Bacteria Supplement

[Ghost9001]

Ive heard from some people that the bacteria supplement they sell doesnt really do anything. Am I just wasting money in adding bacteria supplement to an immature tank after every partial water change?

 

[lee.barros]

Ive asked this question too and found that the best solution to start the bacteria growing during cycling is to use household ammonia. If you live in the UK then you will be able to find a 500ml bottle for about £1.75 in Boots.

Hope this answers your question

 

[kelly528]

I don't believe in them, but anything without a very immediate expiry date is just B.S. in a bottle... remember, bacteria need food, air, etc to survive.

I would just go with pure ammonia if I were you. Doing it the slow way will probably save you some grief in the long run!

 

[fatheadminnow]

No, bacteria supplements do not work. Some claim they cycle a tank in 3 days, well this is not true. Like stated above, bacteria need food and air to survive.

The only product that worked was called Bio Spira. This product was kept refrigerated. What this does, when in colder temperatures, it slows the bacterias metabolism which would allow them to survive longer within the package. Bio Spira had a shelf life of about 1 year, maybe more. Unfortunately, Bio Spira was stopped in production about 3 years ago or so.

I would not waste your money on these products if I were you.

-FHM

 

[rebrn]

Hi, in my experiences thus far and from reading and word of mouth they do not work. However, I have been told about a new product called Dr. Tim's One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria which from word of mouth only, it works and works well. I have ordered some, should be here friday, and I will be doing a fishless cycle with it. I will be tracking the progress in the thread called Dr. Tim's One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria Does It Work? link is <a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=309039" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=309039</a>. Once it comes in I will be doing daily postings in the thread you can track it if you want and decide for yourself. Call it my own personal experiment, but I heard it is a miaracle in a bottle ... we shall see.

FYI: Dr. Tim's One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria was developped by the same person who created Bio-Spira, it also has a shelf life of about 1 year if kept refridgerated and 6 months if left at room temperature. It is hard to find in stores, I had to order it on-line and even then it was hard to find because a lot of places eithor won't ship it in temperature extremes (hot or cold) and if they do they require a mininmum of 2 day shipping which was extrememly expensive. Redspets.com will ship it anytime of year using regular ground as they ship in styofoam and hot/cold packs as needed but they are a little more expensive around $25 US shipping included for a 2 oz bottle. If you are luckly enough to have a local store that carries it I would go there if you want to try it for yourself ... or you can wait to see what kind of results I get first.

 

[arobinson1984]

DONT add household ammonia.

After reading the op's question, I'm under the impression that the tank has fish in it and that the op was adding a bacteria supplement after each water daily/weekly water change.

Is the tank cycled?

Agree that the bacteria in a bottle products dont work in general. Their may be a couple where people have had a few good results with but to be honest they dont make enough of a difference to warrant going out spending money on them.

Andy

 

[ZoddyZod]

Most 'bacteria in a bottle' are considered to be useless. However, there is a product called Bactinettes that some lfs sell. This is kept refrigerated (or should be) and costs about £5. I used some of this to aid my fish-in cycle and it did seem to give it a kick-start. If you try it, make sure that the can is well within its sell by date.