I'm posting this to be informational...
Lets start with how you know your tank is cycled. A tank is cycled when the amount of ammonia and nitrites is equal to the amount of ammonia and nitrites being broken down.
There are 3 things you should watch in your tank. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.
There are 2 species of bacteria that are good for your tank. And when you have the right amount of these kinds of bacteria, your tank is cycled.
Ammonia can be toxic at any level, though it is most toxic in high PH.
Common signs ammona is high: Cloudy water, red bloches on fish (Ammonia Burns), fish spasm, and twitching.
Nitrite can be toxic at .2 ppm. High levels of Nitrite can cause brownblood disease. The gills turn brown from Methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin reduces the ammount of oxygen can be carried in the blood stream, whether there is oxygen in the water or not.
Nitrate is only toxic at very high levels. 100 ppm is reported to be non-toxic to fish, but it's recommended to keep it under 25 ppm.
Nitrosomonas - Beneficial bacteria which breaks Ammonia down to something that is less toxic, Nitrite.
Nitrobacter - Beneficial bacter which breaks Nitrite down to something almost non-toxic, Nitrate.
These two bacteria do not grow in the water itself, but on things in the water. Decorations, substrate, filter media, ect. So seeding your tank with substrate or filter media from an already cycled tank will speed up the process.
Why you shouldn't do water changes while a tank is cycling:
So fish eat and poop just like everything else. A fish doesn't eat, it's going to die. So if your tank is cycling, and you do water changes, removing ammonia and nitrite, the bacteria that is trying to colonize won't have food, and die. This will ultimately result in ammonia spikes.
Why you shouldn't use unrefrigerated bacteria:
Bacteria that you buy on a shelf in stores will not help your bacteria, or your fish. This is the wrong kind of bacteria that your tank needs to cycle. It will just be taking the ammonia from the right kind of bacteria, making the Nitrosomonas die off.
Why your water is cloudy:
Cloudy water does not only mean you have high ammonia. Your substrate could have been dusty or your could have overfed. If there is rotting feces and food in your tank then the water will be cloudy from Heterotrophs. This is a sign that you could soon have a ammonia spike, so vacuum your gravel ASAP.
Lets start with how you know your tank is cycled. A tank is cycled when the amount of ammonia and nitrites is equal to the amount of ammonia and nitrites being broken down.
There are 3 things you should watch in your tank. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.
There are 2 species of bacteria that are good for your tank. And when you have the right amount of these kinds of bacteria, your tank is cycled.
Ammonia can be toxic at any level, though it is most toxic in high PH.
Common signs ammona is high: Cloudy water, red bloches on fish (Ammonia Burns), fish spasm, and twitching.
Nitrite can be toxic at .2 ppm. High levels of Nitrite can cause brownblood disease. The gills turn brown from Methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin reduces the ammount of oxygen can be carried in the blood stream, whether there is oxygen in the water or not.
Nitrate is only toxic at very high levels. 100 ppm is reported to be non-toxic to fish, but it's recommended to keep it under 25 ppm.
Nitrosomonas - Beneficial bacteria which breaks Ammonia down to something that is less toxic, Nitrite.
Nitrobacter - Beneficial bacter which breaks Nitrite down to something almost non-toxic, Nitrate.
These two bacteria do not grow in the water itself, but on things in the water. Decorations, substrate, filter media, ect. So seeding your tank with substrate or filter media from an already cycled tank will speed up the process.
Why you shouldn't do water changes while a tank is cycling:
So fish eat and poop just like everything else. A fish doesn't eat, it's going to die. So if your tank is cycling, and you do water changes, removing ammonia and nitrite, the bacteria that is trying to colonize won't have food, and die. This will ultimately result in ammonia spikes.
Why you shouldn't use unrefrigerated bacteria:
Bacteria that you buy on a shelf in stores will not help your bacteria, or your fish. This is the wrong kind of bacteria that your tank needs to cycle. It will just be taking the ammonia from the right kind of bacteria, making the Nitrosomonas die off.
Why your water is cloudy:
Cloudy water does not only mean you have high ammonia. Your substrate could have been dusty or your could have overfed. If there is rotting feces and food in your tank then the water will be cloudy from Heterotrophs. This is a sign that you could soon have a ammonia spike, so vacuum your gravel ASAP.
