Have I Just Been Lucky?

[Vin]

I am putting on my tin hat and pls realise I am being totally honest here so be gentle with me.

I have had a few tanks over the years and reading this forum I have obviously not been doing what I should be doing.

I have always set up my tanks and let them settle (cycle) for a week or so then I go and buy fish and put them in the tank.

I change the water once a week and kept the tank clean etc and the tanks have been successful.

Never lost many fish or had any problems with disceases etc.

Have I just been lucky?

 

[Duck and Dive]

Your tank filters must be really good or your lucky! I let my tanks do a non fish cycle for a month.

 

[Squid]

You say not lost "many" fish, so i guess lucky might not be wholey accurate ..

It can depend on what fish you have been adding after the 1st week. Some fish can cope with sub-standard conditions, although this may not be ideal. Just remember that from now on you don't need to do a fishless cycle or a fish-in-cyle as such, as you can clone new filters by placing them along side established filters for a few week, or by pinching some of the established filter media. However, there is a difference between a cycled tank and a mature tank and that can affect your fish choice.

Squid

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I think you have been lucky to a certain extent but it depends on how many fish you have lost. When cycling with fish, its not necessary to leave the tank running for a week before putting the fish in (the tank won't cycle without any fish or ammonia source in it, so by leaving it running for a week without fish in it you are actually not cycling it at all), but what is very important is the type of fish you put into the tank, how hardy they are and how mature/large they are and in what numbers in comparison to the gallons of the tank.
When doing a cycle with fish, its critical to stock the tank very lightly with only small hardy fish and to only increase the numbers of the fish in the tank in small numbers every time the ammonia and nitrite levels fall back to 0 and stay like that for a week or so- this way you cycle the tank very slowly over a long period of time, however at least this way you can keep control of ammonia and nitrite levels with a lot more ease and the fish are less likely to be stressed or harmed by the cycling process .
I think you have misunderstood what cycling is as it is not about letting the tank settle but rather it is about establishing the beneficial nitrifying bacteria in the tank (nitrogen cycle= cycling) which starts to grow in the filter media naturally once there is an ammonia source and constant source of flowing water and oxygen etc in the tank. You can read up more on understanding how the water quality in your tank works here in the link below;

http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...-tank-syndrome/