Cycling: A Tutorial

Cycling: What is it?

I'm sure you've heard about "cyling" your tank at one point in time. This is basically the process of cultivating bacteria in your filter to convert harmful substances in your water into a less harmful version.

There are 3 steps to this process:
-Ammonia
-NitrITE
-NitrATE
Note that Ammonia and Nitrite is pretty much equally damaging to the fish which can lead to burns and poisoning. This is why we strive for 0 Ammonia/ 0 Nitrite at all times in the fish tank. Nitrate is less harmful than the two and can be reset with water changes.
FISHLESS CYLING is the best choice if at all possible because it is far less cruel.

This post will guide you through fishless cycling and not fish-in cycling, however they are both very similar.
The only difference is that if you were to do fish-in cycling, you would not be required to purchase ammonia. This is because fish produce it themselves from their wastes.

So, what do you need?
-A filter
-Water conditioner (any kind is fine)
-Filter material (biomax/foam/cartridges)
-Test kit
NOTE: Liquid test kits are substantially more accurate than paper test strips. Test strips are useless as fuck.
API test kits are highly recommended by fishkeepers.
-Ammonia
NOTE: You can buy a big jug of this at most big chain stores. Just make sure it doesn't foam when you shake it and double check that it is pure ammonia. You can also purchase this on amazon for $1.99. Search for Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride.

Recommended:
-Tetra Safe Start
NOTE: This will kick-start your cycling process and shorten it by a lot. (However it DOES NOT instantly cycle your tank.)
It is basically bacteria in a bottle. I've used this on numerous tanks and it works as long as you didn't get a bad one. (Make sure you shake it for 30 seconds or more before pouring the ENTIRE bottle into the tank) Make sure you don't use any ammo-lock with this product or anything that locks up ammonia like SeaChem Prime.

Process?
1.Set up the tank with all of the conditioned water, filter, heater (if tropical), etc beforehand.
1b. (optional) Add the entire bottle of Tetra Safe Start
2. Add around 2ppm of Ammonia. (If you're using Dr. Tim's that's 1 drop per gallon in your tank. So 10 gallons = 10 drops = 2ppm)
3. Check ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels the next day or the day after. If there is a rise in nitrite that is good, if not, test again later. This takes time and not all tanks will cycle equally.
5. Keep testing to see any decrease in ammonia and an increase in nitrite/nitrate.
6. Nitrates are a good sign.
6. When ammonia is 0 and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are rising then here's a test to see if you are done:
7. Add 2ppm of ammonia and if your tests show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and a good number of nitrates after 24 hours, then you are done!!
Congratulations!

Afterwards:
Make you sure you do a big water change before you go out and buy new fish to get rid of any high levels of nitrates. (Anything above 20ppm)