Question: Cycling the tank?

[aaustin15]

Hi,
On my last thread someone mentioned that I need to cycle my tank?
does that just mean run the tank for a couple weeks before i put my axie in it so the water quality is good?
thanks!

 

[aaustin15]

(oh, and my tank is going to be a ten gallon, if it matters.)

 

[DeniseD]

There is an abundance of information online about cycling a tank, it's the same process for all filters.
Run the filter for a few weeks to let bacteria colonize in the filter media, some people speed this up in different ways, adding hardy fish, adding fish food, using squeezings from old media and using water from other tanks, there are also bottles that claim to have bacteria in them... from my experience, they don't work. If you have the time, just let it do it naturally.

Get the water tested every week either by your local pet shop or buy a testing kit(I would advise this, you WILL need it) also make sure you use a dechlorinater when doing water changes as chlorine from your tap kills a cycle.

 

[aaustin15]

thank you!

 

[Azhael]

Read the CC articles, and the possibly hundreds of threads that deal with cycling.
Also, i know a lot of people say a 10gallon is ok, but the larger the tank, the better. A larger volume means more stability, and a larger margin of error. Personally i find 10 gallons to be grossly insufficient for an adult axolotl.