cycling?

[trikkyk]

yea i'm not sure what everybody is talking about with "cycling" but i guess i need to get my tank to do so

i have aabout a 25 gallon aquarium with 3 small bullhead, some baby crayfish, and rosy reds for food ....the water gets real cloudy quick and i frequently have to change some of the water

help?

 

[test4echo]

What kind of substrate do you have? Usually (especially with clay-based substrates) the dust particles will settle and once they are disturbed, they begin to cloud up your tank. Just make sure to rinse the gravel you buy very well.

 

[trikkyk]

yeah it is starting to look better then it did before..what is this whole cycling thing about tho?

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

Cycling is a process where you build up good bacteria in your filter and on the gravel in your tank which processes the toxic fish waste that occurs in a fishtank so that it's no longer toxic. Most people cycle their tanks before adding fish so that the fish aren't hurt/killed by the toxins in a new tank.

Here's a link that can show you how it's done:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64301

If your tank is new you need to get yourself a water testing kit for both ammonia and nitrites. If you can see the presence of ammonia or nitrite on the test card, you need to do a fair-sized water change immediately, until the test card reads 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite. Eventually, (usually takes 4-6 weeks from starting up a new tank) the bacteria builds up so that the ammonia and nitrite stay at zero. From then on you need to do a weekly water change of about 25% of your tank's volume.

 

[trikkyk]

thanks