How do you cycle a tank?

I started a Koi Pond's filter off this way actually, though Freshwater fish are a LOT less fussy then salt water fish. My roommate at the time went swimming in the pool after us having discussed the whole thing of the filter needing to be seeded so it could break down fish urine, and that's why I was throwing various debris into the pond and filter later that day. He confided in me afterward that he had seeded the pond with urine to help the filter get started faster. I decided against going swimming in the pond myself after this confession.

 

use the food method not the damsel method, you shouldn't put fish in a aquarium with subpar conditions. Also a damsel isn't a good tank mate for seahorses, they are very aggressive.

 

If you are new to the hobby please avoid seahorses. They are extremely finicky eaters and have many very specialized needs. I have learned a lot about them from talking directly to professional aquarists and I am setting up a tank soon. Even professionals have a lot of difficulties with them, and if you are new, they are probably too delicate a creature to have your first go with. Good luck

LCP

 

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I pee"d in my standup humidifier once, I was pretty drunk thought it was the bathroom.

 

lmao!

 

Never put something in your tank that you don't want to keep, when it comes to cycling with a fish. Damsels are aggressive and just plain annoying to get back out of the tank if you cycle with one IMO.

I suggest just buying a raw shrimp from a grocery store. Pop that puppy in and watch it turn to mush. As it does this, it decomposes into Ammonia, and your bacteria in the tank will catch up and turn it into nitrite, then nitrate. When your Ammonia and Nitrite hit zero, the cycle is complete.

Using "used" water from an LFS and precured liverock will shorten the cycle immensely. Ours was about 2 weeks tops, maybe 3 (it might still be finishing up). But that's it, thanks to that method and some clownfish and a piece of shrimp.

 

Is this a correct summation?

ammonia->nitrite->nitrate->gas

Ammonia is added to the system (via damsel pee or maybe your drunk neighbors pee or rotting food) then in the presence of the ammonia nitrosomas bacteria begins to build and converts the ammonia to nitrite, with nitrite present nitrobactor begins to build and converts the nitrite to nitrate. Then your denitrifications process (live sand, live rock etc) converts the nitrates to a gas.

How long this takes would seem to be dependent on how quickly the bacteria multiply?

Then you start looking at the algae and diatoms process