Nitrification Cycle, The In's and Out's

The Science:
It's important to understand the cycle that must take place in your aquarium. This cycle is known as the nitrogen cycle or nitrification cycle. The nitrification cycle is the conversion from ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO2-) and from nitrite (NO2-) to nitrate (NO3-). It is important to know that high levels both ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish. It can stress the fish out and cause any number of diseases. Now to explain the process.

The Cycle:
Once your fish tank is all filled with water and ready to go, the fish are introduced into the aquarium. The fish are then fed (of course) and produce waste. It is this that makes the nitrification cycle so important. Fish waste (as well as any left over food in the tank) produces nitrogen which is broken down into ammonia in your tank. Ammonia levels rise and rise for about 10 days until the proper bacteria colonizes in your gravel, filter, and even on the glass. Once this bacteria colonizes, it converts the ammonia to nitrites. At this point, ammonia will drop substantially and nitrites will climb. This feeds another set of bacteria however, it is impossible for the nitrite-converting bacteria to exist before nitrite is present in the tank therefore this will take about another 10 days. Again, when the bacteria blooms, nitrites will drop and nitrates will then climb. When this takes place, your tank has been successfully cycled. Nitrates are not harmful to fish, so once there is bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrites and nitrites to nitrates, you're good to go. You will want to do a water change after the cycle has completed.

This cycle takes place naturally and may take between 4 and 8 weeks. The cycle will not start until there are fish (or a source of ammonia) in the tank.

Tips and Tricks:

• Do not use ammonia neutralizers. Each bacteria NEEDS the according chemical to survive so using ammonia/nitrite reducers in your tank before it cycles is essentially starving the bacteria you want to grow.
• Do not change your filter! This is where most of the bacteria resides. Changing it will remove the bacteria and ruin your cycle!
• Water changes will also slow the process. Keep them to a minimum and when you do, only change about 10-15%.
• To speed up the cycle, use the filter or gravel of an established tank. This introduces the desired bacteria into your tank much sooner.
• Many people buy barbs or guppies to cycle the tank. They are relatively cheap and the pet store and get the job done.
• As mentioned before, uneaten fish food produces ammonia as well. Although a messy alternative, food can be used as the source of ammonia. (Perhaps put in a stocking to contain it)
• Pure ammonia also works, however it's very hard to find without cleaning additives (surfactants, lemon scent, etc.) check out cyclemytank.com.

Personally, I went with the fishless cycle. I didn't want to purposefully kill a fish, nor did I want to end up with a fish I didn't really want after the cycle was through. I purchased ammonia, an ammonia testing kit and a nitrite testing kit. If you decide to use ammonia, it has to be PURE ammonia. No surfactants, scents or other chemicals. It may take some searching around to find it however cyclemytank.com sells a little kit for fishless cycling. It worked really well and no fish were harmed in the process. The cycle actually only took around 2-3 weeks to fully cycle so I would definitely suggest going that route.