"cycling The Tank" Please Explain

[JoanneH]

I keep reading about cycling the tank, could someone please explain what this means?? I have a 27 gallon tank, and am a beginner (obviously) I ran the tank for 1 week before adding 6 platies and haven't experienced poor water at all (I do regular tests) I now have 6 glowlight tetras, 5 five banded barbs, 2 red honey gouramis, 5 platies and 1 panda cory

 

[fish_master]

well cycling just pritty much is growing benifical bacteria but it sounds like ur ok because tetras r genraly sensitive to the toxins in the water but im sure some 1 will correct me if im rong

 

[docbanzai]

Hi,

How long has the tank been setup? Problems can occur weeks after initial setup, but it sounds like you may be OK.

Information about 'cycling' can be found here.... I know it's a lot of reading, but knowledge is power!

Good luck.

DB