So you want the enter the wet and wild world of Aquarium Keeping do ya?

Contributions from P. Velasco, G. Casey, and J. Claggett

NOTE: This is a thread pulled from the CAAS web forum. Find the original topic on the CAAS Forum

So you want the enter the wet and wild world of Aquarium Keeping! First of all welcome to the addiction. Lets get you on the right track.

I will limit the discussion to Freshwater as I have little experience with Saltwater. Alot of this does transfer to SW.

Nitrogen Cycle

An understanding of this cycle should be your first concern. Forget about all the equipment, fish, etc. Know this cycle and you will be a successful aquarist. This is the most important concept to learn before you buy any fish or equipment.

Fish make Metabolic Waste (Poop, etc) + Uneaten Food + Dead Plants + Organic material = Ammonia

Of course it is more complicated than this simple equation. This is extremely basic, but it gives you enough understanding of the cycle. Ammonia even in low concentrations (If you can measure any with a traditional kit) will give certain death to most fish. Of course there are exceptions, but few.

So how do fish keepers deal with deadly Ammonia. We culture bacteria that will turn the Ammonia into a less harmful form, Nitrate. These are called the "Beneficial Bacterias". They do the work to clean the tank of ammonia. They are not present in enough quantities at first to take care of all the ammonia. This is why ammonia builds up in newly set-up tanks. It takes some time, typically 4-6 weeks, before enough bacteria is built up in an aquarium for the water to become safe. You can not speed the process starting from nothing.

NEW TANK SYNDROME

Nitrogen cycle bah!!!

Ok we warned you. This is what is going to happen next:

The water is turning milky or cloudy. This is a sign of an excess of ammonia and not enough bacteria. This is the biggest sign that something is wrong. At this point is where you will see fish deaths or fish diseases happen.

This process is called the NEW TANK SYNDROME:

1. Buy tank add water
2. Add fish same day
3. Few days later water gets cloudy - Bacteria building up + ammonia
4. Next day = DEAD FISH
5. POed Fish keeper
6. Quit a wonderful hobby in frustration
7. Sell me thier tank for cheap (ha ha)

So what to do as a responsible fish keeper? If you are reading this you are doing better than most.

1. Never buy fish the same time you buy a new tank. Remember it will take 4-6 weeks to break the tank of "New Tank Syndrome".
2. Beg, Borrow, Steal some gravel or filter material from a fishy friend. These will have been seeded with the bacteria that you want. It will speed up the process of breaking in your tank.
3. Buy beneficial bacteria. There are commercial products containing the bacteria. Your mileage will vary with each product. I have no personal experience with these products
4. Websearch on these topics - Aquarium Cycling, New Tank Syndrome, or Nitrogen Cycle.

Knowing what I know now this is what I would do if I needed to start a tank immeidately.

1. First piece of equipment I would ever buy is a Gravel vac or Phython. The second being most preferred. This by far is the most important piece of equipment you will ever own.
2. If I really needed to add fish on day one (Naw I never do this!!) I will carefully watch the tank. Any sign of cloudiness it will get a 75% - 50% waterchange. Even if not needed I will go 50% waterchanges everyday for the first two weeks. Make sure you vacumm the gravel of any excess food and fish poop.
3. Stock very lightly. For example - 10-12 Rummynose tetras in a 10g, A pair of blue rams in a 10g. Still in both cases I am doing 50% WC Daily until the bacteria catches up.
4. Change Water, Change Water, Change water.

Ok enough rambling. This is a good start. Hopefully more people will chime in on this post. Give you tips on how to quickly start a new tank!

Response to post by G. Casey

Oftentimes I have needed a tank and had to set one up from scratch. These are some of my thoughts on the matter. I will use water from an already established aquarium. The little beneficial bacteria grow on everything. They are not just in the bio-filter but in the gravel/sand, on the plants, the decorations, the walls, everywhere.

I also like to jump start the process by using a seeded(in a cycled tank for a few weeks) sponge filter. I have purchased "used" sponges when buying a "new" sponge filter from my local fish store (LFS). If you do not like the idea of the sponge filter in your tank then you can always remove it after a few weeks when the bacteria have colonised your tank.

I like to feed sparingly in the beginning. I doubt any of us has ever had a fish starve to death. Too much food will kill the little guys far quicker than not enough.

And as Paul so elegantly states...water changes water changes water changes. This is probably the single biggest mistake that folks make when first starting in the hobby, and a wonderfully addicting hobby it can be.

Response to post by J. Claggett

AWESOME!

I'm glad we've finally started a thread on this. A few thoughts.

1. I always thought the cloudy water was a bacterial (not the good bacterias we're looking for, but also not bacteria that hurt fish either) bloom that often happened at the same time as a cycling tank. However, the 'new tank syndrome' (high ammonia or nitrite) is invisible...so just because you don't have a bacteria bloom that causes cloudy water...don't think you're out of the woods yet with this problem.
2. I'd warn people against most of the over the counter products they sell to seed bacteria. I think most of them are worthless...and then make people think they can skip water changes. The one exception I've read about is bio-spira...which I've used before and really like. I think it's gone through some really extensive testing to proove that it actually works. However, it's pricey and has to be kept refridgerated and has a short shelf life.
3. If you have the reading stamina, I've always thought...
   http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycling.php
   was a really complete article on this subject.