The Nitrogen Cycle - Fully Explained!
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Hello Everyone!
In this video we take a much deeper look at the nitrogen cycle. We not only look at the basics, but talk about why the nitrogen cycle occurs.
If you want to test your water here is an Amazon affiliate link to the API test kit: amzn.to/2Fx8H3H
Useful Videos:
How to lower Ammonia: • How to Lower Ammonia i...
How to lower nitrite: • How to Lower Nitrites ...
How to lower nitrates: • The Silent Killer - Ni...
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Thanks for watching!
We have an entire library of videos that will help you better understand water parameters. Check out these helpful videos!
What is Water Hardness? ua-cam.com/video/xRYdtvakfv0/v-deo.html
How Does pH Impact Fish Health? ua-cam.com/video/d9N-JliqsJg/v-deo.html
How to Lower Ammonia: ua-cam.com/video/5l-POiCc0dI/v-deo.html
How to Lower Nitrites: ua-cam.com/video/3t8yq-ydOaE/v-deo.html
How to Lower Nitrates: ua-cam.com/video/rTdjjZRBIDU/v-deo.html
What Does Water Quality Really Mean? ua-cam.com/video/TkPwQGG1LMQ/v-deo.html
Thank you sir. I'll be watching them all.
Is it a good idea to add a couple of air-stones underneath ceramic media for extra oxygen?
Incomplete Information - An apparent misunderstanding of the difference between the 'Anoxic' and the 'Anaerobic' zones - (and and this from many people that still put their substrate directly on the bottom of their aquariums (Which creates Anaerobic Zones) - Demonstrating an apparent lack of understanding of complete microbial processes, and the SLOW flow rate Dwell Time, which is Critical to these Biological (as opposed to high flow rate Mechanical) Filtration processes.)
In the water conditions of The 'Anoxic' (NOT 'anaerobic') Zones. Defined as the area where no free oxygen exists, but Nitrites, Nitrates, and Phosphates do exist: these Anoxic Zone Bacteria get the Oxygen that they need to thrive by Breaking down Nitrites, Nitrates, and Phosphates to 1. Get the Oxygen they need, and 2. Release Nitrogen Gas as a product of these processes.
By comparison, in Water Filtration: 'Anaerobic' Zones are to be avoided at all costs. As they basically undo all of the work which both the Aerobic and the Anoxic microbes have accomplished, as well as creating other nasty compounds such as Hydrogen Sulfides.
You can reference, Jaubert Plenum (The 'Monaco System') - (as applied to Fresh Water systems,) as a starting point.
@@ghos282 'Anaerobic' zones issue may make a confusion especially for beginners. So he might have avoided it.
10:48 Can you please explain why to keep nitrate At 20ppm?
I did fully watch the video and saw you explaining "Denitrification",so in that sense what you actually want is 0 ppm of nitrate in your tank (if you could that is) or should there always be some amount (like 20ppm)?
One of the only aquarist with a science degree... very informative- great video
Thank you! Appreciate you watching!
AND... very impressive ! I’m so glad I found his channel, my little Betta, Tilly, and I, thank you very much!
Yes! Amen!!
@@bebetaylor3547 Tilly stilly alive?
@@PULAG Thanks for asking about Tilly. Sadly, Tilly died about a year ago.
As a microbiologist who is starting to get into the aquarium hobby, I absolutely love this video! Would love even more detail about the Nitrobacter genus actually, since that's the step I always seem to have trouble with during my cycles. Low ammonia and nirates, but high nitrites :( Would love to learn more about how to better establish an effective colony of nitrobacter bacteria to reduce all of my nitrites to nitrates
I really appreciate the dry erase board. So often people talk about something but only have bullet points. Seeing things laid out in a pattern truly helps my mind memorize the picture...and with it the concepts.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m certainly am a visual learner who needs to see the sequence, as shown here. Thank you.
This was next level! I appreciate the "why" in anything I am doing! I feel like I just leveled up
Thank you! Hope it helped. :-)
I just started a part time job at a pet store, and the owner got mad at me for not being able to grasp the Fish-in tank cycling process. After watching your presentation on the brass tacks of the Nitrogen cycle, I think I will be able to understand the Cycling process much easier, and I can relay the info to them to prove I understand the process. This was super informative and you broke it down so succinctly. Kudos, and thanks for making this video. I am subscribing now.
Thank you!
Thank you! Finally a thorough video that explains in details but not too complicated to understand! Would love more videos like that ❤
I just set up my first tank today with live plants! Hearing the nitrogen cycle explained this well and in depth gives me the urge to cry. I've seen quite a few people try but nothing clicked quite like your explanation. Thank you so much for your time and dedication!
Thank you!
You got a thumbs up in the beginning just for the fact that you explained that this video is not to solve problems. DOPE!!!!
Thank you!
I wish my biology class to be in such a beautiful fish room, and my bio teacher as you. Nice white board explanation
Thank you!
I did terrible in school but one class i aced was marine bio. I tried fish tanks when i was younger but just too young to actually understand the environment in an aquarium. That being said 10 years later I tried again and now have an efficient stabilized fresh water aquarium and its mainly because of your videos. I tell everyone to watch your videos when they are starting this interesting scientific hobby. Now that i know this is your career and your also a teacher with degrees, MUCH respect! Keep on giving! Ill be purchasing a t shirt soon! Haha
Thank you Eric! Glad you are enjoying the hobby!
I’m 37 and have been keeping fish since I was 9... I *FINALLY* understand the subject. Thank you!!
Good to hear :-)
Amazing breakdown of information. I’ve been in the aquatics hobby for a long time. I’ve never seen the cycle explained in this much detail. Thank you sir for sharing your wisdom and bettering our awesome hobby! I always learn something new with every video of yours that I watch. Keep the awesome videos coming!
Thank you! Glad it was helpful.
Thanks Jason 😊
I just started the nitrogen cycle in my 200g tank. Added the Seachem bacteria starter and testing the water once a week now, it's been 2 weeks since the start. No fish in the tank, waiting for the cycle to get ammonia to zero as per this video, it's .5ppm right now. I wasn't really sure when I could add fish, so I'll wait awhile, 4 weeks or so. I've also added a little bit of flake fish food and one raw shrimp to decay and create waste. Hopefully I got this recipe right so far, we'll see.
Thanks for all the great information, love the class 👍
It’s 2024 and I barely got into the fish hobby and this made me subscribe to your channel. All respect and admiration 🤝
Thank you for being here!
Love that you have a degree and share that knowledge to help people take the best possible care of their fish n plants. That and your wife’s enthusiasm for the hobby along with creative talent is why I binged this channel yesterday and am now a subscriber.
Glad you are here!
This is the exact type of content I wish I found regularly on UA-cam.
Hobby video's often reference underlying scientific principle, but most hobbyist's don't have a background to properly understand or articulate the fundamentals.
With a degree field in applied biology, I get frustrated every time a fish video says the nitrogen cycle only has 3 steps... The nitrogen cycle is one of the largest biogeochemical cycles on the planet. I'm happy to see it explain correctly in this context.
Thank you!
This was phenomenal! I did have a basic knowledge of the nitrogen cycle, but this just took it to a whole new level and lightbulbs were going off throughout the entire video. Appreciate you so much! Best video out there on this imo. Would love to see more videos like this👌
Same here. This gave a new depth to my understanding of the process. Curious if there’s a follow up video as to what organisms convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, thereby reducing need for as many water changes
Hi Jason, I'm a chemist just starting with planted aquariums and I've really enjoyed your video, great presentation! Glad to be able to see someone talking more in-depth about the topic and I think you've managed to achieve the happy medium between scientific detail and yet still being perfectly accessible to a lay person. You've quickly bumped into being my second source of science-based information regarding the hobby (after Diana Walstad of course, haha)
Thank you for being here! Always nice to have more science nerds like me watching. :-)
Thank you sooo much! Very clear explanation! ❤️ As a beginner I’ve made the first mistake of buying a female koi betta fish before preparing a tank. With all the information across youtube I felt I was doomed to have a dead fish, until I found this vid!
Hi! As an engineer I loved the technical detail you go into in your videos. It is much better than other peoples videos. Please keep these coming! Great job!
Will do! Thanks for watching!
As a medical student I can assure you this video explained the nitrogen cycle perfectly and used all the right terms. Perfect video.
I love the scientific breakdown. Good video Jason!
Thanks Zenzo!
Prime Time Aquatics I will have to reference this video when people want a more detailed, scientific explanation. Bravo!
i'm planning on taking up the hobby somewhat soon and I'm starting off with a larger tank which is somewhat daunting even though my father was in the hobby long ago and has some knowledge to help me out. I really appreciate you explaining the finer details in such a simple way to understand. i feel way more confident going in now. thank you so much :)
Having a marine biology background and picking up fish keeping a couple of years back I was blown away by the amount of rubbish info on YT.
This is what people need to know. Huge respect to you for taking the time the explain this properly. Get this right and you can achieve a truly balanced tank with minimal inputs.
Thank you!
I literally am just a student who was confused about the nitrogen cycle before this video. I'm not into fish but I learned a lot. I understand the nitrogen cycle better now. Thank you!
awesome! I actually made this for my microbiology students too. 😀
I wish I had you as a professor, you seem like an awesome teacher!!
As an RN, I appreciated the explanation with the terminology included. I was unaware of the reduction portion of the cycle! I'm not quite there yet, so I'll keep changing my water and growing my plants:) Thanks for the info.
Thank you!
I just started keeping fish, when I was a kid we couldn't afford to. So now that I'm retired I have the time, the means and desire to do so
I see there's a lot more to this than " keeping fish". I think that's why I'm so interested. In my middle aged years I was into beekeeping and all the science that went with it.
At almost 70 I'm still intrigued with the amazing cycle we call life. Great video so I will subscribe to learn more about being a better steward for my fish.
Thanks for being here!
This video just blew my mind. I came for the fish, but learned so much more. A concise, well explained knowledge drop. I would love to see a series of general bio/chem topics.
Thank you!
You're now my favorite information source!!
Thank you for being here!
As a nurse and a new fish hobbyist I thoroughly enjoyed this educational video! Thank you so much!!!
Thank you!
The best video I've ever seen on the subject matter done in a quick manner.
Thank you so much! This is very educational! Always get confused with the nitrogen cycle, this definitely helps in terms of cycling my tank.
Glad it helped!
This was a great explanation for the nitrogen cycle in aquariums. I'd love to see one tailored to corals specifically since they have their own suite of symbiotic microbes that oxidise/reduce nitrogen.
That's a funny one. I was wondering whether there might be a really strange reason why they are dying , such as why we dispose of all our waste on land when 7/8 surface us water ? Sorry idiot question ask Green peace.
I'm a geologist with a lot of chemistry background. GO FURTHER!!!! Love the science. Really helps me understand things and help me build my tanks.
Excellent explanation. Flashback to my years teaching bio and biochemistry...and applying all that to maintaining my tank...not easy!
But it’s fun 😀
Thank you. I learned so much. I will rewatch and take notes to better understand the nitrogen cycle.
i feel very privileged to watch this video. Thank you a lot. i appreciate it very much
Thanks for being here!
Great video really helped me under stand the little things I didn’t get .. keep making these great videos
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping me understand the “why” of everything I’m doing. As a new aquarium hobbiest, your videos continue to help me be a responsible and educated fish keeper
Wow, thank you. This is perfect for me -
I love science and understanding things in depth, however my learning ability is inhibited through medical issues.
Having this on video means that I can actively learn within my capacity. Thank you, Jane Sth Australia
I'm so glad it helped! Thanks for watching.
Great video! You did an excellent job explaining the FULL nitrogen cycle. As an Engineer I appreciate the details even if I don't fully understand the organic chemistry going on. You mentioned creating an anaerobic section to foster the growth of Denitrifying bacteria. Can you do a video on how to create such a system? With your expertise with water chemistry, I would like to hear your suggestions. Thanks. Keep up the in depth videos!
I will add it to the list. : -)
This was a terrific video Jason!!! I enjoy the videos covering the "scientific" side of the hobby.
Thanks - I enjoy this side of the hobby as well. : -)
And I wish I could give another like for the fact that you broke everything down. I'm about to upgrade from a 20 gal to a 55 and this was ridiculously helpful.
Appreciate you watching!
I’ve just started following your channel and totally enjoying it. I have got to say this is one of the most informative, if not the most informative, video about nitrogen cycle. I have been keeping fish for many years but the depth of this video is an eye opener for any fishkeeper like me. Thank your very much and looking forward to the next videos and live-streams. Great job!
Thank you!
Finally a worth watching video. Loved it and also it helps people like me with engineering degree. Great video
Thank you!
Wow...awesome video. ..you are a true fish nerd, I wish my professor's white board lessons went this well. You have a gift to break complicated science down to manageable pieces. I appreciate your time and energy dedicated to this video...thank you very much.
Thank you!
Thanks for making this, it helped me a lot. All of your videos are great
Thank you! Appreciate you watching!
I like the way you explain all this Aqua Stuff👍
Thanks!
Great information. The pet store I go to advised me that I could cycle the tank with a few fish in it. Watching this makes me nervous. I can tell you know your stuff. 2 weeks in and no nitrites or nitrates. Minute ammonia. Hoping it can cycle slowly and all will be well. Keep up the informative videos!
Cycling a tank with fish works, but the problem is the fish usually go through pretty bad conditions until the nitrification process is complete. Often the fish are more susceptible to disease and a much bigger problem occurs as a result.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics thanks for the reply. We will see, hope the fish make it through safely. 2 weeks in so far and no ammonia nitrites or nitrates. Hope it holds! Maybe my plants are cleaning things up.
Next tank however I am 100% cycling before fish.
Helpful. Thank you. I especially appreciate addressing the portion after nitrates, which is regularly excluded.
Great content. Exactly what I was looking for.
As a chemist that just started this hobby, i respect how others that understand this concept. Even i took several days to fully grasp the concept.
This was awesome, I loved the more in-depth, scientific look into the Nitrogen cycle.
Thank you. Science is cool. haha
Great explanation. As advertised, this gets into the weeds. I kind of get it but I’ll probably need to watch it 5+ more times for it to stick.
you totally helped me alot.. i really have a hard time with my small tank and i bought a big tank to fix my issue and do mainatenance .. i also made a diy filter and at the same time airpump hahaha.. Philippines here
New fish owner here. Educating myself before having more than 1 fish
Loving your channel. So informative. Well presented.
Thank you! Glad it's helping. : -)
This was super helpful, thank you!
Hi Jason! I love your channel! You've inspired me to make videos on fish care! I got started on the right foot all because of your very informative videos! Thank You! 👍👍
Good to hear! Good luck.
Golden Vid Jason! thank you !! science is one of my favorite topic to talk/learn about, although i am pretty familiar with the process, i thoroughly enjoyed this video, wish i had a teacher like you back in my school days !
Appreciate you watching!
This is the best video on the nitrogen cycle iv'e seen.
Thank you!
I know this is an older video but absolutely enjoyed it. Thank you guys for all you do for us.
Thank you !
good job sir!!!salute
stay safe and healthy
fresh from philippines!
You stay safe as well!
Im taking aquarium science in college and im having a lot of trouble understanding so i started looking for videos to fix that, and by god sir vids like these are exactly what i need, keep up the awesome work
Good to hear - good luck!
Very good video, I like these deeper explanations. Getting back into fish keeping after a many-year absence, and I am enjoying it immensely. I had an initial Ammonia bloom from rushing the new tank procedures, but it is coming under control now. Thanks for the explanation.
Much RESPECT to you for sharing this information with us.
Thank you!
Great video, I really appreciate your level of knowledge in this area! I learned a lot!
Thank you!
This is what I am currently trying to achieve! With both denitrifying bacteria and plants. I will still do water changes though, gotta remove fish hormones and possibly other stuff from the water to maintain good water quality. Thanks professor!
Thank You for the detailed explanation, loved it!
Hi jason you are obviously someone who has studied this subject for many years and im sure you are a excellent tutor with your students , here in the uk we have stores . not aquarist shops who are telling customers who have no fish keeping experience they can add fish to a new set up after 3 days this i feel is both wrong and cruel to the fish and have always believed a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks should be allowed and if marines you should double this time with regular water tests and water changes . we all want to see our tanks up and running but patience is so very important. i have just subscribed to your channel and last friday was the first time i watched both yourself and your wife going live on you tube your quite right this is a subject that needs to be watched more than once and write down notes which i am about to do so please can you tel me what time you go live so i dont miss it as i live over in the uk i shall be watching these videos with much interest
Paul from england
I agree - that advice just sets up their customers for failure.
I'm doing my very best to follow along! I work at petsmart and they didn't train me AT ALL in water chemistry. I purchased my own 45 gallon tank to hopefully learn from my own experience but I've had so much trouble. Thank you so much for breaking it down I'm going to have to watch this a few times to really get it down because I don't want to be uneducated while selling animals!!
That is so awesome you are taking the time (on your own time) to learn water chemistry! We have lots of videos on the subject. : -)
I teach high school biology and I'm creating a large bioactive tank for hermit crabs. I have 5 gallon fresh and salt water aquariums in my 90 gallon tank. This was very helpful in my quest to figure out how the whole ecosystem works together. I appreciate the detail
Good luck! :-)
Thank you so much for this video! As a science minded person, I needed more than just A leads to B and B leads to C. I need to know why? and how? This video achieves answering those questions. Much appreciated!
Woohoo - thanks for being here!
Not a super smart sciencey guy here but that was actually quite helpful! Love the tanks in the background. I'll be checking out more of your videos!
Thank you!
I had missed this one Jason and I know a lot of people in the community had done a nitrogen cycle challenge on explaining it. I have a pre-nursing degree where I did take microbiology in school, I also have two years of horticulture... not that that really makes any difference🤣 but it makes me really appreciate what you're teaching here!!🙏👍🌿🐟🌿
Thank you :-)
Well I thought I was doing my homework trying to back into the hobby... then I watched this video, will probably need a few more views to pack all of that in.
Great job though, really enjoyed watching it.
I took a few chemistry courses a year ago and we covered Oxidation and Reduction equations but BROTHA! Lemme tell you that I had NOT made the connection between my homework and what my body does on a day-to-day basis UNTIL I watched this video and HOLY COW! GREAT VIDEO!
Thank you!
I hit pause after you said "bringing out the whiteboard." I'll let that set it for a day or two and continue with the rest. Thank you!
Oh ya! The whiteboard makes an appearance!
@@PrimeTimeAquatics I love the science stuff, I actually found a little wormy thing amongst my freshly born Mystery Snails this morning, and put some substrate, fish food, tank water, and some plant leaves in a jar and put that Lil thing in it to see what happens. (like the UA-camr Life in Jars.)
I am a long term aquarium owner and I loved the detailed explanation on that. I pride myself in doing as little with my tanks as possible. I believe the more you mess with your tank the more likely something can go wrong. I have gotten some of the bigger tanks down to one water change once every two years. Being that I have Cichlid tanks that can be a difficult task since they do not take too kind to live plants. However I am very protective over my large algae colonies, The only part of the tanks free of algae is the front. I also have added freshwater clams , other invertebrates, and microbes and to the mix. I test my water religiously and I very rarely have any spikes in ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. When I say rarely 1 crash over 10 years, nitrates and nitrites spiked 3 months after a tank move. I believe it was due to the fact that we eliminated all of the beneficial bacteria and algae. While I do not have a very in depth understanding as to how this works. I have to believe my success stems from this. I am not saying I think that the clams filter out nitro's ( cause they do not) but I do think they add to the overall balance of the tank witch controls my microbes and algae. I would like to know your thoughts since you clearly have a more advanced understanding.
The clams are certainly filtering out organic materials and converting that to energy and using materials for biosynthesis, so in that respect there aren't as many nutrients in the tank for other organisms. The algae is helping limit the nitrates in the tank.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thank you for your response. My goals are to recreate natural biodiversity or get at least as close to that as I can. Do you have any videos regarding natural balance
Check out the tour I did of LR Bretz fish room!
I would love more videos with scientific explanations like this, and I'm definitely sharing this video! I also have a couple questions: this is from an aside, but if the oxygen humans breathe becomes water, where does the CO2 we exhale come from? I understand that aquarium fish also add CO2 to their water for aquatic plants to tanks so I'd love to know how that works in, say, the cycle of a planted tank where both Nitrogen and CO2 are important. My impression is that CO2 is part of the chemical cycle happening there and that it's entangled with the nitrogen cycle, but I don't even know where it fits at this point - and as someone starting a "low tech" planted tank, I'd like to. The other thing is: what are advanced aquarists doing to try to remove water changes from the current de facto endpoint, where NO3/Nitrate is the end of the road without intervening through water changes? I'm guessing plants are part of the equation. I'd love to hear an evidence-based, scientifically-explained take on what seems like it might be working or not, and what prevents a fully functional cycle from being achievable.
Thank you so much for this eye-opening vlog. Mystery solved. Thank you professor for helping us understand. I actually printed your diagram and studied it. Water parameters check is a must if we want to become successful hobbyists. Subscribed to your channel❤️
Thanks for being here!
I understood some of these words!
Seriously though, great video and I'm glad to finally have a FULL explanation!
Thank you! These are the types of videos people often watch multi times to let all the info digest. :-)
Excellent! Very simple explanation to a complex system. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.
Hi Victor - thanks for watching!
Thank you sir for such an informative video on the Nitrogen cycle. I don't have much of an idea of Biology and It took me about ten rewinds on the parts, after ending up with Nitrate, (The aerobic and anaerobic thingy), Nitrate reduction and denitrification, but I finally believe I got it.
Thank you and Joanne for all the other informative videos.
Be blessed and stay safe.
Thank you! It's very normal for people to have to watch a few times to really get it. That's how we all learn - repetition!
God Bless you sir you are doing a very good job to help us keep these beautiful creatures of Almighty God
Thank you!
Great job! Made it easy, I understand
Amazing video Jason, been in the hobby for a long time and still learned a ton
Thank you so much!
I am so glad I found this video. I am new to keeping tanks and was wondering why something’s were going on. I just got my second tank and couldn’t understand why it was so cloudy. I’m looking forward to finding more videos like this.
This was awesome and so helpful. Thanks!!
Why is everyone stressed with water changes ? Rivers, Lakes, Ponds & Oceans, they all do Water Changes
A lot of food for thought. It supplied me with some missing or forgotten information. Also gave me some ideas on some projects. - Thanks Jason!
Hey J - Can't wait to hear about the projects you come up with!
Thank you for explaining this so thoroughly! I finally feel like I can understand the cycle!
excellent explanation, we can always use more of this type of education for our aquarium hobby. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Keep it up please!
Thanks Sher - will do!
Nice explanation. I've tried to get anaerobic bacteria in trickle filters to avoid water changes with limited success. What does work for me is growing pathos and other plants. Even if I just keep trimming growth off I'm basically converting nitrate to leaves.
Very true! Plants can certainly greatly reduce nitrate loads and pothos are really good at it. I have it growing above a number of tanks.
Thank-you Sir! I believe one of the most important things to be successful in aquarium keeping it's about understanding the 'Balance of nature', and being patient. Understanding the consequences of making changes to the ecological system, i.e. adding too many fish at once, changing too much or not enough water, feeding too much, too much or too little light for plants, temperature changes, adding chemicals to fix one problem created by another etc etc. I find much pleasure in not just observing the fish, but also in the journey and creation of an aquatic ecological system.
Wow. Learned so much. Thank You!
Great video... Thank you for your time!
I love this stuff been keeping tanks a long time Talked to a lot of people and you make more since on this then most people I know, I don't know why but in my tanks I've never had any real high nitrate levels even when I have tanks go for months with out changing water its not my normal practice but in 30 years I get burn out from time to time and get lazy I monitor nitrates its a push to get 40 ppm, I have no live plants and no excessive algae ,Back in the 90s everybody was preaching you did not have to worry about nitrates in freshwater tanks but when I got into saltwater that was a big no no . I'm 53 and just found you tube a year or so ago . and everybody is freaking out about nitrates and I have bread lots of cichlids and have had a lot of them live more then 10 years in water 40ppm for months at a time just never worried about it because I was told by the cichlid keepers back then I was fine. This is just my experience after keeping tanks for about 30 years
Tim Biddle 40ppm certainly isn’t a crazy number. That’s great your tanks are staying within a reasonable level.
absolutely incredible video this was great