# Nitrogen Cycle for Dummies



## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

Here is an article that I wrote for beginners and not only, to better understand the nitrogen cycle from a new tank, to avoid fish getting hurt from our ignorance.

Manage your freshwater aquarium, tropical fishes and plants: Nitrogen Cycle for Dummies


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## tazzapooj (Sep 20, 2010)

hey little fish, thats some great information there all taken on board cheers!!


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## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

thanks


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

tazz - tank all cycled now?


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## tazzapooj (Sep 20, 2010)

hi jr, no i think another few days and it will be though,tested the tank for ammonia today its hanging around .5ppm and the nitrite/nitrate is just showing!
ill be testing again tomorrow to see if the ammonia has dropped if not ill do a 10% water change again and see how things go with that. Ive noticed that the water has a pattern, after every other day the water turns slightly cloudy and then clears any ideas?? on another note this fluval filter is struggling i think, when i look closely at the water i can see tiny bits floating in the water, it looks like tiny pieces of paper to me. its a right ball ache trying to fish them all out with the net.....so i bought a little pump filter that sucks up all the crap out the water, quite a good little purchase me thinks even the tetras like swimming up to the little white filter on it ha ha ha. could the filter carbon pads be causing the cloudy water?? anyway im rambling on abit here so ill leave it at that ha ha ha ha


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Could be an issue with your filter media, but I would avoid messing with it until your cycle is complete. What model Fluval?


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## tazzapooj (Sep 20, 2010)

its the fluval 305 external type!!


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

That is nicely explained. The only thing I would add is that you can do a fishless cycle.


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## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

yes, there have been some discussions about this, with or without fish


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Some like one better some the other. I think either way gets the job done. A fishless cycle is kinder to the fish, not after starting a heated debate about this, it's just good for newbies to know that it is an option.


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## Bill Pape (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks littlefish for the article. It is well written. I am back to this hobby after 25 years, so now everyone is talking about test chemicals, substrates and cycling. So, your article is extremely helpful to me.

I have another question about "substrate". I think I know what a substrate is out of context in these posts. Can gravel be a substrate? Or only if you have an undergravel filter?

Thanks


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## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

I don't think gravel is a good choice ...


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## brimac40 (Jan 11, 2010)

Why is gravel not a good choice ? I use natural fine gravel in all three of my heavily planted tanks and the plants are doing great .

It's all a matter of taste and what you like best . I do not like the look of sand , but most do , so I use gravel .


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Yes, I'm curious as to why you don't think gravel is a good substrate choice. Chosen correctly (ie, not huge chunks the size of your thumb) gravel is an excellent substrate for most aquariums.

Other than that, good article and information!


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## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

I just said that because is hard to put the plants in there, they won't stay like in sand I think. This is my opinion.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Most live plants won't grow as well in sand. The dense nature of it inhibits root growth, and prevents the usual amount of nutrient-rich mulm from accumulating inside it like gravel does.


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## Bill Pape (Oct 1, 2010)

Thank you for your posts. 

Someone who owns a fish store explained that substrate refers to what goes on the floor of the aquarium (the bottom stratum or layer). If it is a part of the filter system, I was instructed to call it "biological medium." The bacteria needed to break down the nitrites and nitrates live in both the substrate and the filter media. I have also learned to not clean the gravel and the filter at the same time, as you lose too many 'good' bacteria. Also, flushing out the filter media with tap water kills the bacteria because of the chlorine, so flush mimimally.

I never thought of sand being too dense for good function. Plant roots probably rot. Thanks again for the explanations!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You should never wash out your filter media with untreated tap water if you plan to re-use it. You can rinse it out as much as you like as long as you use water from the tank or treated tap water.


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## jons4real (Sep 6, 2010)

From what little I uderstand this is what I gather... Alot of people do very well with live plants in many types of substrate. So whats all the hype about... whats the differance between one tank to another.... why are some people against using substrate that has no minerals in it like gravel, sand ect... well its because of the types of plants people use. Thats the differance! Can you put fast growing low light plants in a tank with gravel and will it grow... YES but if you take some "show" plants and put them in nothing but sand and moss how will they do over time? Considering that sand and moss have no minerals in them. What will the color be like? What will their growth be like. um... I really dont know because I've never done it,lol. I ahve yet to fully understand all of this but from what I read these are the resons. Some people are just not satisfied with basic green plants that need trimmed once a month. Some people want show tanks and it dosent sound like that can happen with gravel and sand. Check out some of the winners of big contest. Their tanks are awsome and they all have good mineral substrates. The differance is in the plants.

oh and people who use these mineral rich substrates do not have to rely on heavy furtilizing to make thier tanks grow. Not to say they dont use them but just not like the sand, gravel, moss people.

Again this is just from what I have read on this site and many like it.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You're right for the most part I believe. Even mineral rich substates will not be "rich" all the time. Eventually they will run out of minerals. The people who have those show aquascapes have plants that not only require a good solid substrate but also require micro and macro ferts, and CO2. Some plants are difficult to grow even in the best circumstances, some just grow with medium light and nothing else. I have a few in one of my tanks.


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## jons4real (Sep 6, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> some just grow with medium light and nothing else. I have a few in one of my tanks.


Some plants just grow so easy. I have heard of many places in the usa that are having big big issue with foreign plant growing like crazy in lakes and ponds. People want to get rid of their plants and just throw them into any body of water. The plants grow so easily that they take over.


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