-Cycling Process-

The cycling process is when the tank is first set up. All the microbs and small organism need to basically get used tot he tank (lame terms) and make it suitable for life (fish and livestock). To do this the tank must be up and running WITHOUT fish for a few weeks. This lets the tank become establish before adding fish. If you add fish before cycling you risk killing it with large nitrate levels that tend to fluctuate during the cycling process. Cycling is different for each tank and can take from a few weeks to a couple months. A diatom bloom (algae) will occur during the cycling process which will signal nearing the end of the cycling process. It is suggested tha you add the cheato into the tank during the cycling process to speed it up and rid the tank of nitrates.



-Water Quality and Salinity Level.-

For the sake of keeping things consistent I suggest using RODI water or premixed saltwater available at most major petstores. Also I would suggest using one brand of salt mix and keeping with it to avoid any unseen water parameter changes. The specific gravity of natural saltwater from the ocean is approximately 1.026. I suggest running a salinity level of about 1.024-1.025 in a smaller tank because of the water evaporation. In a small closed system like this you NEED to monitor the water level and salinity as closely as possible. Any drop in water level means salinity level will go up. Water changes need to be done on a weekly basis. I do about a 10% minimum every week for water changes.



-Test Kits-

Please do not buy test strips. They are not very exact and on a small closed system such as this I would not suggest it. I would get the chemical test kits.



-Cheato-

It is a naturally occuring plant. It is technically a kind of algae/moss. It is used in salt water aquariums to lower nitrate levels and prolong water quality.

