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1. During the first 2 weeks of the tank being setup with fish, the fish waste, uneaten food, dead fish, etc, get turned into a chemical compound called ammonia. This ammonia is very deadly to fish and corals alike. You can test this chemical in your aquarium. You will see it rise from 0 to approximately 2 or 3. Once ammonia levels become high enough, bacteria called nitrobacter begin to multiply. This bacteria eats the ammonia returning it to a safe level of 0. However the byproduct of nitrobacter is a compound called Nitrite. Nitrite is also deadly to fish and corals alike.
2. Nitrite will peak and fall just as ammonia did. You will see nitrite start to form about 1.5 to 2 weeks into the cycling process. Again these levels will go from 0 to about 2 to 4. Once the levels get high enough, another bacteria comes to the rescue. Nitrosomonas. This bacteria eats the nitrite, returning the levels back to a safe and acceptable 0. Its byproduct, or waste is Nitrate. Nitrate is harmless to fish, and in very small quantities, harmless to corals. This whole process from start to finish take approximately 4 weeks to complete. The bacteria will grow on anything that it possibly can. the glass, the decorations, the rocks, anything and everything. You'll notice that when you reach into the tank after a month or so, that everything is "SLIMY". This slime is the bacteria.
NOTE: It is a common misconception that when you own a tank, especially a smaller one, that you need to empty all the water, and clean the gravel really well by rinsing it under the faucet water. This my friends is a huge NO NO!!! The chlorine from the tap water will kill the bacteria that you have so desperately tried to accumulate to help you maintain a stable system. And then you will need to start the process all over again.
These 2 types of bacteria are called aerobic. Aerobic means to have oxygen. There is another beneficial bacteria that survives only in oxygen free water. This type of bacteria is called anaerobic( or lack of oxygen). This bacteria grows best in sand beds of at least 4 inches. This is also known as a deep sand bed or DSB.
There is a third stage to this process.
When the bacteria that eats nitrate (the name currently escapes me) begins
to form, about 1 month, it returns the nitrate levels to 0. Its byproduct
is Hydrogen Sulfide. (smells like rotten eggs). This gas escapes by tiny
bubbles being released to the surface. Once the bubbles hit the surface,
they burst, releasing the gas into the outside air. and this completes the
process for the removal of all of the "Nasties" in our
tank.
Update: this release of Hydrogen sulfide gas is up for debate. Some
say it stays trapped in the DSB others say it rises. The purpose
here is simply to inform.
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