I'm confused about the policy of some fish stores of having your filter running for 5-10 days before adding fish. (Forget about fishless cycling for a second, since most newbies don't have the patience for that.) I had this conversation with a pet store employee:
Me: How long do I need to wait before adding fish to a new tank?
Employee: 5-10 days with the filter running.
Me: Why? I thought it was only 24 hours so that the temperature can stabilize and the water can get well oxygenated.
Employee: Its because it takes at least 5 days for the nitrogen cycle to get started.
Me: But how can the nitrogen cycle get started without a source of ammonia?
Employee: There's airborne bacteria that gets into the tank and gets it started.
??????
Is this true?
Me: How long do I need to wait before adding fish to a new tank?
Employee: 5-10 days with the filter running.
Me: Why? I thought it was only 24 hours so that the temperature can stabilize and the water can get well oxygenated.
Employee: Its because it takes at least 5 days for the nitrogen cycle to get started.
Me: But how can the nitrogen cycle get started without a source of ammonia?
Employee: There's airborne bacteria that gets into the tank and gets it started.
??????
Is this true?