What Is The Difference Between A Cycled And A Mature Tank?

[Aqua Andy]

Hi,

What is the difference between a cycled and a mature tank?


Andy

 

[tishygirl]

at a semi-educated guess... I would say cycled means your chem levels are good... and it has been running a reasonable amount of time to achieve this....0ammonia and 0nitrites, with a reasonable amount of nitrates. under 40.....

where a mature tank I believe would be a cycled tank, with 0amm 0nitrites, but higher nitrates because of the length of time its been set up?

something along those lines.

 

[Aqua Andy]

Wouldn't the nitrates be regulated by water changes as required?

 

[Fish_Mike]

Actually i think they're both the same thing, however a mature tank is a step further being a more stable environment for fish to live in ( 6+ months), as well, you can technically have more fish in a mature tank than a cycled.

 

[Aqua Andy]

Ahhhhh so the difference is the stability of the environment.

 

[Bloo]

With my experience a mature tank is far more established and generally 6 month and older. A tank takes time to establish - not just for the water itself to be "safe". But time for water to maintain a regular & consistent balance and has a healthy algae maintained growth (I don't mean nasty algae covering the tank). Water that won't swing with every water change but water that has found a "rhythm" over a period of time.

 

[Aqua Andy]

Does that mean that you shouldn't change too much water at water changes?

How is a mature tank best achieved and maintained?


Andy

 

[yvez9]

a tank becomes mature after it has "broken in" if you want.

When you start a tank, water chemistry will change a lot and decorations and substrate and still "virgin". After about 6 months as suggested, the filter is much seeded to capacity, so are the substrate, decorations and plants.

The water has found a good balance and doesn't swing its chemistry with a water change.

a mature tank is much more forgiving basically

 

[Bloo]

Well my tanks all maintain their stats irrespective almost of water changes. Even if I change 50% at a time. Or when I moved house i changed 100% of my water and still didn't go throug a cycle. Younger tanks as so much more prone to "swings" Perhaps someone else can explain it better than I can

 

[Aqua Andy]

I check my water chemistry regularly including before and after water changes and the parameters never change.

 

[Matthew5664]

My water changes a little after every water change. I do about 10-20% every 7-10 days depending on the NO3 level. Anything over 50-80mg/l i feel needs diluting to a 5-10mg/l that my tap water is.

 

[rdd1952]

My idea of a cycled tank and an established tank is pretty much the same as bloozoo2's. I think an established tank is one were you rarely need to test for ammonia, nitrite and pH. You know they are where they need to be, even after water changes and rinsing the filter (in tank water). All established tanks are cycled (barring a major problem) but all cycled tanks aren't established.

 

[Inchworm]

I think that "mature tank" is just another way of saying "cycled tank."

It's a term that dates back to the days when the average fishkeeper didn't know the science behind cycling. In those days we knew that if a tank was set up and stocked lightly and slowly, it would eventually become "mature," and the fish in it would begin to thrive.

Another term that you sometimes see, that goes back to those days, is "aged water." It means water taken from a mature tank. While we didn't know all the scientific reasons why it was so good, we now know that there are a (very) small amount of beneficial bacteria in it, and so if it was used to start up a new tank, that tank would do better than one started from scratch.

These days the terms seem to be used interchangeably.

 

[annka5]

That makes sense - I see it refered to "discus need a mature tank... " but if you consider that in the case of discus, many breeders advocate using a bare-bottomed tank, changing 25-50% daily, and wiping the inside glass surfaces daily, is v difficult to see any difference between a cycled and a mature tank in terms of what is actually going on with the environment.