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Cycling









New aquariums do not usually have the required populations of
bacteria for the handling of nitrogen waste. In a process called
cycling, aquarists cultivate these bacteria as fish and other
producers of nitrogen waste are gradually added to the tank over
the course of several weeks. Aquarists use several different
methods to jump start this process, including the use of water
additives containing small populations of the bacteria, or "seeding"
a new tank with a mature bacterial colony removed from another
aquarium (such as can be found on gravel or biological filter
media).

Other cycling methods that have gained popularity in recent years
are the fishless cycle and the silent cycle. As the name of the
former implies, no fish are kept in a tank undergoing a fishless
cycle. Instead, small amounts of ammonia are added to the tank to
feed the bacteria being cultured. During this process, ammonia,
nitrite, and nitrate levels are tested to monitor progress. The silent
cycle is basically nothing more than densely stocking the aquarium
with fast-growing aquatic plants and relying on them to consume
the nitrogen products rather than bacteria. According to anecdotal
reports of aquarists specializing in planted tanks, the plants can
consume nitrogenous waste so efficiently that the spikes in
ammonia and nitrite levels normally seen in more traditional cycling
methods are greatly reduced, if they are detectable at all.

Improperly cycled aquariums can quickly accumulate toxic
concentrations of nitrogen waste and kill their inhabitants.
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