Generally this term is used for the initial set up period of a reef aquarium, during which time the bacterial population establishes itself to a suitable level to process the ammonia, nitrite and other waste products produced. The stages of the cycling process are ammonia concentrations rise, ammonia concentration levels out, nitrite appears, nitrite concentration increases, ammonia concentration decreases to zero, nitrite concentration levels out, nitrate appears, nitrite concentration decreases to zero and finally nitrate concentration increases. A "typical" cycle takes 3-4 weeks, but it can vary significantly depending on the situation. It can also be used in relation to the longer term stabilisation of a reef aquarium as the various populations of the organisms within the food web change to reach an equilibrium with nutrients, prey and predation. This is exhibited by explosions and crashes of the organism populations as conditions change. This cycle is always happening, since the ecosystem is dynamic, but tends to settle down after around 12 months.

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