Cycling

Are you setting up your first aquarium and keep hearing all this talk about cycling a fish tank? And now it's got you wondering what happens if you don't cycle your tank. When you don't cycle your fish tank or aquarium, it can lead to many issues, but the biggest concern is the build-up of toxic compounds like ammonia within your tank that can be fatal to your fish if left unchecked. You see, cycling your tank allows the build-up of beneficial bacteria. This beneficial bacteria is what will break down the toxic compounds within your aquarium into less harmful substances. And this is what most fishkeepers refer to as the nitrogen cycle. But when you don't cycle your fish tank, there are no beneficial bacteria established. Over a short period of time, toxic compounds can build up in your aquarium fast, harming everything living in it. What To Expect If You Don't Cycle Your Fish Tank Want to know what to expect if you didn't cycle your tank? Well, I'm sorry to say, but you're going to be in for a bumpy ride. You can expect your fish and livestock to be very stressed in your aquarium if you don't cycle it. If left unchecked, the toxic compounds in your tank can build up to lethal levels for your livestock quickly. This can mean the death of your fish over a few days... There are ways to prevent this, and products are designed to neutralize the toxic elements in your tank that are harmful to your fish and other livestock. There are also products you can use to help boost the growth of beneficial bacteria in your tank in order to break down those harmful toxins. And those two products are Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability. It's the reason why I recommend everyone keep them on hand... Prime is a water conditioner that takes chlorine and chloramine out of your tap water, making it safe for your aquarium while neutralizing and detoxifying toxic ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Check The Price Of Prime On Amazon Here. Stability adds the beneficial bacteria into your tank that you'll need to complete the nitrogen cycle so your filter and media can break down the toxins on their own. Check The Price Of Stability On Amazon Here. These two products can be a lifesaver when you need to establish a cycle, have a spike in ammonia or nitrate, and in case of other fishkeeping emergencies where you need to detoxify water fast... Now you know what to expect if you don't cycle an aquarium. Let's talk about the next most common question... Do You Really Need To Cycle An Aquarium Unless you plan on doing water changes every single day for the rest of your life to maintain your aquarium, then you are going to need to cycle your fish tank. A cycled aquarium with proper water parameters creates the ideal environment for your aquatic plants, fish, and other livestock to be able to live and thrive in. This will allow you to maintain and keep your aquarium for years to come. And the great news is it isn't hard at all to cycle a fish tank. It just takes time... The reason it takes time is that you need to give the beneficial bacteria time to grow to be able to take care of the toxins that will eventually build up in your aquarium. Importance Of Establishing Beneficial Bacteria In Your Aquarium Cycling a fish tank refers to establishing a nitrogen cycle within your aquarium... The nitrogen cycle is the process of ammonia being converted into nitrite and nitrite being converted into nitrate. You see, when fish poop and pee, they release ammonia into the water column. This also happens with the breakdown of organic matter like dead plants or excess fish food in your aquarium. Ammonia is poisonous and deadly to your fish, livestock, and aquatic plants. However, beneficial bacteria break down ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is still harmful and deadly to your fish and livestock, though... The good news is the beneficial bacteria also break down nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is the least harmful compound out of the 3 to your fish and livestock. Aquatic plants use nitrate to grow, and it can be a natural filter for your aquarium. That's why it's a good idea to have live plants within your fish tank. Now, if nitrates begin to creep up and reach dangerous levels for your fish and other livestock, Then you will want to do a water change to help remove the amount of nitrate in your aquarium. This entire process allows fish and other creatures to live within your aquarium... And that's why it's so important to have beneficial bacteria in your tank to be able to break down all these toxic compounds. Different Ways To Cycle Your Fish Tank There are a few ways to cycle your aquarium. But what's important to remember is you need 3 things to cycle a fish tank properly, and that is an ammonia source, beneficial bacteria, and filter media. Ammonia is what jumpstart the cycling process. Without ammonia, your cycle can never begin in the first place... After that, you need beneficial bacteria to grow in order to start the conversion of the different stages of the nitrogen cycle. And lastly, you need your filter media running because this is where the beneficial bacteria will grow within your aquarium. Now, let's talk about the 3 most popular methods to cycle a tank below: Fish In Cycle This is probably the oldest method to cycle your fish tank. Sometimes, people would refer to the fish used in a fish-in cycle as sacrificial fish because they may end up dying or living with issues down the road. Usually, this practice is looked down upon. But with modern techniques... There are some who vouch for the fish-in cycle nowadays because of products that are able to detoxify toxins and boost the addition of beneficial bacteria. (products like Seachem Prime and Stability which were mentioned earlier in the post.) But I still see the 2 sides argue to this day... Fishless Cycle This is the most human and widely recommended way to cycle your aquarium. You basically set up your aquarium all without fish and livestock... There are two ways to typically do a fishless cycle. You can "ghost feed" the tank with fish food or other organic matter to produce ammonia, or what I'd recommend is liquid ammonia. This is what I'll cover next, but the principle is similar if you decide to ghost-feed. (you'll just have little control over the exact amount of ammonia being created) But when using liquid ammonia... You want to dose liquid ammonia till you get a reading of around 2-4 ppm in your tank. After that, you add in your beneficial bacteria. You keep "feeding" your tank the liquid ammonia and testing your water parameters until you see a reading of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 30-40 ppm of nitrates. Within 24 hours after you have dosed ammonia in the tank. This is a good sign your tank has cycled and has the beneficial bacteria needed to complete the nitrogen cycle. Instant Cycle Last but not least is the best and easiest way to cycle a tank, and that's through an instant cycle... The thing is, most beginners will not be able to cycle a fish tank instantly because it requires using a filter and media from an already established and cycled tank. Since you're using a filter and media with an established colony of beneficial bacteria, you'll have an already "cycled tank" and can add fish in right away. But keep in mind you'll want to add fish slowly and continue to test your water parameters just to be on the safe side. Once your tank is stable for a few weeks, you can continue to add more fish in small batches every few weeks until you have hit the stocking capacity you are after. Conclusion To What Happens If You Don't Cycle Your Fish Tank Now, you should understand what happens if you choose not to cycle your fish tank... It just leads to heartbreak and might even discourage you from continuing with your fishkeeping hobby. So I suggest you follow one of the 3 recommended methods I've listed above in order to properly cycle a tank. With a cycled tank, you will enjoy this hobby a lot more, and your fish and livestock will thank you by living long, happy lives... I hope I was able to answer any questions you might have about this topic. If you have any more questions I haven't answered on my blog, feel free to reach out so I can cover them in detail and help even more people out!