Check out our new series "10 Things" where we cover the top 10 things you should know about fish keeping topics!! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l6tpp9Ve2tDIo40.html

I realize this video is a hundred years old but thank you for telling me how I can prepare my new larger tank for my pair of common goldfish that I love with all my heart!!

My retinas are on fire from the countless videos I've watched on cycling a new tank & I was still confused in the end. This is by far the best, to the point video. Thank you. I now know what the hell I'm doing 😂

im a new fish tank owner and ive been doing reading about cycling fish tanks alot. im autistic and i wasnt able to find a article or video to help me understand want it means. this video helped me understand so much. thank u!

I am a former aquarium store owner and this video about cycling is the best I've ever found... I hope this will help others to show customers how aquariums actually work... Love this!!! And subscribed!!!

Like and comment 7 years later. I really like your new and old videos.

Lol I dont have friends that's why I want fish to be my friends

I just wanna say you guys are my favorite KZfaq channel right now dealing with fish and aquariums! I myself have always been into aquariums and recently I’ve decided I am going to start breeding for my enjoyment and of course the $ but so glad there are channels like this I could watch your channel all night and take notes.

Finally someone who can explain fish keeping to were I can understand! I'm new to the fish hobby and am stepping up from a single bettafish to now a 5 gallon guppy tank. I've had trouble the first few rounds but after watching this video I know what I did wrong. You sir have saved a lot of fish with your videos! Thank you so much!

7:50 Did anybody see his fish just eat all that sand?? XD

I'm glad you like it!! That's why we did it.

I been searching about nitrogen cycle for a month now, trying to cycle my tank. This is literally the only video on the internet that makes sense! thank you I get it now!

I have watched many videos on how to cycle a tank, and must say yours made more sense to me than any of the others.. I just got a 55 gallon tank and will be starting to cycle it soon... Thanks for the help!!

Thankyou so much for your help and time john...you're great...you and lisa...thanks for being here! !😊😊🐠🐟🐡

Hi, as an ex importer and breeder for many years, I would like to say that your videos are very informing and yeah, I always said keep it simple. If I may add...I agree with you. I use to cycle a new tank before a shipment by doing your method of using old filter material from another thank. Its free and fast. Keep up the good work..from your fellow fish nut from over the northern boarder.

Skip to 2:10 to avoid his rambling

thank you so much, this is the first time I actually understand what cicling is !

Wow your version is the simplest one could comprehend....thank you so much in making our lives easy with the topic of cycling a tank...god bless u...greetings from Malaysia..

I'm watching this video a little late but I needed to hear this because I am setting up a new tank. Thank you sooooo much for this information. You laid it out perfectly. Now I know what I need to do!

Hey man just want to say im a new subscriber to your channel and so far i enjoy your content very much i love how you keep things simple im sorta new to cichlids im on my 2nd tank now my first one was mainly fish from my neighbor who used to breed them but got tired of the hobby and gave me his fish they died as years passed and now ive got a new tank going and im glad to be a part og this channel to get me all the info to be a successful tank owner.

Yaaaay! I knew it would work! I'm hanging my new filter for my new 30 gallon on my 55 gallon right now and was searching to see if that would work faster then just moving my bio ball and some plants lol. You're always so straight forward and helpful 😍

I keep coming back to your videos! I'm starting a new 55 gal tank. I haven't had a tank in over 11 years. Soaking up all the info.

Thank you for the info! Now I feel much better about setting up for my beginner fish tank!

One of the best tank cycling videos out there . Much appreciated sir .

I agree with not using the ammonia to do a fishless cycle. I also use the bottled bacteria by nutrafin with no problem. Did try API & still had a fight with nitrites. Excellent video. I use prime, give it a good half hour circulation & add bacteria. When I did fight nitrites I used Stable by Seachem to get thru it. No fish loss.

thank you so much for making this so much easier to understand!!

Thank you for making this video! Your video is the best video I’ve found on cycling.

Thank you so much. This is by far the best video on cycling man. I have loss 4 goldfish back to back even after trying everything the guy at the pet store told me. Which now I find out after watching this video he doesn't know what he's talking about. But thank you so much

This is great thanks. I’ve read about adding pure ammonia to cycle the tank too, but I will go with the nutrafin or fluval for sure. I’m starting my first fish tank. Thanks again for the info.

The BEST video I've seen on this issue. Thank you for your recent efforts. The videos have been fun to watch.

Wow! I've been watching so many youtube videos on the nitrogen cycle. I learned a little from watching those videos, but I still didn't fully understand. Now, after seeing your video I understand the nitrogen cycle. You explained it the best " we get rid of the nitrate by doing water changes because a bacteria will not get rid of it" thanks for your good and smart way of explaining.

I love how simple you made it. You are an excellent teacher

Great range of word library. Great way of putting things into words Easy explanation Great job Buddy. Thank you very much

Such greats tips. I hope to get a new tank up and running this month. Of course have to wait for the fish, but everything I am learning from you and writing it down, like I'm in college again, is worth it as a beginner. One of the reason why I love KZfaq. Thank you.

thank you. I liked cycle too, and wondered why the pet stores wasn't carrying it, anymore, so now I know. Very Good Information. Thanks a lot.

Very simple and informative! Great video, thanks!

Wow that's a huge compliment, thanks so much!!!

Loved the video!! So many confusing ones... I'm new and just finished cycling my tank...wish I would have seen yours first!!!

I've used pure ammonia plus the nitrifying bacteria in a bottle to cycle four tanks, and am in the process of cycling another. To me, it's the best method. I added them two days ago and already have ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings. Really awesome tank btw.

I used this on my cichlid 120. Did the 3 days startup and added 12 juvenile cichlids on day 4. Never got an ammonia spike at all. Been up for 2 weeks now. Started seeing low nitrates and low nitrates. Did a couple water changes and things look great.

Great vids. Love them! My technique is this. It takes me 1-1/2 weeks to cycle but when done I add in about 10 to 12 inches of fish per 35 gallons right away. Never had an issue. 1) Let water sit in new tank for 2 days to get out chlorine (also add water conditioner) 2) Take sponge from old tank and put in new tank. 3) As you add in sponge also add in the bottled bacteria (Love Marineland) 4) Add ammonia to about 2 ppm 5) test regularly 6) when ammonia goes to 0.5 bring up to 2 ppm again. 7) Do this until 2 ppm of ammonia is gone within 24 hour and nitrite doesn't show up. (In the beginning ammonia will go away but nitrite lingers) So if you add 2 ppm of ammonia in morning, by next morning there should be no ammonia or nitrites. Tells me the bacteria is growing rapidly. 8) Nitrates are usually high now. Do a 30% to 40% water change and let add in water (like letting gallons of water sit for a week in a cabinet or something and use that). 9) Add lots of fish! Works for me so thought I share.

excellent video. you made it so simple to all beginners. thank you!

that's one of the best tanks ive ever seen amazing turn around

Best advice I've heard on cycling new aquarium 👍

Thank you so much For this Special Fish Wisdom Information video. I needed this information!!

John, Thank You. Your videos are very Educational.

Thank you! Finally someone helped me understand this!!

New subscriber and a newbie aquarium owner, after getting a huge amount of contradictive info from several members of staff from the same branch of our local Pets At Home store, your video has helped me understand so much about the importance of cycling etc. Got the API Master test kit, taken info on board and feel more confident now, thanks to your simple but informative info. Thank you so much :D

Great video! Really good information that now takes this crucial step and makes it a lot less stressful.

This video is absolutely phenomenal, it provides so much information, thank you for sharing, I always look forward to your new videos. BTW you have the most beautiful fish in that tank. thank you for making time on your super busy schedule and help newbies like me.

Got back into the hobby recently and need a crash course on the cycling. Thank you

I watched many N2 Cycle video, u really stand out all. Thanks a lot

helped so much, thank you!!

I couldn't agree more that the fishless cycle is the way to go, problem is many newbies don't have the patience that we do.

and I just bought fluval cycle! 😄 thankyou for advice, so excited. ..

This video was so helpfull even doh its nearly 10 years old I have a bottle of fluvial cycle and I just put it in my tank thank u.

I didn't understand cycling... now I do! Thank you! :-)

Great video and breaking down that info!! Tank looks amazing!!!

by far the best cycling video !! thank you

just cant get over how good it looks

Thanks John, best advice, simple and clear. its always a pleasure to see your enthusiasm.

Hi John.I thought I knew a little.bit about keeping.tangys .but you and Lisa are really expanding my knowledge about my fish Thank you John.fabulous videos mate .thank you.

I've watched 100s of KZfaq videos on this. Should've just started with yours! Aquarium cycling for dummies...and boy, am I a dummy at this point! Lol.

just started watching your vids and like them alot so far, so keep up the good work! my question is, I am planning a new tank - going from a 40 gallon breeder to a 110gal tank in the future. I have an aquaclear 50 and a fluval 206 running on it right now. the plan is to seed several large capacity sponge filters in the tank before the upgrade and then use the fluval 206 for some mechanical filtration needs and all of the chemical needs once the sponges are established. the 40gal breeder tank has about 10 mid sized semi adult cichlids in it reaching no more than 3-5'' but a few will grow larger such as my bumble bee etc. do you think my 110 will go through a nitrogen cycle if I reuse already established filtration, subsrate (established pool filter sand) and decor? Also what are your thoughts on seeding filtration? if the current bio load is being handled by already established media will added filtration even be able to seed? (the last question seems like something a nube would ask lol but I am kind of new, I have been keeping fish for a year and keeping african cichlids for 9 months)

You know... you guys do a good job making videos and explaining. I co.pletely trust you guys too!

If your cycling a new tank with live fish start with 2 cheap resilient fish and after a month, slowly start adding more fish to allow the bacteria in the filter to catch up once you know bacteria exists in the tank.. I buy live plants at the same time on a belief that bacteria will be on them to get things started and them absorbing ammonia also 'softening' that initial spike. The worst thing you can do is add 10 fish to a small tank as the water will be to toxic due to the few if any bacteria been able to break down such large qty's of waste. This method is also good for a new tank (or keeper) to test and fine-tune all the equipment such as heaters, pumps and to get into a regular pattern yourself. If a heater fails and kills 2 fish, its better than coming back to 20 well cooked fish! As pointed out in the video, you really need a test kit to accurately know when that spike has occurred, if your in doubt about the tank water bring a sample to your local store and they will be able to test it for a small charge. Testing the tank regularly is good as many variables such as PH and water hardness in regular tap-water can kill/upset fish if not accounted for. A good fish store will give you free advice even if you don't buy anything and will not try to sell your exotic or many fish on the same day. Some people view cycling a tank with fish as cruel and prefer the 'fishless cycle' where pure ammonia is added as opposed to fish pooing in the water to generate the ammonia. Don't be fooled of this method being a instant method of cycling a tank, while slightly faster it still takes a few weeks for the bacteria to grow and requires constant monitoring. You really need a test kit if your aim is to speed up the process by using optimal amounts of ammonia (toxic levels to fish) to promote bacteria growth or add fish in the shortest amount of time possible. Personally I don't use or have much faith in the bottled bacteria and have heard of it causing issues later down the track. I fully agree with bringing items from other tanks and like your idea of having your filter operate on someone else's established tank for a month. You should still slowly introduce fish to the system though with either method. My last advice would be to be realistic with stocking density's, fish need more water than you expect and even tiny fish can have big demands. Don't rush into things, healthy tanks take time to setup and are both stressful on the owner and fish in the early days. Good-luck

Love your videos ! Just getting into fish so your my savior 🙏

that one big yellow guy with the dark spots on our left, your right shoulder, looks like he/she is ready for their close up! like a kid in the back ground of the news reporter going back and forth and looking at the camera lol

Thanks so much, that means a lot!!

I just found your channel a wanted to thank you for all the great information! I just set up my 75G tank that has been sitting empty for years (my 28g and 7.5g salt water reef aquariums have been keeping me busy), and I'm planning to keep African Cichlids like I have in the past. Thanks again, since now I have an idea as to what to start with when I'm going to add my Cichlids! I did use the API quick start, but the lady in the fish shop told me that I was waisting my money, since how can bacteria be alive in that little bottle? I added some Argentinian tetras to get the cycle going and they seem pretty happy to me. But if you trust this stuff, then so will I!

Thanks so much!!

Thanks for the break down Really enjoy watching you and Lisa. I just went through mycobacterium with my beta. Had no idea how common it was or it's potential zoonotic possibilities. Neither did my fish store. I got all the info from a fish vet. Perhaps you could do a video on it. Again, thank you

Awesome video, thank you. I learned so much!

It’s crazy to think that this was 9 years ago since it feels like it was only about 2 years ago. Btw this was really helpful. I want new fish and I’m doing research.

I brought over both lava rock and filter media over from my 30gal to set up my 60gal. I also used some API Quick Start. Worked great. Thanks KG for the great tips. Tank tested out perfectly within a week and I've had zero fish loss.

I cannot say enough thank you’s for this video! 😁

The video is nice, and informative, but I am surprise that someone that seems so knowledgeable has never done the "fishless cycling method". In my opinion, and I have been keeping different species of fresh water tropical fish for over 40 years, the fishless cycling method is faster, easier, and spares the lives of many fish that often die while tolerating high levels of ammonia and/or nitrite that inevitably occur during cycling. Another point I would like to add, is about the water changes; it is actually recommended that partial water changes be done while cycling fish tanks conventionally (e.g, with fish in it to produce ammonia; as very well explained in the video). By doing water changes beneficial bacteria (nitrosomonas and nitrobacter) are not removed since they are not free-floating, but attach to any solids present in the tank (filter, glass walls, decorations, gravel, heaters, etc...). Again, just some constructive criticism. There is good literature about the "fishless cycling method" online.

Loving you and lisas channel. Always excited when I see you have uploaded a video. You are tough competition for the other aquatic channels on youtube. Welldone to you both and thanks for all the videos. Keep it up, and lisa, don't be scared of us, your doing great !!! :)

Very very helpful, thanks 😊 👍

We still carry the Nutrafin Cycle at my store and we pretty much deal exclusively with Hagen. We do have the Fluval types as well but its relatively new.

Thanks Lou, my substrate video is uploading right now and I mention you in it. I'll be putting a link to one of your videos on it once its done uploading...

Wowwww thaaaaanks. I am cycling this 36 cloudy new tank tested for high nitrates I did a 25 percent water change and added prime. I hope I can add fish soon

The way I have always done it which takes longer, is to put small fish I have entirely just used danios 1 per 10 gallons of water in the tank in the beginning for 2 to 4 or a month the longer the better. This starts the cycle then I start slowly adding more of the fish I actually wanted in the tank. It has worked for me for 10 years now. I might try one these faster methods next time.

Very nicely explained

I know this is an old video but this was so helpful

Thanks for this mate, really helpful.

wow great video!!Thank you so much!

Thanks for the update on the name takeover on cycle. Wasn't aware of that.

That makes total sense, I LOVE Albino diddy comps!!! We will absolutely be getting more, we have the regulars that are really nice but we're out of the Albinos. You know me, I'll announce when we get our next shipment and unless our supplier is out we'll get em:-)

I'm so excited to buy my first aquarium and so appreciative of all your videos and experience. Thank you

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

Still confused a bit but... You definitely have the best explanation thus far.

I believe a lot of people SHOCK their tanks on accident trying to be great fish owners and changing large amounts at a time. Shocking your tank and fish with different water hardness, ph, temp. etc can throw it out of wakk quick, And another tip I learned the hard way... Always use a water polisher (pad) on top of your media, I removed the 3 pads on my FX5, discarding them and forgetting to replace them. My media gunked up in about 2 months and could start to see alge blooms.

Omg tank you so much! I have a new fish tank, it’s been settled for 3 days and I got one fish yesterday. I’m here panic 😱 when I came to my office this morning and my fish tank water is cloudy. 😫

Informative👏🏽and👏🏽to👏🏽the👏🏽point👏🏽thank👏🏽you👏🏽

Very good point...

So basically... Just have friends who have aquariums. Ok. Very helpful.

you couldn't of put it any better mate I've subbed👍👍

nw. cycling my 20g now after thoroughly cleaning it out. really thorough.its last occupant recently passed. prepping to get a betta for it...

thought this video was very informative, excellent info