New Aquarium!

I recently setup a new aquarium for my daughter. I didn't know I was getting into a major science experiment.

The store person told me it takes about 6-8 weeks to setup and "cycle" an aquarium before you can put many fish in it. I thought all you did was put water in it, wait a couple of days, and then add all your fish. Wrong.

The store person explained. There is a nitrogen cycle that must setup before adding many fish. You can add one or two starter fish after a couple of days to start the cycle but it takes the 6 weeks to balance out.

The story goes like this (see chart above). Fish give off ammonia through their gills, pee, and poop. The level of ammonia rises in the aquarium. Ammonia is toxic to fish. As the ammonia increases, bacteria start growing that convert the ammonia to nitrites. Nitrites are also toxic to fish. With increasing nitrites different bacteria start growing that convert the nitrites to nitrates. Nitrates are much less toxic to fish though can be a problem if they get to high. After the aquarium is "balanced", you should not be able to detect ammonia or nitrites. You will have nitrates which are kept under control by changing out 25% of the water monthly.

For the cycle period, I had to basically buy a chemistry set to test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates daily until the aquarim is balanced. Every night I get out my test tubes and chemicals to do the mixing and testing. I feel like a chemist each night.

I'm not complaining, I've actually enjoyed the science, learning about the ecosystem, and how I test and maintain it. You might say that my daughter's pets have become my new hobby.

We started with two starter fish, zebra danios. Starter fish are fish that can more easily handle the stresses of the unbalanced environment. Other fish would stress and die during the early period as the ammonia and nitrites built up before falling to zero. So far they are doing well. After 10 days, the ammonia level is starting to build, no nitrites yet. The water is a little cloudy. The forums says its just a bacterial bloom that should clear up in a few days.

We can't add more fish until the end of February and then you only add a few fish at a time. Each time you add fish, the ammonia levels increase again until the bacteria growth catches up.

So we're watching, testing, and waiting.... It requires a lot of patience.