It's a done deal. The complete aquarium setup is sold, and the excited new hobbyist, the somewhat less excited spouse, and the previously excited children are gathering up the various components for the trip home. The dealer has explained all the setup basics: placement of the tank, washing the gravel, filling, adjusting the heater, starting the filter, adding the chemicals, fitting the cover and light, and letting the whole thing percolate overnight. There's only one small, but pretty important lesson to go: "How to Cycle the Aquarium".

The cycling of new aquariums has been appreciated, if not understood, by American aquarists since at least the turn of the century, when hobbyists realized that fish did better in "aged" tanks, than in recently set up units. And while the concept of the "nitrogen cycle" was well known to biology students much earlier, it wasn't until the early 1970's that the aquarium hobby began to fully realize the importance of biological filtration in the removal of fish waste from the aquarium.

Many new hobbyists assume that adding a chlorine or chloramine remover to a newly set up aquarium is all the "conditioning" required. A responsible dealer will take the time to educate his clientele about the basics of the break-in process to protect the customer's investment and his own reputation and sales potential as well. After all, nothing will bring a new hobbyist's enthusiasm crashing to ...