The nitrogen cycle in the aquarium, or how to stabilize a new tank?
In online groups for aquarists, I see recurring questions. The same basic issues keep coming up. So I decided that instead of answering each one individually and explaining the same thing all over again, it's better to write a series of texts about aquarium basics.
Today will be about the maturation of the aquarium.
What is this maturation? This is the process by which good bacteria colonize our tank. They need to establish and multiply well to be able to break down nitrogen compounds. We don't like to think about it, but fish swim and live in the water they defecate in. In order not to get poisoned by it, you need plants that absorb nitrogen compounds and good bacteria that break them down. Ammonia is converted into nitrites, which in turn into less toxic nitrates. These, in turn, are rinsed out when changing the water.
When it comes to the maturation of an aquarium, two extremely different ways prevail:
1. Many aquarists do not carry out any process. They just fill the aquarium with water and throw in the fish. Those more merciful add a preparation with bacteria. Unfortunately, this does not work, because even if there are some bacteria from the bottle in the aquarium, there are far too few of them to work efficiently. The filter and substrate are not yet inhabited by numerous strains of bacteria. This means that the fish excrete, and there is no one to convert it. The "sewage treatment plant" in the tank is not working. And this can lead to fish poisoning or algae infestation. And with a bit of "luck" to both.
2. Unlike the first group, other aquarists are patient. They set up an aquarium and wait. Two, three, sometimes four weeks. And what, let it mature peacefully! Except... that doesn't work either. Bacteria are living organisms. So they must be surprised. If there are no fish pee in the aquarium, the bacteria starve and eventually die. After a month of fasting, you can't count on cultures of live bacteria in the tank. So we let the fish in, and there again the sewage treatment plant does not work...
So what to do? Feed the bacteria! They can be fed store-bought ammonia. But it's not easy to determine the dose you need. You can also - and this is the easier way - gradually introduce the inhabitants of the aquarium. First there might be a snail, then shrimp, then two guppies, then two more... Then the whole cycle works. The snail excretes, feeds the bacteria, nourished bacteria multiply and can take on more inhabitants.
It is worth controlling the level of nitrogen compounds with aquarium tests at this time. If the parameters are too high, it is enough to do a partial water change.
In online groups for aquarists, I see recurring questions. The same basic issues keep coming up. So I decided that instead of answering each one individually and explaining the same thing all over again, it's better to write a series of texts about aquarium basics.
Today will be about the maturation of the aquarium.
What is this maturation? This is the process by which good bacteria colonize our tank. They need to establish and multiply well to be able to break down nitrogen compounds. We don't like to think about it, but fish swim and live in the water they defecate in. In order not to get poisoned by it, you need plants that absorb nitrogen compounds and good bacteria that break them down. Ammonia is converted into nitrites, which in turn into less toxic nitrates. These, in turn, are rinsed out when changing the water.
When it comes to the maturation of an aquarium, two extremely different ways prevail:
1. Many aquarists do not carry out any process. They just fill the aquarium with water and throw in the fish. Those more merciful add a preparation with bacteria. Unfortunately, this does not work, because even if there are some bacteria from the bottle in the aquarium, there are far too few of them to work efficiently. The filter and substrate are not yet inhabited by numerous strains of bacteria. This means that the fish excrete, and there is no one to convert it. The "sewage treatment plant" in the tank is not working. And this can lead to fish poisoning or algae infestation. And with a bit of "luck" to both.
2. Unlike the first group, other aquarists are patient. They set up an aquarium and wait. Two, three, sometimes four weeks. And what, let it mature peacefully! Except... that doesn't work either. Bacteria are living organisms. So they must be surprised. If there are no fish pee in the aquarium, the bacteria starve and eventually die. After a month of fasting, you can't count on cultures of live bacteria in the tank. So we let the fish in, and there again the sewage treatment plant does not work...
So what to do? Feed the bacteria! They can be fed store-bought ammonia. But it's not easy to determine the dose you need. You can also - and this is the easier way - gradually introduce the inhabitants of the aquarium. First there might be a snail, then shrimp, then two guppies, then two more... Then the whole cycle works. The snail excretes, feeds the bacteria, nourished bacteria multiply and can take on more inhabitants.
It is worth controlling the level of nitrogen compounds with aquarium tests at this time. If the parameters are too high, it is enough to do a partial water change.
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