Here is a good link to the nitrogen cycle, which includes several methods of cycling.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
how long does it take for a tank to cycle???
- Thread starter Twisted0liver
- Start date
LMAO , Its funny to me because I overheard a lfs employee telling a lady that a 5 gallon bucket of their freshwater and a small cupfull of their gravel would enable her to fully stock her brand new tank in 24 hours.invisyblegypsey;2631377; said:shhhhhhhhhh
i seriously doubt all these people are "cycling" their tanks in a few days with the bottled bacteria junk, unless its biospira which is the only one that actually works.
a normal w/ fish cycle will take 4~6 weeks as mentioned. took me 6 weeks exactly. fishless cycling may shave a little time off of that.
quickest way is to use a filter from an established tank or use seeded media.
a normal w/ fish cycle will take 4~6 weeks as mentioned. took me 6 weeks exactly. fishless cycling may shave a little time off of that.
quickest way is to use a filter from an established tank or use seeded media.
cut down on the fish food. if it smells like fecal matter then your fish are pooping too much and the poop is rotting in the tank creating that awful smell. the only reason the poop is rotting is because your tank is not cycled. feed your fish in very little amounts for a week or two w/ weekly 20% percent water changes and your tank should start the cycle. i'd say it should take 3 weeks if you keep close attention to water parameters. also, im asumming you have a hang on back filter. when you're cleaning the filter media's make sure you wash them in tank water and not tap water. tap water will destroy all the bacteria (brown stuff) and you'll have to start the whole cycling process all over again.
once your tank is cycled and in top shape you can start feeding them normally w/ routine water changes.
once your tank is cycled and in top shape you can start feeding them normally w/ routine water changes.
big dovii;2630147; said:
Too many large water changes in a short amount of time can stress and kill weaker fish and im not talking about convict cichlids. i lost a couple of fish because a few people told me to do a water change every other day which i regretfully did.
Mumtron;2631695; said:
I would doubt the water changes are what killed you fish. It is common practice to change 50% water daily for juvinille discus, it increases growth. How is it that your fish were "weaker"?
The only way that I could see large frequent WCs being dangerous would be if they were done on a tank that had gone a long time without regular water changes.
not all fish are strong. i had 3 small ebjds and i wanted them to grow very quickly and people advised me to do large water changes every other day. ebjd's are very sensitive and i lost 2 of them in a day. the third one didn't eat for a while but managed to survive. unfortunately it was the ugliest one of the batch. i had better experiece w/ weekly water changes.
