cycle aquarium

Salty Q&A: How Long Before My Tank Is Cycled?

May 24, 2016 by Jeff Kurtz 5 Comments

Question The fish store dealer who’s helping me through the setup of my first saltwater aquarium told me I need to give the tank time to cycle before I put any fish or corals in it. As of right now, the tank has been operating for about a month. Is that long enough for it … [Read More]

Filed Under: Maintenance, Question & Answer Tagged With: adding livestock, aerobic nitrifying bacteria, ammonia, ammonia spike, bacteria, biofilter, cycle aquarium, nitrate, nitrite, oxygenated water

5 Circumstances That Test Marine Aquarists’ Willpower

April 10, 2015 by Jeff Kurtz 5 Comments

Several elements/traits are key to success in the marine aquarium hobby. Among them are a fundamental understanding of aquarium-keeping principles, the proper equipment for the type of system you plan to keep, diligent attention to maintenance and detail, willingness to research the needs of each and every organism acquired, and a good dose of patience. … [Read More]

Filed Under: Livestock Tagged With: cycle aquarium, doomed species, hard-to-keep marine species, overfeeding, quarantine, willpower

Why We Favor Fishless Cycling with Cured Live Rock

March 6, 2015 by Jeff Kurtz 10 Comments

In years past, the most common method for establishing biofiltration in marine aquariums was to introduce some hardy, rugged fish to the system as an ammonia source and wait for the cycle to get established before adding more livestock. The usual go-to fishes for this purpose were damsels. While this cycling method does work, here … [Read More]