Beneficial Bacteria

Question
QUESTION: Hi Ron,

I just purchased a new 55 gallon tank, and I started reading about how to properly start a fish tank. And I found out that the tank needs beneficial bacteria to be able to get rid of the waste fish produce, right?

And I wanted to know how do I introduce the bacteria into my tank. I already purchased Flourite gravel, is there already bacteria in that? Or do I have to buy it from a bottle? And if it does come in a bottle, which company would you recomend?

Thanks a lot Ron, sorry for the long answers.
Thomas.

ANSWER: Hi Thomas,
  Beneficial bacteria are always present to some degree in water and in an aquarium. They key is to let them multiply to reach the number needed to keep a tank happy and healthy.  We call this "cycling" a tank.  You can buy a bottle of stuff to "jump start" a tank, but I never do that.  The tried and true method of starting a tank is to start it slowly.  Set up the tank and put in a FEW fish, maybe a couple.  As these fish eat, their feces will enter the water, feed the bacteria and the bacteria will multiply.  After a few weeks, you can add more fish and so on.  The whole process takes about 6 weeks for a tank to completely cycle and stabilize.  If you add too many fish, too quickly, they will be fine at first, but around 3-6 weeks, suddenly they will start dying and you could quickly loose all the fish. This happens because the fish waste has overrun the ability of the number of beneficial bacteria to neutralize the waste.  It is also important during these early stages not to overfeed the fish. You do not want rotting food in the tank.  

Bottom line: take it slow and you will have a happy and healthy tank.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So, I can say that there is already some bacteria in my tank right now? I'm also adding flakes into my tank, I heard it's good for the bacteria since it gives them ammonia, which they eat, is this OK to do?

You also say I should use fish to help with my cycling, which ones do you perfer?

Thanks again Ron,
Thomas.

Answer
Hi Thomas,
  Do not put flakes into the tank if there are no fish in there. That won't help.   

  As for which fish to start with, that is up to you. As long as you put only a couple in the tank, you can put most any fish in there.  I would not put an extremely expensive fish in there to start with.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>