Cycling...

SO I bought my new (used) tank today...yay! It's beautiful!!
I also went to a couple pet/aquarium stores to see what I needed to cycle my tank for the axie.

A- NO ONE knew what an axolotl was.
B-I got about 4 million completely different answers on how to cycle my tank!!

Im looking for the easiest, most cost effective way to do this. Right now I have...
-a tank w/ hood, stand and light
-sand for the bottom of the tank
-A filter and filter bags
-dechlorinater
-This product called "cycle" which releases bacteria into the water.

Can someone please explain this to me like Im a 3 year old? It all seems so complicated/expensive. And I get the feeling the people at the pet stores have no earthly idea what theyre talking about. HELP!!

hey nicole, welcome to the forum .

your probably right that the people at the pet store dont know what they are talking about but at least they know what cycling is! when i went they didnt explain to me at all what cycling is they didnt even mention it at all!.

first of all you probably dont need the product called cycle, they often dont work because the bacteria is dead. but if it requires refridgerating then it might have live bacteria in it. full you tank with water first of all. mesure how much liters are in the tank and then put the correct dosage of dechlorinater in it. rinse the filter and filter media(stuff in the filter) under water just to get dust or any other particles that might make the water cloudy washed of. rinse the sand with water, i did this by putting it in a pillow case and running water through it.

check out this link, it explains cycling pretty well...http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

First of all you need to cycle your tank to get a build up of good bacteria in your filter and substrate which break down harmful ammonia and nitrite,this can take on average six to eight weeks,using "cycle" kick starts this process.Set your tank to how you want it using de-chlorinated water(chlorine kills bacteria good and bad)set your filter running.Now you will need something in your tank to start decomposing and give off ammonia on which your good bacteria can feed and multiply(i use a cooked mussel,no special reason except they seem to decompose quickly).You will now need to start testing your water for signs of ammonia,you can buy a test kit or take it to a pet shop which provides this service,when you have signs of ammonia add "cycle"to help start this process.The ammonia readings will rise to a peak then start to come down as the bacteria build up,now you will need to test for nitrite as this is the next stage of the cycle.The ammonia has been broken down into nitrite which is still dangerous to axies.Now a different type of bacteria will build up to break the nitrIte down into nitrAte which is relatively harmless.When both ammonia and nitrite readings are down you can use the tank but you will still need to take readings for ammonia and nitrite as adding your axie might upset the ballance a little.If any readings go to an unacceptable level you will need to do 30%water changes using de-chlorinated water(remember chlorine kills bacteria)until the levels come back down.It may seem a bit of a carry on but its worth it in the end. Good luck. - Ian

snip "using "cycle" kick starts this process"

Unless the product specifically contains nitrospira, they do not jump start the cycling process and simply supply nutrients to allow for the cycle to occur.

Ed

hi! i know it seems difficult, but it really isnt once you get started. I had the same problem cause when everyone explains it, its really complicated. heres what works for me.

put the filter in your tank set it up...put your substrate in the tank and all tank decorations (the bacteria grows quicker on tank decor) Make sure you water is dechlorinated. Use frozen brine shrimp for your bacteria source. put your axie in a sperate container and do daily water changes. when changing the water just dump the axie water in the tank. You gonna need a master test kit...they are about $30....you'll need Ph,ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits.
test every other day.

basically when the ammonia and nitrite are 0ppm and the nitrate level is under 60, your tank is cycled

I dont yet have an axie, Im waiting till everything is ready before I get him.

So am I right in that I should return that "cycle" stuff?

So things I need to buy are....
- a test kit
-an ammonia source (brine shrimp or something of the like)


anything else to get this started?

In England we don't have a product called "cycle" or at least i haven't seen one,but we do have similar products some of which contain bacteria.If as Ed says "cycle" doesn't then return it; you don't really need to kick start the process.If you know someone with a fish tank, next time they clean their filter out you could ask them to squeeze the sponge from it into your tank thus providing you with some bacteria from their supply.

Hi Ian,

I have some posts on this topic in the past regarding which bacteria are the ones needed. Do an archive search over the last few years for Nitrospira.

Ed

Hi Ed

I'm a real novice on the computer its my daughters ,i have to prise her off with a crow bar,it takes me ages to tap tap out a new message(*"?<:! my coffees gone cold again)
So, Archive search???.

Hi Ian,

If you look at the top of the forum links there is a search link. If you click on it, you get a page where you can type in search terms and then put in the length of time for the search query. I usually put in a huge number of days to get the most answers.
But read the top of the following thread http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/7/13716.html (the bottom half of the thread gets a little esoteric.

Ed

Thanks Ed i will stick to the exoteric bits.