Stupid newbie questions about water and cycling

[tarheel96]

eBay has the API Freshwater Master Test Kit for $24.95 free shipping if you're in the US. I use that kit. Good kit.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_od...w=api+freshwater+master+test+kit&_sacat=20754

 

[philipraposo1982]

I have used both dr Tim's And ATM colony with success. Cycled in a week.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; As I read thru the thread I plucked some statements out and hope to do a sort of summary. There is a lot of good information already in this thread. let me say the term "cycling" is a simple word for a complex topic. There are some basic guidelines not too hard to follow at first and with time more understanding will come. Don't worry if it gets confusing from time to time, just keep asking. I also applaud you for asking first. Good job already even if things go sideways a bit from time to time later on.

Second you do not need to use creek water.

Hello; This! Use tap water or if you are very lucky well water. If your source water is tap water then at some point get a water quality report from the water company. These reports should be free for the asking.

Cycle is a one time thing that only happens when you first set up a new tank or a new filter.
Hello; The "cycle" should be a one time thing and the process can take from a day all the way up to six weeks or longer. The basic part of getting a tank "cycled" is to get colonies of particular bacteria growing in a tank. Being living things these colonies of what we call beneficial bacteria (bb) can and do increase and decrease in numbers for various reasons. More on that later.

You 100% need to declorinate every time you do a water change if you don't you will hurt your fish. You want to do about 25% water change every time

Hello; This is mostly true although there are some exceptions. These exceptions you do not need to think about right now. If your source water is tap water then use a water conditioner each time you do a water change (WC) . SAFE and/or PRIME are two commonly recommended conditioners, there are others.

Hello; A 25% WC is a good enough starting point. This is a topic with huge differences of opinion. Eventually you can decide which camp to join. For starters 25% every week or two is not bad.

option is to get someone else media from their tank that's already cycled and healthy

Hello; This is the way to have a tanks cycled in a day. Get some solid surface material from an established tank ( one that has been set up with fish for many weeks). Most and solid material will do with filter media and substrate being among the more popular. If you do not have a friend with an established (fully cycled) tank go to a fish shop. If the fish shop will not give or sell old filter media then buy some live plants or snails.

One word of caution; stuff from another tank can be infected with disease or parasites. Not sure how to know if a tank has this other than to take a good look and wish for good luck.

Hello; one more note. Do not use old tank water to try to cycle a new tank. The old tank water is of almost no use.

can put in declorinate with a fish in the tank?

Hello; Yes.

I should cycle with a filter running, right?

Hello; Yes.

i need to feed the bacteria ammonia if im doing a no fish cyle

No pH really isn't an issue except under rare circumstances (If you have fry or are breeding it can be a real issue.) Most fish can handle a very wide range of pH (5.0 - 9.5, some even wider like 4.5-10.5.) Ask your local water department what your pH and water hardness is (kh) in case people ask.

However, you do need to measure ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

The first 2 should be zero and should be measured whenever the fish are acting strange and whenever the tank is new.

The second should not be zero, but should not go higher than 40-50, but preferably should be kept under 20. Ideal is below 10, but most people never have ideal and still have a fine tank. Measure that before a water change. If it keeps getting too high, do more frequent or larger water changes.

Hello; This. In fact pay close attention to pretty much anything this member has to say.


Hello; I will attempt to add a link to a long and involved article about cycling soon.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; This is a link to an article I go back to often. A long and involved read. It may take several readings and going back to particular parts, at least it did for me.
Good luck


http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/nitrogen_cycle.html

 

[Grinch]

I'm sure all of your questions have been answered by now. I just want to thank you for listening and asking the question first. Not to often we get new people coming into the hobby that want/need to listen.

As a couple of folks have mentioned, as above, props for asking for help. This is rare.

 

[skjl47]

If you do not have a friend with an established (fully cycled) tank go to a fish shop. If the fish shop will not give or sell old filter media then buy some live plants or snails.

Hello; I feel the need to "improve" on this members comments. One thing the "bonehead" left out is that the amount of bb on the surfaces of live snails and plants will likely be small. What this can mean is that there will not be enough bb initially to support either a large fish or a lot of smaller fish. These sources will likely have only small populations of the bb on their surfaces. This can "seed" a tank but will not support a lot of fish. By seed I mean get a few bb colonies into the tank that can eventually reproduce into much larger numbers.
So if you try to start the tank this way you will also need to keep the number and size of the fish small to start with. Then slowly add more fish over a period of many weeks.

If you wish to stock a lot of fish or big fish right away you will need to get a lot of bb loaded solid material, say from the afore mentioned filter material or substrate.

The balance between the fish and the bb is a dynamic thing. Fish make ammonia during their metabolic life processes and then in a balanced (cycled) tank there are enough 1st team bb to consume this ammonia and convert it to nitrites. Then the 2nd team bb take the nitrites in and convert them to nitrates. If you change the number of fish by either adding more or taking some out then the bb populations do adjust eventually.
In new tanks it can take a while to grow enough of the bb teams to grow to good stable populations.