How long saltwater aquarium to cycle

I suggest not using Damsels, even though they are cheap. Ammonia is needed for the cycling process to succeed. It can be produced in several ways, but usually it comes from dead decomposing matter or fish waste. During the process bacteria converts the ammonia into nitrite and at various levels of the process these two chemicals reach toxic levels. If you have fish in the water during this time the levels could be lethal.

For this reason many aquarists prefer to not cycle a tank using fish. If you prefer to cycle a saltwater aquarium without using fish you can use fish food or ammonia. For either of these methods you need to increase the water temperature to between 86 and 95 degrees. Because these temperatures are too high for fish, you will need to stabilize the water by gradually reducing the temperatures back down to between 74 and 80 degrees. Make sure that you reduce the temperature slowly, a sudden change in temperature can cause stress to the bacteria.

To cycle your tank using fish food you basically add food on a daily basis just as if you are feeding fish. This creates a constant decomposing process that produces ammonia. While this method does work it can take 6 weeks or more to complete the cycling process. And, it has several disadvantages. It can be difficult to create a large bacterial colony, you may get spikes in the levels of nitrites and ammonia and decaying food can produce other chemicals such as phosphates.

Using ammonia to cycle a tank can take from 3 to 6 weeks. You will literally be adding pure ammonia to the water. Use your test kits to test the ammonia levels every day for 2 to 6 weeks. First, the ammonia will rise and suddenly drop, and then nitrite levels will do the same. When ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm, you should notice rising nitrate levels. At this point, you can start adding more fish 1 or 2 at a time. Take action if the ammonia is too high.

If the ammonia level becomes too high, your fish might die. While some fish do have higher ammonia tolerance levels than others, it still a good idea to reduce the ammonia before they die off. This agent will still allow the cycling process to continue, but be aware that it may affect the accuracy of ammonia test kits.

If the ammonia spikes, you can perform a water change. Otherwise, adhere to the normal regimen of water changes during the cycling process Stop feeding the fish for a day or 2. Rotting food can increase ammonia, and the fish are likely to stop eating if ammonia is present anyways. Stopping feeding for a short period may be able to allow levels to return to normal.

Method 3. Change the water every week to keep levels even. This will help balance out ammonia, pH, and salinity levels in the tank. Watch the salinity of the water to protect your fish. The salinity of the water tells you how much salt is in the water. Whether you are cycling with or without fish, you should make sure that the salinity remains between 1.

If the salinity is too low, add more salt mix or seawater to the tank. If it is too high, try doing partial water changes. Test the pH level of the tank.

The pH of your water is also important to measure as you cycle. The ideal pH for a saltwater tank is between 8. If it is below 7. Get pH testing kit to watch for changes. Observe the decrease of the alkalinity as the nitrogen cycle proceeds. Maintain the alkalinity of the water to buffer the pH. You can increase pH by using additives like kalkwasser, which is a solution of calcium hydroxide. Follow the directions on the package to use kalkwasser. Typically, you'll spoon a certain amount of powder into a large jug.

Fill the rest of the jug with reverse osmosis water, cap and shake the jug, then let it settle. The clear water that is on top is saturated with calcium and hydroxide, which will boost both alkalinity and pH. Keep the lights off to discourage algae growth. Your fish will have enough ambient light from the room. Turning the lights on increases algae production, so keep them off to reduce complications and prevent your tank from getting too dirty before you even add the fish.

Continue to test after the cycle is completed. Once your tank has been successfully cycled once, you should not have to do it again. Ammonia and nitrite levels should remain at 0 ppm. If you can detect any ammonia in your tank, your fish may not survive. You can correct ammonia levels by adding a neutralizing agent or by doing partial water changes. You do not need to test every day once the tank has been cycled. You might only test every 2 weeks. Craig Morton. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. This depends on several factors, including the type of fish you are planning to put in the tank.

When you first set up a brand spanking new aquarium, your aquarium tank and equipment will be squeaky clean. Be prepared to say goodbye to this new aquarium smell, because things are about to dirty, but trust us, dirty is a good thing at this point.

Cycling your aquarium can take anywhere from weeks, depending on your setup, and how proactive you are in helping the process along the way. To start the cycling process you need to seed your tank with rocks, or filter medium that already contain a mature bacteria population.

You can get live rock from your local fish store, or from a friend with an established tank, just keep your eyes out for any pests or excessive algae growing on the rock.

Examine the undisturbed rock in the water for any pests before transferring it to your tank. You can use a soft bristle brush to scrub off any algae, but be careful there are no zoanthids or palythoa polyps hiding on the rock. Scrubbing a rock with these polyps can be deadly to your health.

Fish waste, and decaying organic mater like fish food, is a common source of ammonia, although it is not recommended to start adding fish before your cycle is complete. Fish can quickly produce more ammonia than your new tank can handle, and a sudden ammonia spike can spell disaster for your animals.

Instead let your tank run with a live rock for a week or more and then add in a couple invertebrates, like hermit crabs, crabs, and shrimp. This bunch of critters is also called the clean up crew. Feed your invertebrates a very small pinch of food each day and the waste they produce will create ammonia. During the cycle process, you want to start testing your aquarium almost every day for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

This will help you understand if the cycle is underway and when it is safe to start adding livestock. To track the process you can utilize some test kits and test the water for Ammonia, nitrite and finally nitrate. First, you will see the ammonia level rise and then start to fall when nitrites become present. Finally you will see a rise in nitrates and the ammonia and nitrite levels will be zero, this means the cycle has completed and both types of bacteria are present in your aquarium.

There are a couple of things you need to do in order to get the cycle started inside a new tank. Seed the tank with bacteria and provide a source of ammonia to feed that bacteria. You can add a few pieces of seasoned live rock or live sand from an established aquarium. The downside here is you run the risk of introducing pests. But, cycling an aquarium with seasoned live rock is still a widely- practiced and very common method. If using live rock or sand, you only need a little bit to seed the aquarium with bacteria.

It is perfectly suitable to fill your tank with DRY rock and sand then add a small piece of LIVE rock or small scoop of sand to introduce the bacteria. As long as you provide an ammonia source, this bacteria will soon grow and populate onto all of the surfaces in your tank, including the dry rock and sand.

Not all liquid bacteria products are made equal. Some formulations contain microbes and enzymes that will take time to grow and become abundant in an aquarium, such as Brightwell Aquatics MicroBacter7.

This is one of our favorites. If you wish to really jump start the cycle process, you might look at Dr. Tim's One and Only or Fritz Aquatics TurboStart because these contain live nitrifying bacteria that will immediately go to work in your tank. These product will work so long as ammonia is present, and these products can help to shorten the length of time it takes to make the aquarium safe for the addition of fish.

Each of the instructions are are indeed different and will contain different concentrations and species of microbes.

This is because you really want to do everything you can to start a diverse and healthy population of bacteria in the aquarium as quickly as possible. Get bacteria from various sources and larger amounts will only help the process.

Some aquarists add a live fish and let it produce ammonia naturally. Feed the fish sparingly and monitor the ammonia and nitrite. Levels should moderately rise and fall as discussed earlier, indicating the aquarium has cycled. This can however, put that fish at risk of ammonia or nitrite poisoning.