Which is good. I thought it had cycled a while back but I guess I had a false spike in Nitrite, because a few days later it just spiked again. But now (according to liquid tests) the Ammonia and Nitrite are both at 0 and just the Nitrate is rising now. Which is normal and will always happen...
Science Lesson!
Cycling an aquarium is the short way to say that you're setting up a nitrogen cycle. And basically here's what it is.
Every fish (and plant for that matter) creates waste. The waste breaks down into ammonia, which at high levels can be poisonous and deadly to fish. In the wild it doesn't pose as much of a problem as there's so much water that the levels rarely are deadly. However, in a fish tank, no matter the size, these levels can rise quickly and if not taken care of properly, it'll be almost impossible to keep the fish alive.
Cycling is actually setting up a biological "home" so to speak for beneficial bacteria that will break down this ammonia into less lethal components. And there are two types of bacteria to establish.
The first type is the bacteria that will break down the ammonia made by fish and plant waste and turn it into Nitrites... which are less deadly, but by no means is the cycling done. Nitrites in large numbers can also be deadly, or at least stress the fish enough that it will be more susceptible to other disease. Luckily around this time another bacteria forms that will break down the Nitrites into Nitrates. And Nitrates can be gotten rid of by doing periodic water changes.
Here's an example of the time this takes to establish.
There are a few ways in which people choose to cycle a tank. The most popular being to pick out a few hardy fish that can handle higher levels of ammonia and nitrite, and use them to start the waste and cycling process. It's a good idea to look up and make sure the type of fish you choose not only can handle the cycle process, but also are fish that you'll want to keep. Because of course, choosing a fish just to throw out when it's done it's job is not a good method to use.
Also good to remember is not to use feeder fish or goldfish to start a cycle unless this is the type of fish you want to keep. Many petshops will suggest to use the inexpensive feeders, but most of these fish are kept in bad conditions as is, and are already susceptible to disease which you don't want to add to a new tank right off the bat. And goldfish are a dirty fish in general (no offense, I own goldfish as well and I love them, but they are dirty) and they can create problems in the bacterial set up. In my tank I chose 6 black neon tetras. All of which are still healthy and happy as can be.
Another method that more and more people are using is the fishless cycle. As the name suggests, no fish are used to cycle the tank. The ammonia is created by using decaying matter such as dead plants, or by getting an ammonia supplement of some other kind, and adding it to the tank. This method needs many water tests to keep track of all ammonia and nitrite levels, but of course you don't have to worry about hardy fish, or putting stress on them should the levels spike suddenly.
Most petstores now offer a substance that already contains the bacteria needed to start and finish the cycling process, which can be added and immediately set up the cycle. Other owners will use previously established filters from other tanks to jump start their new tanks... I've heard both success and fail stories for these methods, so really in all cases it's best just to keep a close eye on the chemical levels until you are certain that the levels are established.
In an established tank, both ammonia and nitrites will read at 0 and nitrates will rise until a water change is done, however, if you have a planted tank, the plants will actually use the nitrate as well as a fertilizer, which helps in maintaining that level as well.
Now, once the tank is established and ready to add new fish it is good to remember to be careful not to add too many as it can create a new spike in the ammonia and nitrite that the filter will not be able to handle. The general rule of thumb is to add no more than 3 fish per week, though I think this may be relative to tank size. I definitely wouldn't add more than 6 per week though, this should give the filter plenty of time to establish new bacteria. Also remember not to overstock in general. The idea is 1 gallon of water per 1 inch of fish, not counting the tail.
So there you have it... Science lesson on cycling.
now to add a few more fish and all will be happy in my aquarium XD
