Bio - Active "Live" Betta Lake Gems ?

[914joe]

Could this stuff work to cycle a new tank,instead of using fish food ,raw shrimp or ammonia .http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...B27XC0N4D3AWT0

[SpookyTooth]

Personally I don't think it could. Even if something claims to instantly cycle an aquarium I do not believe instant is the correct word. If you want a bacteria product for your tank I'd recommend Tetra Safestart, though there's a lot of debate as to whether or not it genuinely works. In my experience it does however I could be one of the few people who picked up a few live, functional bottles.

I don't believe anything can instantly complete a cycle as the bacteria needs time to "activate" (apparently it lays dormant in these products). In tanks where I have used Tetra Safestart it has skipped the first segment of the cycle and continued with nitrites and then nitrates, so not an instant cycle but I find it helps if I'm doing a fish-in cycle and want to increase the safety of my fish.

If using an instant-cycle product I would recommend applying it directly into your filter media, while beneficial bacteria does colonize the substrate of your tank the majority of it lies in the filter media (sponge/foam, ceramic, plastic etc)... honestly though if you use any bacteria product I would suggest Tetra Safestart over "live" gravel. It seems the majority of these insta-cycle products are gimmicks.

[914joe]

I did not know about the tetra product but i have read about a product called Nutrafin Cycle i guess it is similar to the tetra product.I think i will try one of these 2 products soon Thanks for the tip of pouring it into the filter media .Do you think either of these products would cycle the tank on their own ,i don't care if it takes longer i can wait a month or more if i have to .I currently have the little guy in a 2.5 with a small world filter he seems to be happy and healthy so i am in no rush to transfer him to the new tank .

[SpookyTooth]

Whether you try one of the two products (I can only really recommend the Tetra Safestart as I've not used the other one) or not you'll need a source of ammonia to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. I personally only use Tetra Safestart when ammonia starts showing up (and I also keep up with regular water changes, in case anyone is concerned) so you'll still have to feed the tank ammonia some way. I think the bacteria supplements are more beneficial to fish-in cycles due to them helping to speed the process up thus reducing stress on the fish but they can, obviously, be beneficial to fishless cycles too, it'd just save you a little money if you choose not to use the product while cycling fishlessly.

[Kim]

After reading quite a few positive reviews, I will be trying the Tetra Safestart in my next tank in conjunction with a fishless cycle. I'm hoping that by adding it right after dosing the tank with ammonia that my cycle time will be shortened. I don't believe it will instantly cycle the tank so that it's safe to add fish immediately (and I'm not willing to take that chance), but from the reviews I'm hoping it can drastically reduce the cycle time to a week or less. I guess we'll see....however I won't be setting up another tank for a while ;)

[914joe]

I think i will pass on this stuff ,i have another ? if you can help me,my water was very cloudy 4 or 5 days ago in the 2.5 so i put in a pen plax small world filter. It works really well and cleared up my water, the top half of this filter has carbon the bottom a sponge.These are meant to be thrown out and replaced,i read that these things could be opened and refilled ,so i picked up activated carbon today to try and refill it on the next water change ,and i plan to rinse the sponge part in tank water.So would this tank become cycled like this .If this does work i guess i would be cycling this small tank with him in it,and could transfer this sponge to the other tank.