Woo, what a long time in the making. First of all, a huge WOOP to Sakura for.. well everything she does, and for not rushing me on this, because I took my sweet time. I'd also like to thank my dear friend Hallyx, for all his input and cycling knowledge. We'd be no where on BettaFish without these two sweeties around. :-DAdditional thanks goes to Chesherca, for going through my work as well, making sure everything actually made sense to someone other than myself.
Things you will need:
- A filter (Hang-on-back (HOB) and sponge are most popular with betta)
- An ammonia source (this could be pure ammonia, fish food, raw shrimp, or even your fish, depending on the method you choose)
- Plants (if you plan on doing the planted method)
- A small oral syringe (meaning without a needle!) is useful when using pure ammonia, usually a 5mL size is best. These can be found in pet stores in the dog/cat section, or in pharmacies in the baby section, as they are used to measure out dog/cat/baby medicines. Only needed for pure ammonia method.
-Tank (and possibly bucket for a bucket cycle), substrate, decorations, all of which provide surface area for your bacteria to grow.
-A test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. An API Master Test Kit gives the best value over the long run, but strips can also work fine.
About the Nitrogen Cycle:
There is tons of info on this, but I want to sum this up as briefly as possible. The nitrogen cycle is when you "grow" bacteria in your tank, on your filter and everything else in the tank. Fish produce ammonia, which is bad for them, it damages their bodies, causing burns and death. The bacteria consume the ammonia, and produce nitrite. Now, nitrite isn't any better and can do just as much damage as ammonia, so another type of bacteria consumes it to make nitrates. Nitrates are the last step of the cycle, and are much less toxic, but still hurt in the long run, which is why it's important to do weekly water changes of 30-50% in a cycled aquarium.
First Thing's First- The Method:
There are five distinct methods for properly cycling your tank that we'll be looking at in this article. Any of these methods will achieve the end-result of a fully-cycled tank, but only you can decide which will work best for your situation. You can safely cycle a tank of any size using the techniques listed here. Some people prefer not to cycle smaller tanks, instead relying on more frequent water changes to keep the water clean. However, if you plan to keep a larger tank of five to ten gallons or more, it will be necessary to cycle the tank for the health and safety of the fish who will be living there.
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Things you will need:
- A filter (Hang-on-back (HOB) and sponge are most popular with betta)
- An ammonia source (this could be pure ammonia, fish food, raw shrimp, or even your fish, depending on the method you choose)
- Plants (if you plan on doing the planted method)
- A small oral syringe (meaning without a needle!) is useful when using pure ammonia, usually a 5mL size is best. These can be found in pet stores in the dog/cat section, or in pharmacies in the baby section, as they are used to measure out dog/cat/baby medicines. Only needed for pure ammonia method.
-Tank (and possibly bucket for a bucket cycle), substrate, decorations, all of which provide surface area for your bacteria to grow.
-A test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. An API Master Test Kit gives the best value over the long run, but strips can also work fine.
About the Nitrogen Cycle:
There is tons of info on this, but I want to sum this up as briefly as possible. The nitrogen cycle is when you "grow" bacteria in your tank, on your filter and everything else in the tank. Fish produce ammonia, which is bad for them, it damages their bodies, causing burns and death. The bacteria consume the ammonia, and produce nitrite. Now, nitrite isn't any better and can do just as much damage as ammonia, so another type of bacteria consumes it to make nitrates. Nitrates are the last step of the cycle, and are much less toxic, but still hurt in the long run, which is why it's important to do weekly water changes of 30-50% in a cycled aquarium.
First Thing's First- The Method:
There are five distinct methods for properly cycling your tank that we'll be looking at in this article. Any of these methods will achieve the end-result of a fully-cycled tank, but only you can decide which will work best for your situation. You can safely cycle a tank of any size using the techniques listed here. Some people prefer not to cycle smaller tanks, instead relying on more frequent water changes to keep the water clean. However, if you plan to keep a larger tank of five to ten gallons or more, it will be necessary to cycle the tank for the health and safety of the fish who will be living there.
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