Freshwater

182
Part III: Water, Chemicals, and Plants
water. Many sources of water (old wells and the like) may contain harmful
metals that a water conditioner can detoxify. Even if your water “tests safe,”
you never know when its properties may change, so a water conditioner is
always a good bet.
Cycling chemicals
We know it can be really hard to wait around for an aquarium to complete the
nitrogen cycle (see Chapter 14). Depending on the type of system you have —
freshwater, saltwater, or brackish — and the overall size of your tank, the entire
nitrogen cycle can take weeks or even months to complete. Cycling chemicals
have been around for a long, long time. During the nitrogen cycle, beneficial
bacteria convert harmful ammonia (produced by fish waste) into less toxic
nitrites. Following this conversion, another kind of beneficial bacteria convert
the nitrites into even less harmful nitrates. The nitrates are only harmful to
your fish after they begin to build up in large quantities. The nitrates can be
removed from your aquarium water though water changes.
Some cycling products can start your nitrogen cycle and speed it up as well.
The appealing idea behind this particular product is really very simple. The
faster your tank cycles, the faster you can add more new fish to your aquarium.
And the sooner you have fish in your aquarium, the sooner your neighbors
will envy you.
If these natural bacteria products speed up the cycling time and give your
starter fish that extra edge, why not use them? The only danger that we can
see is that of looking at cycling chemicals as a cure-all for a tank you overstocked.
These products are an aid to the nitrogen cycle, not a substitute for it!
Put it this way: If you set up a 55-gallon freshwater aquarium and toss in a
couple of tablespoons of cycling formula in an attempt to offset the 75 goldfish
you started your tank with, you are in for some serious problems. These
products have a specific purpose, and should not be pushed to the limit.
Bacteria in a bottle
Some products speed up your aquarium’s cycling time because they contain
massive amounts of various beneficial bacteria held in a dormant state. After
you add the bacteria formula to your aquarium water, the bacteria become
completely regenerated and rapidly consume ammonia and nitrites. These
different types of micro-organisms combine to create a powerful nitrifying