bhcaaron

So I bought a book, Saltwater Aquariums Make a Great Hobby by John Tullock, as part of my initial research. I have only read the first three chapters and already I am overwhelmed and excited with new found determination.

So I learned that there are FOUR major cycles that affect the tank and its' contents. Do you know which ones they are?

Experts: HOLD BACK! Allow us, the less experienced, to teach and learn from each other. Act as moderators to correct when necessary please.

Intermediate: Is it time for a refresher? :

Newbies: Its time to go into research mode.

EVERYONE: ONLY IDENTIFY THE CYCLES. Do NOT give a deffinition for any of them yet.

Lets see how many answers are given for the next couple of days. On 09/26/07 I will post the correct answers. Everyone give it a try! Even if you don't get the exact names that the author gave, they can still be correct. If you post one that is not on his list, that doesn't mean you are wrong. That means you will have given all of us a chance to learn yet another thing. From 09/26/07 on, we will be posting decriptions of the different cycles that were identified. If you see your answer up there already... POST ANYWAY! Someone may understand YOUR answer better than the previous even though they both state the same thing! Now... LETS LEARN!

Wolfgang8810

my guess would be aerobic anaerobic and nitrogen cycles i cant think of another one

bhcaaron

Come on people! We're supposed to help each other out, right? Well! I'm trying!

Anyways, I'm not giving up! Lets see some replies. I'll post later tonight. Or, should I wait another couple of days?

leximommy

im risking sounding stupid here but is it aerobic anaerobic hydrologic and nitrogen cycles?

bhcaaron

Thank you Wolfgang and LexiMommy for participating. Actually the aerobic and anaerobic bacterias form part of the nitrogen cycle. Here are the four:

The Nitrogen Cycle

The Diurnal Light Cycle

The Carbon Cycle

The Phosphorus Cycle

How about giving it at shot at defining them? I saw 19 people viewed this.... HOW ABOUT LEAVING A REPLY! It won't hurt to be wrong, it'll just help us ALL learn.

leximommy

lol wow i really do feel stupid! i got one right...well ive just been taken down a notch...thank you aaron...lol

bhcaaron

This is not about feeling anything other than proud you're willing to put an effort into thinking and researching. So, stop it! lol Besides, you and Wolfgang started to define what one of the cycles is. So, good job!

bhcaaron

Ok... Here goes the first:

The Nitrogen Cycle is very much talked about here and, by far, the most important one, according to many, in the aquarium.

Basically it works like this:

Animals in the aquarium pee and poop. These waste products create amonia (or perhaps contain it). Bacteria in the tank eat up the amonia and pee and poop nitrite (nitrite would be this bacteria's waste product). Other bacteria then feast on the nitrite and pee and poop nitrate. Thus the main portion of the nitrogen cycle ends. (Unless you have things like denitrifiers which house anaerobic bacteria which feast on nitrate.)

Anyone else wanna give it a try? Go on! Go ahead, maybe you can make it funny. Maybe keep it serious and break it down even more. Or at least try to see if you can put it in your own words without making yourself fall asleep! Just try!

atmmachine816

The Diurnal Light Cycle-when you gradually increase your lighting over the course of several weeks to a reef cycle?

The Carbon Cycle-mind blank

The Phosphorus Cycle-??

bhcaaron

Close on the first one. How about working on the Nitrogen Cycle. I'll get to the other three later. I'm trying to see how many different ways of explaining the same thing we can all achieve. This helps others, and myself, learn better.

Wolfgang8810

ammonia is in pee and poop that is what dogs use to mark their terratories

atmmachine816

it would be getting ammonia in the tank, waiting for it to develop the bacteria to change it into nitrite, then nitrate, getting the nitrates down and having a more natural stable enviornment.

hmm one sentence not bad, very basic

bhcaaron

EeeeeeeeeeeeewwwW!

bhcaaron

True, it was one sentence. Their called run-on's lol. Thank you though, I think I can say it with one breath.... ( <- that's what I looked like after saying it with one breath! )

atmmachine816

Not as ewww as yours

sent you a pm

bhcaaron

hahahahahaha


(replied ur pm =b )

bhcaaron

This is basically the light cycle. In all tanks, this is a good Idea, however, in planted tanks or reef tanks this is especially necessary. Some fish species need it too. You'll need actinic bulbs to simulate night light. The most basic and usual cycle is set up like this:

The actinic/night lights come on ONE hour BEFORE the daylights and stay on for two hours. The daylights stay on for eight to ten hours. Then, the actinic/night lights come on Again for two hours starting ONE hour BEFORE the daylights go off. For a visual see here:

8am actinic
9am actinic AND daylight
10am daylight
11am daylight
12pm daylight
1pm daylight
2pm daylight
3pm daylight
4pm daylight
5pm daylight
6pm daylight
7pm daylight AND actinic
8pm actinic
9pm off

Usually no more than ten to twelve hours is recommended for fear of starting an unwated algal bloom. I am, however, still questioning why so few hours of daylight if the ocean receives more than that. Won't the fish be healthier with a more normal diurnal cycle? But, eh! I'm learning too.

bhcaaron

So basically the carbon cycle is what happens in the food chain. Fishes eat. What they do not digest is excreted as fecal matter. This fecal matter, or, detritus, is then consumed by the cleaning crew in search of carbon material they themselves can use as energy and fuel. Then then excrete fecal matter which is then used up by bacteria. At any point when any of these lower chain creatures are eaten, the carbon cycle is closed. For example when a snail is eaten by a fish, or, when the bacteria is consumed by copepods who are then consumed by fish.