Healthy Water

Bath, oil on linen, 110 x 120 cm, 2020 and Goldfish 2, 76 x 61 cm, oil on linen, 2020 Minyoung Choi

🧹🦠#1 Grow a huge population of "nitrifying" bacteria in your filter media and hardscape before adding fish.🦠🧹🧹🧹

Talk to your local fish store! Research: "How to cycle an aquarium"
Starting 🦠Nitrogen cycle from scratch:
Daily testing of NH3, NO2 & NO3 is the only way to know a tank is safe for fish- "cycled." This inert to viable cycling process typically takes about 30-60 days.
 
Set up equipment ➡️ add water and dechlorinate➡️filter/heater on➡️add ammonia/fish food ➡️bacteria grow ➡️ammonia drops ➡️ nitrite rises ➡️ nitrite drops ➡️ nitrate appears ➡️ test regularly ➡️verify 0 ammonia + 0 nitrite after 24hours ➡️ big water change ➡️ add fish gradually  ➡️ test regularly

A Healthy Nitrogen cycle:
🐟Fish make ammonia(NH3)💩➡️
🦠bacteria eats ammonia, makes nitrite(NO2)☣️➡️
🦠bacteria eats nitrite, makes nitrate(NO3)♨️➡️
🌱plants eat some nitrates➡️
human removes nitrate heavy water 🚰🪣➡️add new water + dechlorinating treatment, "Water change"

Target:
0 ppm Ammonia(NH3), 0 ppm Nitrite(NO2), 0-20 Nitrate(NO3) less is better
Keep nitrate controlled with regular water changes.

Use a syphon connection directly to the sink to make water changes easier.
The fish water is excellent fertilizer for house plants/lawn.🌱

Ways to start cultivating bacteria for the nitrogen cycle:
Dark Start: 4-6 weeks
Fishless Tank Cycling: 4-6 weeks
"Instant Start": 24hrs-7 days(?)
The fast/easiest way to bacteria rich water is to get old filter medium(sponge/rocks/ceramic rings) from another established tank to "seed" the tank. Bacteria can also travel from hardscape items, gravel, plants.
Ask your local fish store for some filter media, ask people at a local "fish club"...
you could try these folks selling online(?):
"Active" lava rocks to add to your tank's HOB/canister filter
"Active" sponge filter(might come with pregnant snails/invertebrate treats?)

The tank is considered cycled, after adding an ammonia dose, ammonia and nitrite both return to 0 ppm within 24 hours. Research!
Then you can add one or a few hardy fish as the first group.
Do not stock everything at once.
Research who the first animal should be, do not add delicate, biofilm/algae eating fish or sensitive invertebrates first.
You need the bacteria to catch up to the bioload(💩). 

You will need occasional water changes to remove nitrates.
Water changes of 30-50% will be needed less often as the tank balances out.
Safe is 0% ammonia, 0% Nitrite, 0-20ppm Nitrate(generally less is better/look up species specific tolerance levels) Research!
Never change all your filter media and replace with brand new "clean" ones!
Suggested to rinse filters in tank water and do not replace until literally falling apart.

Water treatment $58
Dechlorinator: ($18)
Seachem Prime or something similar is needed to dechlorinate tap water and make it safe for fish this works immediately.
Prime can also be used to temporarily(48hrs) make ammonia/nitrite/nitrate inert if they spike. You must do a water change to remove the poisons from the water, Prime just temporarily binds them.⛓️🚰🪣➡️
Test Kit:($40)
API Freshwater Master Test Kit to test out your ammonia and nitrate levels as you cycle your tank or to check how things are going. Test strips ($10-$50) are a quick less accurate alternative if you don't have time but want to check.
(?)Bacteria in a Bottle:($15-25)
Some folks think this isn't necessary because bacteria will grow on it's own. Fritz Aquatics FritzZyme, Seachem Stability API Quick Start claim to assist establishing bacteria in new tanks.

Big Fish, oil on linen, 150 x 130 cm, 2020, Minyoung Choi