Cycling A New 50 Litre Tank

[bic_bicknell]

Hi, this is my first post.

I have a new tank to introduce my children to the delights of keeping an aquarium. Not as big as I would like but thought it better to start realistically and if everything works out then I can use this as a quarantine tank and upgrade to a nice 4 foot tank. This one is 80cm wide and approximately 50 litres volume, it's been filled with gravel, plants and dechlorinated tap water and been standing for a couple of days. The water went at first slightly cloudy and then has now cleared. I used to have an aquarium many years ago but reading through forums like this make me realise that the thinking about water filtration and cycling has come on a long, long way since the 80's! I now consider that I know nothing about the way things should be done properly so I am a total beginner. It makes me wonder how I managed to have such a successful tank all those years ago - I certainly never tested the water for nitrites and nitrates and water softness etc. Just did partial water changes regularly and watched the temperature and I had very healthy fish for many years. Maybe I was just lucky.

The shop I bought the tank from told me to let my new settle for a week and then introduce a few fish to start the process. Reading up I see that they are advocating the "fish-in cycle" which is of course the way I have done it in the past. There is now so much written on here about the "fishless cycle" that I need to ask advice about this. If I used a few fish, I was considering three Zebra Danios, for this would they really suffer at the start of the process and never be healthy again? There seem to be many people really opposed to using fish for the cycling process. But waiting six weeks without any fish is hard for my children to understand. If people choose to use the fish in process are they considered to be uncaring and not good fish keepers by this forum?

Advice please.

 

[chrisbassist]

Hi and welcome!

your previous experiencedoesn't mean you were lucky, just dedicated. fish in cycles can be a lot of work. but once all the bacteria are present then the tank will run fine even without knowing about any cycle...

many of the members here do fish in cycles, or at least started with one. so you'll be accepted either way.

you will however be encouraged to give the fishless cycle a go. either way, at the top of this section theres a few resources to get you started with the cycle.

put sumply with a fish in cycle es fish will be harmed. the extent of that harm depends on how often you're prepared to do major water changes. fish will sometimes show no sign of the damage except a shortened lifespan, where others will simply die with too much ammonia in the system. and varying degrees in between.

i understand about kids not wanting to wait. but if you look at it a different way:
fish in cycle: you add a few fish, when water stats stabilise you add a couple more, wait to stabilise, add a few more, etc. it can take months to get the tank fully stocked.
fishless cycle: you cycle the tank, then fully stock in a single day.

so even with a fish in you'll probabl get "why can't we get more? it looks empty"

 

[Assaye]

Hi, this is my first post.

I have a new tank to introduce my children to the delights of keeping an aquarium. Not as big as I would like but thought it better to start realistically and if everything works out then I can use this as a quarantine tank and upgrade to a nice 4 foot tank. This one is 80cm wide and approximately 50 litres volume, it's been filled with gravel, plants and dechlorinated tap water and been standing for a couple of days. The water went at first slightly cloudy and then has now cleared. I used to have an aquarium many years ago but reading through forums like this make me realise that the thinking about water filtration and cycling has come on a long, long way since the 80's! I now consider that I know nothing about the way things should be done properly so I am a total beginner. It makes me wonder how I managed to have such a successful tank all those years ago - I certainly never tested the water for nitrites and nitrates and water softness etc. Just did partial water changes regularly and watched the temperature and I had very healthy fish for many years. Maybe I was just lucky.

The shop I bought the tank from told me to let my new settle for a week and then introduce a few fish to start the process. Reading up I see that they are advocating the "fish-in cycle" which is of course the way I have done it in the past. There is now so much written on here about the "fishless cycle" that I need to ask advice about this. If I used a few fish, I was considering three Zebra Danios, for this would they really suffer at the start of the process and never be healthy again? There seem to be many people really opposed to using fish for the cycling process. But waiting six weeks without any fish is hard for my children to understand. If people choose to use the fish in process are they considered to be uncaring and not good fish keepers by this forum?

Advice please.

Hi there =)

I'll link you to our standard information on setting up new tanks and cycling - hopefully many of your questions will be answered but feel free to post any new queries you have.

This is going to sound horrible, but I would never expose fish (or any animal) to a harmful substance (even if I could be fairly sure they'd recover) in order to avoid dissapointing my children. In the end, we don't really know how much damage is done to these fish, what their prognosis is in later life and how much pain they feel during the process. Some fish come out and seem fine, others keel over from something a few weeks or months down the line. Some even show visible signs of distress and/or die during the process. Fish that endure the process also tend to get sick much more easily in later life. It depends on a lot of factors but from my point of view, if suffering to animals is avoidable, it should be avoided.

Now, that said, a fish-in cycle if conducted responsibly and with genuine respect for the lives and workloads involved, can be relatively safe. If you cycle in this manner - with twice daily water tests and enough water changes to make sure that the levels never get above the most barely detectable on a decent test kit (we an give recommendations), you will not be considered uncaring. You can even add a good dollop of live plants into the mix and potentially make the whole thing even safer (as the plants will consume some of the fish waste)

However, I would strongly advise you to consider what time you have and whether you can commit the time to keep these little fish healthy. The fishless method is safer on the fish and less work for you.

 

[paulbr1]

Hi, if you put in your location there are people on here who will donate "mature media" which you can normally squeeze in to your new filter and this will drastically reduce the cycling time "I will donate locally"

Good luck with the tank btw.

Paul. South Yorkshire