I have my 10 gallon tank with nothing in it yet.

I am going to buy a fish this weekend to put in there.

Should I put water in the tank and let it run for a few days? Or will it matter? I was thinking to put water in it and check all the pH levels and everything else. Any help would be appreciated.

Oh yea, when I do my water change do I leave the fish in there or do I take them out?

Thanks!

Well, you should do cycling if you wish to not stress out your fish the first time he is put in there. To cycle is basically to build up a lot of bacteria in your tank that will break down ammonia and nitrites, which are toxic to your fish. Your fish will produce a lot of ammonia when he eats, and when you put food in the tank.


To my knowledge, there are two types of cycling, cycling with fish, basically, put your fish in there, and your ammonia and nitrite levels shoot up. Your fish will have to suffer while bacteria start growing, and you will need frequent water changes to try not to let your fish die or get too sick from high ammonia levels.

Fishless cycling is done by adding in ammonia to the tank (or feeding the tank with fish food.. which turns to ammonia). Eventually the bacteria will happily grow on your filter media (sponge/wheel/ceramic stars), and when you put your fish in, there is very little stress. This takes a few weeks to safely cycle. Or you can use some good quality products to cycle your tank very fast (a day or two), such as biospira. Hope that helps!

yes it did. Thank you. I still have one question though. When I do my water changes do I leave the fish in there or do I take it out? Thanks again.

You can leave them in. Most people do so. If you are uncomfortable leaving them in, however, you could move them to a holding bucket or something

thanks!