ITS THE NITROGEN CYCLE!!!

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 HI FRIENDS!!!


It might look like my caps lock got stuck, but I am just excited. I get to talk to you about the nitrogen cycle today :) 


To start, here is a link to BRS about cycling a reef tank. 

Here is a link to R2R talking about the nitrogen cycle.


If you have never checked out either pages, I urge you to give them a visit. BRS is a great source of information for the hobby and R2R is one of the more active forums that discuss more complex mechanisms in the hobby. 


A quote from K-Philly in the R2R link sums up the nitrogen cycle really well; "From a general standpoint, it is in the most basic sense a culturing and promotion of particular groups of bacteria that target inorganic wastes or organic wastes, to to utilize them for growth. This utilization in turn, benefits the hobbyist by providing a natural way to expel these toxins from their aquatic systems."

 

This is in short why live rock and sand are so important as the backbone for filtration. Nitrogen is converted into different chemicals through various stages of the cycle. In the last stage the bacteria expel it out as a gas which floats out of the the tank as a bubble. It takes time to build up a healthy and sustainable population of bacteria to complete the nitrogen cycle. This is why cycling your tank is so important. It can take 1-3 months! But it is worth it. If you skip out on a reliable cycle you will more than likely notice undesirable effects such as uncontrollable algae. 

 

The cycle is often started with dry rock and sand and ammonia is then introduced in a number of ways. Once the cycle is complete and the bacteria is thriving, it will need a constant source of nutrients to stay active. This is normally not an issue because at this point it is safe to add fish and coral (slowly). But it is also why you should not over filter a tank.


If you have any questions let me know!!


-FFF

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