Comments on: 2. Aquarium Cycling

By: David Bogert

David Bogert — Wed, 27 May 2026 03:28:52 +0000

In reply to karolina.

In reply to karolina …………… Any high protein food …… fish or human ….. will do just fine.

By: karolina

karolina — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:22:31 +0000

Hey Dave!

Id like to thank you for such detailed website you have created. It helps a lot not to get lost in all conflicting information online.

I have a question: I am trying to cycle a tank (fishless, but with plants) can I add some human food or dried mealworms instead of fish food?

By: David Bogert

David Bogert — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:21:51 +0000

In reply to strwberryjam99.

In reply to strawberryjam99 …………. you’re probably “cycled” and your filtration just isn’t up to crystal clear numbers. I feel confident you can probably go ahead with the betta.

By: strwberryjam99

strwberryjam99 — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:45:49 +0000

Hi,
I set up a new tank on Jan 21, 2026. It is a 5.5 gal, heated and filtered tank to hold just one betta in the future. The filter is the betta flo internal filter from top fin using the filter cartridge it comes with. I am attemping to do fishless cycling using food only, however my water is still cloudy. I thought it would have gone clear by now since it has been approx 13 weeks. There is brown gunk on the filter cartridge. I stopped feeding it approx 2-3 weeks ago as I thought maybe I overfed it. Im tempted to change the water and start over but am wondering if I should continue to leave it alone. I would appreciate your thoughts on my situation! I do not have any testing materials but I can bring a water sample to the big chain pet store near me if needed.
Big thanks to you for this website!

By: David Bogert

David Bogert — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 01:53:18 +0000

In reply to shoatnl.

In reply to shoatnl …………… Unless your PH is greater than 7.6 there is no need to do water changes. Just keep on trucking. If the pH is greater than 7.6 do a 50% water change. If the pH is greater than 8.4 do a 75% water change.

By: shoatnl

shoatnl — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:19:48 +0000

Hi Mr. Bogert,

A big thanks for sharing your knowledge on this site. It has been very helpful! I am new to fish keeping and have NO idea what I am doing.

Here’s my dilemma. I have a 29 gallon tank with one goldfish and 5 minnows. I have only had this tank for a month and didn’t know anything about cycling a tank. I am in the process of trying to cycle my tank but I think I a doing things wrong. I have the fluval aqua clear HOB filter. I read information about the fish in simple cycle where you feed the fish every two days and go from there. No water changes etc. When I use the API master test kit, my ammonia levels always test very green (it looks like 4 to 8 on the chart). when the ammonia levels hit that high, do I do a water change? I would think i do… The nitrite is testing at 0. any advice would be greatly appreciated!

By: David Bogert

David Bogert — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 22:37:39 +0000

In reply to EBT.

In reply to Eve ……. At 6.8 pH your tank is completely cycled and ammonia doesn’t need to be a concern. No need for any water changes. But for optimum amano growth I would look at KH and GH. A bag full of crushed coral in the filter would seem to be called for.

By: EBT

EBT — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:09:04 +0000

Hello Mr. Bogert, my 15 gallon, 1 year old, planted tank with an UGF – one uplift tube, and a K1 micro moving bed attached (open bottom) directly to the other modified lift tube, plus a Tidal 35 with 30 PPI Poret foam. There are 3 Amano shrimp as the only livestock right now. The tank is having a “mini cycle” with <0.25 ammonium (0.00 free ammonia) < 0.25 nitrite and 20 ppm nitrate. The pH is 6.8. I just added another airstone. I’d rather not kill the shrimp……could you tell me what to do to get this tank back to being safe for the shrimp? I did run a UV sterilizer for 2 days.I have organic composted cow manure to add to the Tidal if need be. Will do 15% water changes……every other day?
Thank you, Eve

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 18:32:40 +0000

In reply to JB.

In reply to JB …….. No research. Sorry. Just good old common sense that says fish are a lot more tolerant of stress than we give them credit for.

By: JB

JB — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 09:47:37 +0000

Can you cite any scientific evidence to show that vibrations are harmless? Everyone else seems to think that vibrations from appliances affect longterm health of fish by inducing stress. As with other fishkeeping issues, this may be based on misconceptions or misapplication of research findings, but I’d like to know. Thanks again for your time and help.