I basically want a 10 gallon tank with a filter that I can stick a couple of $2 Meijer fish in. I don’t get this whole idea of "cycling the tank". When I had a fish bowl, we just added a special chemical to the water and it was all set. Why can’t I do that now? I’m really confused! Can someone please explain? Thanks!
Hi,
Its not a question if or if you won’t cycle your tank,. whether you will or not, because cycling is a natural prcoess that will occur in all tanks whether you help it along or not. You can add additive products such as stress zyme, cycle and bio booster which will help jump start the good bacteria count in your tank. Good bacteria is need to help eliminate the bad bacteria and diseases. Cycling occurs when your fish waste and uneaten fish food gets converted into ammonia, then the ammonia is converted into nitrite, and then the nitrite into nitrate (this is called the nitrogen process). Once you get readings after a few weeks of a consistent zero for these, your tank has completed cycling. i think the chemical you added in last time would have been a dechloirinator, which removes chlorine, chloramines and ammonia from tap water which is deadly to fish. This will need to be added into your new tank as well otherwise the fish won’t be able to cope with the water. You will also need a filter, all fish must have one to clean chemical and toxins out the water which will normally kill the fish.
fishobsessed! | Nov 17, 2009
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
Here is a link to help you understand. You will have fish deaths unless you cycle.
Good luck!
Sunshine | Nov 17, 2009
A fish bowl doesn’t get "cycled" because the fish die in there anyways with no filter or heater (no matter what kind of fish it is, it shouldn’t be in a bowl).
Cycling the tank allows for proper nitrifying bacteria growth. If you put fish in right away, the amount of the ammonia from their waste will go up and kill the fish. If you have nitrifying bacteria in there, it will change ammonia to nitrite (still harmful) and nitrite to nitrate (removed with regular water changes and not harmful to fish in small amounts).
If you cycle the tank first, then you will have happy, long-lived fish.
kouneli | Nov 17, 2009
In the olden days no one really cared about a fish’s right to live in a healthy environment.
Shisha Pipe | Nov 17, 2009
The fish bowl was not "all set", it is impossible to cycle such a small volume of water. Keeping fish is a lot of work if you want to do it properly.
Read up on cycling a tank here. It will explain it all for you.
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Cycling
Sarah | Nov 17, 2009
If the fish are tropical get a good filter and a heater. Also, do some reaserch on the fish first. The cycleing thing is where you take some hardy fish, in other words fish that won’t die from water with little bacteria. What they will do basicallly is poo, which creates ammonia. not good for fish. thats stuff in windex. BLECH! so anyway, the ammonia can kill fish (thats why you need hardy fish first) BUT naturally this bacteria will grow, mostly in the filter, but bacteria that eats the ammonia will come. The bacteria then turns the ammonia into nitrogen. Bacteria ALSO develops to eat the nitrogen. The nitrogen could kill your fish. The bacteria will take care of that though. If you want some more delicate fish, like neon tetras the water must be perfect, Get a kit to tst for this. and again REASEARCH ANYKIND OF FIDH BEFORE YOU BUY IT! you don’t have to be a genious on the subject, but at lleast know it’s requirments, temperments, and if it’s hardy or not. also check meijer fish for desieses.
Chris | Nov 17, 2009
How long did those fish live? goldfish should live up to and over twenty years! Bettas 3-7, some reports have them living longer. Some cichlids can live ten years..there is a gourmia that lives thirty!
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/in formation/CycleAquarium.php
This link and the others given to you will explain the why and how-to about cycling.
it means to balance the water properties of the tank. When you put fish into a newly set up tank, they have to try and live through a tank that is balancing. due to ammonia and food then put in the tank, properties change. But if it is cycled correctly first, these things will have less impact on your fish.
troublewolf | Nov 17, 2009
It’s all about the proper setup, then everything gets easy.
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Cycling
Like other people have said, cycling a tank is first and foremost the most important thing you need to do. A filter doesn’t actually filter your water for you (besides large particles), it actually serves as a place for the bacteria you grow when cycling to hang out and actually filter the water. Without that bacteria the poisons generated by fish waste will grow stronger until it kills or sickens your fish. The easiest way to cycle is with fish, though it’s a very heartless way to do it. Basically you add the fish that will in turn add the waste that fuels the growth of the bacteria. With this method your cycling fish will be pretty abused and you can only slowly add more fish since the cycle is only good for the amount of fish you used to start it. It’s generally best to add pure ammonia to get your cycle started without fish. This method lets you stock fully when it’s complete and you don’t screw up any fish in the process. However you’ll need test kits to ensure that your water is fully cycled, on average it takes just over a month. It’s worth it in the end since you only need to do it once and won’t have to replace dead fish. Once your tank is cycled, you only need to do a 25% weekly water change and maybe scrub some algae. Once a month or so you’ll replace your filter media too. Just eb sure to use those water conditioners like you used with a bowl however.
Since it doesn’t sound like you have the tank yet I suggest those kits Meijers has. The parts are all cheap and some don’t include a hood, but it works. Basically you really need a filter, a tank, and a heater (Zebra Danios and White Clouds do fine at room temp, but a steady temp is healthier for the fish). Then you simply put it together and get it cycled. After it’s cycled you then need to think carefully about what kind of fish to get. Most fish simply cannot live in a 10g, esp Goldfish. Goldfish need up to 50g+ for a single fish! If your Meijers is anything like the one’s around Jackson, MI then you’re going to be pretty limited on what you can safely keep in a 10g. Your best bet are the White Clouds, they do just fine in a 10g and need no heater (Though making sure the temp stays around 74′ish isn’t a bad idea). Zebra Danios are also hardy little guys but they really need a bigger tank, it’s possible but not recommended. Neon Tetras definitely need a heater and are not very hardy in addition to needing a bigger tank so I don’t recommend those. Guppies and such are ok, but I had a population explosion a small tank couldn’t handle when I kept them in a 10g. So I don’t suggest guppies, mollies, or platies unless you’re up to killing their fry if they breed too much. All these fish need to be kept in groups so once you’re cycled it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get 5-6 of them and maybe a mystery snail to clean up leftover food and some algae if you get a bit of it. Then you’d be pretty much fully stocked and with a cycled tank, enjoy your fish for years over a few months fish in uncycled tanks or bowls last.
Rob M | Nov 17, 2009
