BIOLOGICAL FILTRATION

The nitrogen cycle is the very essence of biological filtration, which keeps aquarium water clean. To achieve effective biological filtration, you need to have a viable population of beneficial bacteria in your filter media, organic matter, and oxygen. All these are present in a correctly set up aquarium.

Whatever filter system you will be using, you will be assured it will have filter media, which serves as the home of beneficial bacteria. Organic matter will be present in the aquarium once you have fishes and other living things, and they will serve as food for the beneficial bacteria. Lastly, oxygen will be supplied by your filter by creating agitation at the surface of the water. Beneficial bacteria are aerobic and therefore need oxygen to live. A correctly set up tank will have all four factors, leading to the full completion of the nitrogen cycle in about 30 days. The filter system should process ammonia and nitrites into the safest substance, which is nitrates.

Achieving a cycled tank has its challenges. Others fail to remember a newly set up tank is not yet capable of sustaining underwater life, since the filter is not biologically active yet.

The term “New Tank Syndrome” (NTS) is a fishkeeper’s nightmare. It occurs when fishes are fed in a newly set up tank incapable of processing the toxic substances. Ammonia quickly increases to levels that are too high for fishes. Since the filter has not developed a viable colony of Nitrosomonas that can consume the ammonia, the tank becomes poisonous to fishes. The more we feed the fishes, the more waste they produce and the higher the ammonia levels become.

To avoid NTS and increase the chances of a successful nitrogen cycle, it is recommended to start a tank with a few fishes to be fed once every other day for the next 30 days. This way, you will have less ammonia while your filter isn’t biologically active yet.