#55 gallon goldfish tank setup how to#

You need to use a test kit to test your water during the cycling process to see whether you’ve built up a bacteria colony that are getting rid of your ammonia and nitrite and turning them into nitrate. Great! Wait, what? tests?! Yeah, this will feel a bit like chemistry class, but it’s important (and can be fun!). All you need to do is set up your tank as if the fish were already in it – including adding gravel (if you want gravel!), installing a suitable aquarium filter and switching your filter on – then regularly add ammonia until your water tests show zero ammonia, zero nitrite and some nitrate.

#55 gallon goldfish tank setup how to#

(You’ll prevent nitrate getting too high by doing regular water changes.) How to cycle a goldfish tankĬycling a goldfish tank is really easy.

Now, nitrate is still not “good” for your fish, but it’s a lot less bad than ammonia and nitrite, and is only harmful in high quantities. Nitrite gets turned into something called “nitrate”īacteria to the rescue again! Fortunately, bacteria can turn nitr ite into something called “nitr ate“. This is good – because ammonia is very bad for your fish, so you want to get rid of it! Unfortunately, nitrite isn’t very good for them either. Ammonia (a harmful chemical in fish waste) is turned into something called “nitrite”

These bacteria take your water through something called “the Nitrogen Cycle” and make it safe for your fish to live in. This is where “cycling” comes in! When we talk about “cycling” a goldfish tank, what we’re referring to is building up a colony of “good bacteria” in your tank – mainly in your filter and gravel. However, in a tank – even quite a big tank – their waste will build up in the water (even if you do lots of water changes) and will damage their health. This isn’t a problem for them in the wild, as there is so much water in rivers and in the sea that their waste gets diluted and doesn’t do them any harm. Like all animals, goldfish produce waste. This may sound complicated at first, but don’t worry, it’s not too bad really and cycling your goldfish tank is very important – so stick with it! Here’s what cycling is, and what you need to do… What does “cycling a goldfish tank” mean?! There’s one more very important step to goldfish tank setup and proper goldfish care, which you must follow in order to give your fish the best chance of living a healthy, happy and long life. So you’ve decided to get a pet goldfish, you’ve bought a suitable tank, a large enough filter, and maybe some food, plants and decorations… all you have to do now is rush down to the pet shop and pick out your new fish, right? Wrong!