i’m super confused

[Harriet]

i am really really confused about how in the world the nitrogen cycle works cause when you look online everything tells you to put fish in first but other things say you have made a mistake if you have done that, i don’t understand how the good bacteria ends up there does it just grow itself or do i have to add it, i have already established tanks that have been running for ages and have fish who are years old in them yet i have never meant to a tank cycle i didn’t even know it was a thing i am asking now as i am getting a bigger tank and want to know how you do it. Is it possible my other tanks cycled themselves without me knowing? i regularly change the water and do regular water tests and everything is in the right range when i do i feed a variety of foods to my fish and remove any uneaten food i can. there’s just a lot of unanswered stuff i’m unsure what to look at online cause nothing is clear and everything says different stuff.

 

[charliebankston]

Yes, it grows on its own. You can add biological boosters to speed up the process but it grows as needed

 

[charliebankston]

I always cycle with fish, as long as your diligent about water changes and checking parameters. You can use some established filter media from your old tanks in the filter for the new one and that'll get it set up and cycled pretty quick

 

[Harriet]

thanks for replying this has given me much more insight into how it works and i’ll definitely be knowingly cycling this tanks i am definitely going to be very diligent with water changes and tests as my bond with my fish is really strong and i couldn’t forgive myself if they died

 

[charliebankston]

Don't stress about it, information overload. It is important. Your old tanks are plenty well cycled. I use some zebra danios at times to cycle a new tank if I don't have an established filter. I use seachem stability and fluval cycle biological enhancer in my tanks to help. If you go that route just follow the directions on the bottle

 

[charliebankston]

Yw! Good luck