how to set up an aquarium safely, here is a reference guide on the Nitrogen Cycle which is very comprehensive.
For a tank to be fully cycled with ammonia and nitrite totally absent from the tank (zero), it would take 40 days. After 30 days, nitrite will be falling, hence one month to one and half month is the normal time for a complete tank cycling. The tank cycling time can be reduced by the mixing of old filter material in the new filter. The addition of beneficial bacteria can also help speed up the cycling process. Nevertheless, when starting a new tank, it is advisable to monitor ammonia, nitrite and ph very closely and ensure that your fishes are not exposed to toxic levels of ammonia and/or nitrite. Do pose any questions if you are in doubt or need clarification on any of the points. |
hi.. i would like to add on some remedies if there are already fishes in the tank and there is an ammonia or nitrite spike..
Ammonia spike remedy - Lower tank pH. This may be the best and most effective remedy as ammonia is not deadly at low pH levels. But do take note to lower it slowly. Try not to lower by more than 0.3 a day. - Lower tank temperature. Like pH, ammonia is less deadly at lower temperatures. - Do a water change to dilute the amount of ammonia in tank. Preferably not more than 30% as too much may be dangerous. Remember to add anti chlorine if not chlorine will kill any BB in the tank and whole cycle will restart. - If ammonia rises to too high and dangerous levels, add amquel. I recommend this product as it does not remove ammonia but instead converts it into non toxic for, thus allowing cycling process to continue. - Reduce feeding Nitrite spike remedy - Do a water change to dilute the amount of nitrite in tank. Preferably not more than 30% as too much may be dangerous. Remember to add anti chlorine if not chlorine will kill any BB in the tank and whole cycle will restart. - Reduce feeding. - Add salt to 0.3%. The chloride in salt(sodium chloride) reduces the toxicity of nitrite to fishes. - Increase aeration. Always test your water regularly during cycling process. This way u can catch anything that goes wrong and remedy it before it becomes a disaster. If u have fishes in the tank and it is undergoing cycling, feed sparingly, do more frequent wc, do not introduce any more fishes till tank is fully cycled. If tank is fully cycled, introduce fishes slowly instead of dumping them all in at once. |
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My suggestion.
- Do not perform water change during tank cycling. With water change, longer cycling duration. - To reduce the toxicity of nitrite to livestocks during tank cycling and not to slow down the BB growth and multiplying rate. Add ~0.1% salt is more than enough. Why 0.3%? |
do the 40days and 30 days rule apply to all sizes of tank? i got a 850 litres tank, with commercial BB, no wc, and small fishes to cycle, can i speed up the time needed?
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The standard time to cycle a tank can be reduced. It is best to continue to measure ph, ammonia and nitrite throughout the cycle period just to ensure that it is complete.
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Thanks for the tips! Very helpful!
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Diatoms
I got a newly set up planted tank. After a few days I noticed what appears to be diatoms bloom! any remedy? :confused:
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Hi sifu, today is the 5th day of my 6ft sump tank water cycling. I'm using Biozyme Formula 100 and there are 4 TFB in the tank. But there is still no nitrite buildup. Am I doing it correctly? Thanks.
PH - 7.18 Ammonia - 0.5 ppm Nitrite - 0 ppm Nitrate - 0 ppm |
hi all i am new to arowana hobby
my new tank is 5x2.5x2 with sump tank to cycle the water 1 month, with biohomme plus and momotaro and sea shells will it be good enough? can guide me i really keen to know regards thor |
Now can instant like everything else. If u like check with lfs.
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Beginner's Reference - New Tank Syndrome
If u r asking whether media good enough or not I'll tell u even a an old filter wool enough to fit air driven box filter enough soil nitrogen bacteria... when u change water enough water every week... in any case u will do if u wan healthy faster growing aro swimming in ur tank.
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hi all
i have been running my new tank for almostr 2 weeks plus i suing wizz fast cycle solution, 2 large pleco and 1 fei feng currently ph is 7.5 ammonia is 0 ppm and nitrate is 2 to 5 is my water ok? any advise cheers thor |
If my tank is 3ft tank and intend to use only ohf with wools and not other media. Still have to cycle tank to build up good bacteria?
ie intend to use only mechanical filtration. I wants to keep Gold fishes. Last Friday setup new tank and added anti-chlorine. Today added some GF and most of them all stay restless at the bottom...one is floating.... |
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Your Gold fishes are probably dying from ammonia poisoning as there are no established BB yet to convert ammonia to nitrite...and remember to dechlorinate your tap water as they will kill your BBs. You may use Seachem Prime to achieve that. Do read up on how to setup nitrogen cycle for new tanks. Its a must for all freshwater fishes especially gold fishes which are extremely fragile... |
rest my 6ft x 3ft x 2ft tank yesterday.. putting all new medias in the sump
i put new water in the tank with ph is about 8.2ph why is it in the 2nd day of cycle.. the ph become 9.0? is this normal? |
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im using mr aqua ceramic rings...
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i think its not the media.. i encounter this problem before using different media...
i post that thread on the stingray forum.. i fell frustrated so i reset my tank using new media, suspecting that it might be the media that cause my ph to rise... but here it goes again.. the same problem there should be something wrong with my water... but i dont know our water system at home has a water softener for the whole house... and pass by a carbon filter before it goes to a hose for my water change... all my other tanks are ok with some arowanas on it.. only this tank with some rays previously occupying it has a problem... does water softener cause it? or the carbon filter? but i have lots of friend hobbyist using it also and all of them are fine... |
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there are still no fishes inside the tank because it my 1st day of cycling..
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The increase in PH got to do with aeration, which is different in each tank/filtration system.
It is also related to pump flow rate & any air stones setup in the tank that increase tank aeration, thus increasing O2 & reduction of CO2. I would think you have a good filtration system that also help to maintain high O2. Quote: http://www.myaquariumclub.com/how-to...arium-498.html ● Aeration - Increasing the oxygen concentration in your water will serve to drive down the carbon dioxide concentration. As discussed above, less carbon dioxide translates to a higher pH. Therefore, you can increase the aeration in the tank to raise the pH. Quote:
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Tank filled up with AC, no pump running since last week.
15/04 @ 0030hrs on pump and added BB 15/04 @ 1500hrs on of hydra stream 15/04 @ 1530hrs added TFB 15/04 @ 2130hrs took test. PH 7.4 Ammonia 0.25ppm Nitrite 5.0ppm Nitrate 10ppm Noob here, are the readings acceptable? Will it be ok to let tank to cycle for a week then add in aro? |
Fish-less cycle is tricky and often unsuccessful. You need some level of bioload to trigger the nitrogen cycle.
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im currently in this situation.. my ammonia levels are really high, and also doing 20-30% wc daily.
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Effective hack is to use donor biofiltration material/media from matured tanks.
Been doing it all this time. Just make sure the filtration is same type. Had bad experience using donor from submerged sump media in a new OHF FILTER, the ohf was aerobic filtration fast flowing water while sump is more anaerobic gentler flowing water. |
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