Exactly what is "cycling" ??

jester805

jester805

Member
I'm new to saltwater and have been reading this board for the past couple weeks. I'm just curious what ALL is involved for cycling?? I have a 29 gallon tank with crushed coral and a Top Fin 30 filter. (I'm getting a powerhead and better filter for Christmas). I added my salt 2 days ago and I'm just letting it sit for a couple weeks. Is that all I need to do for "cycling" my tank???
Sorry for the dumb question!

Thanks!
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
You need to introduce an ammonia source, this will start your cycle, basically you are trying to increase your beneficial bacteria in your tank, this is the bacteria that breaksdown the waste in your tank. To do this you must go through the nitrogen cycle (I assume you have studied that in school at some point in your life).
I recommend you feed your tank as if you had several fish in there, do this every day while testing your tank. You should see a rise in Ammonia levels, then rise in Nitrite levels, then the ammonia levels should drop then the Nitrite levels should start dropping and Nitrate rises, When Ammonia, Nitrite are 0 and Nitrates are below 40 then you are cycled, then you want to do a 25% water change and test your water for a few more days if it is stable then you can start slowly adding Livestock.
 
hagfish

hagfish

Active Member
That's almost all. Now you need to add something that will get bacteria growth to start. See, the "cycle" refers to a nitrogen creation cycle that goes like this...
waste is converted to ammonia
ammonia is converted to nitrite
nitrite is converted to nitrate
nitrate can be converted to nitrogen by some creatures, but you will probably have to do water changes to get it out.
This is all done by bacteria. To start this off, you'll need to put some sort of dead matter in the tank. Many like to use a cocktail shrimp from the grocery store (dead). Or you can just feed the tank some flake food for a week or so. Some also use a hardy fish like damsels, but it's hard on the fish and they may die because the chemicals in the cycle are poison to living creatures.
You will want to buy test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to keep track of where you are in the cycle. When ammonia and nitrite have both dropped to 0, wait a week or so and do maybe a 10-20% water change (this will get rid of about 10-20% of nitrates). This will likely take 3-4 weeks in all.
I believe that adding some cured live rock can potentially speed things up a bit because there is likely some bacteria on the rock already. You will want the rock anyway.
 
steveoutla

steveoutla

Member
Most importantly you must realize that the cycling process won't be done in 2 days. Sometimes cycles can last over a month. You don't want to put any fish in your system until your system has completed the cycle. Some people will say that you can put Damsels in while it is cycling because they are tough fish, but that is just cruel to the fish.
 
hagfish

hagfish

Active Member
When you are sure your cycle is complete, I suggest adding a small cleanup crew of some snails and hermit crabs before anything else.
Also, you may or may not know, but you need to test your PH also. It needs to be about 8.2. You may have to get a buffer to get it there. If PH is way off it can kill animals quickly.
 
aidos

aidos

Member
What u want to do is add LR (live rock) to ur tank and what this does is introduce bacteria and decaying matter in to ur tank. When the organic material decays it causes a rise in Ammonia, over a week u will see this decline and see a rise in Nitrites as beneficial bacteria break down the Ammonia, using it 4 energy they convert it to nitrites. the next part of the cycle is when these nitrites are use again by another type bacteria and convert they nitrites in to nitrates, (don’t get these mixed up they are different)
Nitrates are less harmful than Ammonia and Nitrites and u can have them in the range of 0 - 30ppm depending on ur type of setup. U want as little as possible 4 a reef tank and are allowed to have them higher for fish only setups.
if u have a deep sand bed of more than 5 inches, then the bottom 1 inch or so is a zero oxygen zone....or relatively so and u will get a build up of bacteria that use the nitrates for energy as they are deprived of oxygen and as a end result release nitrogen as the bi-product. This then evaporates in to the atmosphere. This completes the nitrogen "cycle" and this is why we call it cycling. This cycle will always be functioning within ur system but ur Ammonia and nitrites readings should be 0ppm as the bacteria is constantly using it for energy and converting it.
To lower ur nitrates u will need to do water changes and use a deep sand bed. Most people recommend a sand bed of around 6 inches for the best results.
I use a deep sand bed and also a product call EHFI Substrate in my wet/dry filter, which I find very effective at keeping my Ammonia at 0ppm, nitrites at 0ppm and nitrates below 20ppm.
Hope this explains everything if not ask away. :happyfish
 
jester805

jester805

Member
I got a test kit from PetSmart earlier this week. It tests for: pH, Nitrate, Nitrite, and Ammonia.
I'll start adding flake food in the tank tonight and test the water every couple of days.
What are your thoughts on a protein skimmer? Are they all that beneficial??
 
jester805

jester805

Member

Originally posted by Aidos
What u want to do is add LR (live rock) to ur tank and what this does is introduce bacteria and decaying matter in to ur tank.
So just putting flake food in the tank isn't enough?? The live rock is a must??
Thanks
 
clarkiiclo

clarkiiclo

Active Member
Portein skimmers are essential. It helps to remove toxins, proteins and carbohydrates from the water. Plus it helps add oxygen to the water.
I would suggest a Berlin skimmer if you can afford it. (Im poor) :)
 
jester805

jester805

Member

Originally posted by ClarkiiClo
I would suggest a Berlin skimmer if you can afford it. (Im poor) :)
I'm looking at the Berlin Air-Lift 90. It's an in-tank skimmer for $36 at PetSmart. I don't want to spend much on it right now. Here's the link to it
 
aidos

aidos

Member
i also suggest that u have around 1 1/2 to 2 pound of LR. it adds diveristy to ur tank, has a huge surface area and will help filter ur water. It is the best way to cycle ur tank, filter ur water and will also help to make ur tank more natural looking.
if i was u i would save ur money for now and buy a quality skimmer. u don't need it straight away, although ur tank is on the smaller side so u may be ok.
 
steveoutla

steveoutla

Member
The aqua C Remora and bak pak 2 are good hang on tank skimmers. The Aqua C will run you about $170.00 and the BakPak 2 about $140.00
 
jester805

jester805

Member

Originally posted by steveoutla
The aqua C Remora and bak pak 2 are good hang on tank skimmers. The Aqua C will run you about $170.00 and the BakPak 2 about $140.00
Do you know where I can get those? I don't see them on PetSmart's web page or Big Al's Online either.
 
steveoutla

steveoutla

Member
Derek - it's frowned upon posting links of competitors on this site. You might want to take that down before a moderator smacks your hand.
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
To address the LR issue, it is very very highly recomended to have at least 1lb of rock per gallon of tank water, if you cannot afford LR, then at least get some very porus baserock, like lace rock, or Hirocks, then get as much LR as you can afford this will give the bacteria some thing to colonize on.
I think a protien skimmer is very important to the longterm care of a saltwater fish tank. I also agree to the aqua c remora and the bak-pak, both of these can be obtained used on a popular auction site, or browse the classified sections of message boards.
 
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