How to Cycle A New Aquarium

One important factor of success in keeping an aquarium is noticing the nitrogen cycle in your aquarium. Basically a nitrogen cycle is powered by beneficial bacterias that will process the waste ammonia from your fish and convert it into nitrites and then into relatively harmless nitrates.

If you add fish to an uncycled tank, then sometimes the fish result in fin rot, ick and other common fish diseases. Fish can be seen gasping at the top of the aquarium. That is probably because of excessive ammonia in the water that cause fish stress.

The only way to over come this is to wait until there are sufficient numbers of bacteria to convert the ammonia into nitrates. There are a few things that can be done to encourage the growth of the bacteria.

The traditional method to cycle a new aquarium is to add a few ‘hardy’ fish that will produce ammonia wastes to encourage bacteria growth. This method of cycling is very stressful for the fish. Many become stressed, damaged or simply die during the process. The high levels of ammonia causes ammonia burns burns on the fish’s bodies and gills. Regular partial water changes are often necessary to make sure the fish survive, as ammonia levels rises. The damage is not always reversible and at the end of the cycling you are left with fish in poor condition which you may not want in your aquarium. If you already have fish in the tank and are trying to cycle, adding live plants will greatly help reduce ammonia. Plants need and absorb ammonia from the water.


A better, more humane method to cycle the tank is to use a fishless cycling method. Set up the tank and drop daily amounts of food into the water. The food decomposed and creates ammonia.


In order to create such an environment you will need a heater. The bacteria (Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter) thrive best at higher temperatures than is usually best for a fish tank so during the cycling increase the temperature up to about 30°C (85°F). When you add the fish you have to turn it down again.

A testing kit is a must, to check the ammonia and nitrite levels is essential to test the levels and to indicate when cycling is complete. Master kits cost under 25$ and can test water hardness and pH also.

Extra aeration is recommended while cycling as bacteria need oxygen to grow. Increase the aeration through the tank and filter if possible. You could add an extra air stone or even use an extra pump if one is available.

Good luck!