Written by Ray Budiardja

Aquarium Cycle & New Tank Syndrome

Aquarium cycle or Nitrogen cycle is very important concept to be understood by hobbyist. By understanding it, we will know what important parameters should be checked, effort to be made and finally choose the proper freshwater fish supplies.

NITROGEN CYCLE DIAGRAM

Aquarium Cycle diagram

AQUARIUM CYCLE EXPLANATION

From the Nitrogen Cycle diagram above, basically aquarium cycle steps are as follows :

Uneaten food, fish waste & other metabolism results are decomposed by microorganism to become aquarium Ammonia (NH3), which is very dangerous poison for our pet fish.
If pH is low enough (pH < 7), Ammonia (NH3) can be ionized by water to become Ammonium (NH4) which is harmless to fish. It's also absorbed by water plants as nutrient.
Ammonia (NH3) & Ammonium (NH4) existance invites aerobic bacteria s.a nitrosomonas to process it to become Nitrite (NO2), still poisonous for fish.
Nitrate (NO3) is formed as Nitrite (NO2) digestion result by nitrobacter bacteria. It's harmless for fish in certain level and used by water plants as nutrition source.
Denitrification & denitration process is done by anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that lives in low/none oxygen level), to become Nitrogen & Oxygen.

Read more about aquarium cycle by clicking the next tabs.

NEW TANK SYNDROME

New tank syndrome is the condition when there's Aquarium cycle imbalance. It's signed by some conditions as follows :

Pet fish will die easily. It's caused by high level of aquarium Ammonia (NH3) and Nitrite (NO2). It should be zero for both.
Algae blooms in aquarium. It's caused by high level of fish Nitrate (NO3). It can be reduced by replacing 30-40% aquarium water regularly.

Complete Aquarium cycle proces can take 4-6 weeks, depends on the hobbyist effort to accelerate it. Some ways to shorten the process :

Use the live sand which already contained microorganism that take important parts in nitrogen cycle. You can take some sand from other fish tanks where the aquarium cycle already run well.
Take some Bio Filter Media s.a Bio filter substrate, sponge, bio-balls or bio-rings from other aquarium filters which their aquarium cycle already run well.
Add Beneficial Bacteria several times until reaching the aquarium cycle stability.

Check out my other guide on how to use water testing kits s.a Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate test kit.

FRESHWATER FISH SUPPLIES


Key Factors	Descriptions	Freshwater Fish Supplies
Media for bacteria habitat	Aquarium Cycle is all about Beneficial Bacteria. You need the right amount of surface area as Bacterial Bed for effective Nitrogen Cycle, which is vital to the health and life of your organisms. The right amount varies according to the biological needs of your tank, and will heavily influence your filter choice. • Media for Bacteria in Aquarium: Good Bio Substrate contains Heterotrophic Bacteria that will rapidly create a natural biological balance which makes cycling in a new aquarium faster and safer. Sand, gravel and wood are excellent media for bacteria colonization. Be careful when choosing aquarium substrates. It's safer to buy washed sand/gravel -made by trustable brand- from fish store. Avoid using lime sand & stone ! It can increase your aquarium water hardness & pH significantly and it can't be used at all even after you washed it several times, the lime stays. Driftwoods are are part of aquarium decoration where bacteria can also live, use old sink wood and remove the wood skin to avoid decomposition. • Media for Bacteria in Filtration system: Bio Filter Media (s.a : Bio Filter Substrates, Bio Balls, Bio Rings or Sponge) gives place for beneficial bacteria to colonize. The bacteria is important to convert toxins produced by organic waste into more friendly forms. You can adjust your filters's biological surface area based on your aquarium needs. Heavy bio-load (more crowded) should have bigger surface area. You can maximize your biological surface area by turning your filter into 100% biological filter. You can add Beneficial Bacteria directly into the water or spread directly on to your filter pad or media to immediately establish biological activity to stabilize aquarium environments. Cleaning tips : Don't remove all your biological filter media at once - bacteria takes a while to get established and removing it leads to catastrophic spikes in ammonia and pH. If your filter isn't designed for partial media changes, you can pack biological filter media in multiple filter bags, only rinse one at a time using it's own aquarium water.	Bio Substrate contains natural gravels and sands packed with living, water-purifying bacteria, state of the art clarifier, and a complete water conditioner. Tap water is all you need to get started, immediately begins the cycling process, eliminating new tank syndrome, and discouraging nuisance algaes. Bio Filter Substrate is high porosity biomedia that encourages beneficial bacterial growth which provides efficient biofiltration for the removal of nitrogenous waste such as ammonia & nitrites. Bio Balls will enable you to maintain large biological loads within much smaller filter areas. The dramatic increase in surface area is achieved by the unique geometric design of the smaller bio ball. Bio-rings/ Hollow Ceramic Rings are shaped as smooth, hollow ceramic tubes. This filter media can be used as Biological or Mechanical Filter Media : • As Biological filter media, it encourages beneficial bacterial growth for optimal filtration within canister filters. Media can be placed directly into the filter (Middle layer filtering), without a bag. • As Mechanical filter media, it works much like a sieve trapping articulate waste as it passes through the material. This coarse mechanical filter material is to be used as Bottom layer filtering. Its hollow ceramic design creates eddies which disburse the water into many paths. It traps large debris while creating an even flow of water for subsequent layers. • Natural wood and rocks are commonly used for aquascape, they are also excellent media for beneficial bacteria colonization. Genuine aquarium wood is not only a beautiful and natural addition to a freshwater aquarium, but it's essential for keeping "blackwater" rainforest tank (where tannins would be naturally present) and for some wood-eater fishes, like plecos and other suckermouth catfish which need a large amount of wood fibre for their properly digestion functions. • Artificial aquarium wood can give you an authentic, natural look without worrying about tannins. Wet Dry filter works by trickling aquarium water slowly through mechanical media, building up a good amount of oxygen before passing through the biological filter. This factor combined with greater surface area than canisters or power filters mean these filters are the best biological filters you can find and usually offer (or can be modified for) 3 stage filtration. Fluidized bed filters are 100% biological filtration using fine grained sand as filter media. Most biological filters won't use sand since water flow can easily disrupts it, but these fish tank filters work by suspending sand in a column of water for increased surface area and contact time. It's useful for heavy bio-loads aquariums which need great surface area for bacterial bed.
Oxygen supply	Enough oxygen level is very important for bacteria living.	Sponge filters consist of a piece of sponge or foam with an intake tube for an air pump/aerator to push aquarium water through them. Sponge filters provide good mechanical filtration (sponges are often used as the mechanical prefilter in the powered filters) and are excellent at biological filtration, with plenty of surface area that is easy for bacteria to colonize.
Water flow & Surface Agitation	Water flow is important for : Circulate water to make aquarium water temperature same on the whole. Spreading out oxygen and nutrition. Bring fish waste into filters. Don't just buy any aquarium pumps for your aquarium circulation !. First, you need to calculate the capacity of your aquarium water pump (gph pump) to get proper circulation. It is simple, just multiply your tank water volume with the turnover rate to get the gph pump. Turnover rates are the estimated hourly water-turnover needed for your specific tanks, it vary and mostly depend on the organisms that you keep. Surface agitation is important for : Gas exchange. Poor gas exchange can create smelly water problem. Prevent surface problems like oil slick and surface scum. You can also add Surface Cleaner devices which their intake systems can extract water from the surface into filtration systems.	There are various kinds of pumps available : Circulation pumps provide continuous and powerful water flow which can be directed freely. Circulation Pumps create high water volume output with low pressure making the pumps energy efficient with low heat emission. They usually include magnet-suction cup mounting system for free positioning in aquarium, easy removal and secure installation. To simulate natural river and reef currents, they are designed for use with timers and wavemaker systems. Aquarium Powerheads is small submersible aquarium water pump that usually attach to the aquarium walls using suctions. Some brands provide many attachments like venturi -for aeration-, rotating returns device or wavemakers attachment tube. Aquarium powerhead doesn't take up spaces, so you can put 2 or more aquarium powerhead at different points to create river-like currents. Remember to adjust the flows at comfortable level for your aquatic organisms. There are 3 types of Aquarium pumps : • Fully submersible aquarium pumps - for underwater use ONLY. For common use, submerged aquarium pumps are the best choice, they are quiet and very easy to install. They produce some heat, but usually won't affect much to your aquarium temperature. Take up space in your tank is the only disadvantage of the submerged aquarium pumps. • Utility /Centrifugal aquarium pumps. They are all-purpose pumps for aquariums. It can be used as a submersible OR external pump, also suitable for permanent outdoor use (for pond). • External aquarium pumps are more suitable for sump-type filtration that operates at high head-heights or big aquarium job. External use ONLY. Wavemakers are specifically designed to replicate the natural alternating rhythms of tides and currents for home aquariums. These wavemakers instantly create turbulent flow patterns with adjustable alternating cycle times. Wavemakers create good surface agitation to prevent surface problems like oil slicks or surface scum, also good bottom & middle water flow.
Nitrate build-up	Fish Nitrate build-up is a problem in any system : Freshwater organisms are resistant to certain level of fish nitrate (<40mg/liter). Regular partial water changes can keep low fish nitrate level. Saltwater organisms are far less tolerant (<10mg/liter), so saltwater setups often employ additional means of removing nitrates such as algal filters or live sand techniques .	There are many methods of nitrate reduction, but some of them are not effective! Read our complete article about this issue to get the whole picture. Denitrator / Nitrate Removal Filter is relatively a new device. So far, there are 2 methods available in the market : • Sulfur Denitrification. This method has been used for years in commercial water treatment. It uses Sulfur media to harbor a specific species of anaerobic bacteria for denitrification process and combines with Carbonate reactor (Calcareous media) to neutralize the acid (pH buffering). • Comprehensive Biological Filter. It contains at least dozens of different species of BOTH aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and will completely break down all organic matter that passes through it into gasses that escape into the atmosphere. This method has capability of reducing organic solids and Ammonia (as a common Biological filter) and as well as just Nitrates (Denitrator). The most common way to control the nitrates in aquariums is to do frequent water changes of 25% to 50% every week or two, BUT you must pay attention to fluctuating water parameters (such as pH and temperature), trace elements and potentially harmful chemicals & bacteria that are associated with water changes.