Does Nitirification bacteria(s) need to be added to an aqarium or is it in tap water?

Question

If it is in tap water, do I have to buy extra bacteria or just let the bacteria from the tap grow without me doing more work?

Answer 1

add a few snails or extremely hardy fish that will live through anything to start the nitrogen cycle. the beneficial bacteria will grow in your filter, it can take up to 4 weeks.

so basically there are some bacteria in the water already but you need to wait awhile and let the water condition itself before adding fish

another option is you could use a chemical called "cycle" that will speed up the process. (by a few weeks)

Answer 2

While there probably are small amounts of nitrifying bacteria in tap water, there are faster and easier ways to cycle a new tank.  If you have other tanks or friends with estabilished tanks, you can use something from the established tank to seed your tank.  One cubic inch of gravel has more than 25 million nitrifying bacteria living on it so it doesn't take much.  You could also use a piece of driftwood, a filter pad, a cup of dirty water from a gravel cleaner siphon, etc.  Just make sure the tank you are getting your seed bacteria from is healthy and free of disease.

Answer 3

You need to culture the nitrogen cycle bacteria in your tank, they  live attached to the solid surfaces in your tank and filter, not the actual water.

There is none in tap water, it's been chlorinated remember.

You can seed your tank by adding material from an established tank, some cycle products claim to contain live bacteria, or you can just let the spores that float around in the air colonise your tank.

But either way those only act as a seed for your tank, you still need to grow a full population of bacteria. Thats whats known as 'cycling the tank'. There is no magic way of doing it instantly.

Ian