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Anonymous
>>301526 >But set up the tank first and let it run for a week before you put fish in otherwise you will be very frustrated as the fish will die within a day.
Probably a troll, but, to OP: The cycling of a freshwater tank BEGINS when you PUT FISH IN. This starts the production of ammonias into the water, via fish waste/food. Obviously, you only want to put a small fraction of the tank's full stocking capacity (usually only a couple inches of fish per 10gal, depending on waterchanges), so fish don't die from the ammonia spike.
As beneficial bacteria begins to grow, the ammonia in the water begins to be converted to nitrite. The bacteria take ammonia and oxygen and convert it into nitrites and energy, which is why they hang out in the filter floss (high oxygenation).
The final step of the "cycling" process happens when the second group of beneficial bacteria grows, the bacteria that converts the toxic nitrites into nitrates. This whole process takes 6-8 weeks, not one week, and requires fish to be in the tank (unless you are doing a fishless cycle obviously).
Then, 10% weekly water changes are necessary to rid the tank of the nitrates before they reach critical levels.
Read: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
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