Ammonia And Bacteria Starter Sources

[eaglesaquarium]

No need to apologize.  Its all important information to discuss.  That product is likely better than nothing for many folks who don't have access to mature media, or TSS or Dr. Tim's.  But, it is far from 'instant', and far from a sure thing.
 
 
As for when you decide to start a new tank... the easiest way (and cheapest) is to steal media from your currently running tank.  The results are great!  The nitrospira don't always reproduce quite as fast as the nitrosomonas, but they aren't far behind.  Start with a smaller dose of ammonia to get it started, then slowly boost it up as the colony grows to handle it.  

 

[Ch4rlie]

Indeed, always good to discuss the merits of some of these starter products and between us we can find out if said produce is likely to be any good or not.
 
In this case, this is not a recommended product simply due to the bacterias thats included, or really what bacs are not included.
 
So the next time someone asks about this product, we can be confident in saying its not really a recommended product and can explain why.
 
I concur with Eagles, media from another established tank is second to none for fast cycles. Even just a squeeze of sponge media with bacs will 'seed' a new tank with the right bacs to start the cycle. I have done this several times and the longest it has taken to fully succcesfully cycle, for my water params, 10 days max.
 
As for the tv programme Tanked, its ok but for me they are not rally very good ambassadors for fishkeeping, they have improved a bit but not there yet. An entertaining programme but not neary accurate enough nor informative. One other thing, their tanks are always acrylic, am not a particular fan of acrylic tanks as too easily scratched and damaged imho.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Can't really blame them for going with Acrylic for their tanks all the time.  After all, their company is called "Acrylic Tank Manufacturing".
 
 
 
The rest is more about novelty and entertainment than it is actual husbandry.