cycling products do they work or are they a ripoff

[dolly_daydream]

hi
ive had my tank 6 months now and my nitrite and ammonia and nitrates are spot on,but i was in my lfs today and was amazed at all the cycleing products available such as cycle and nizorb and so on and so on,but do they work when i started out i tryed everything that was available to cycle my tank quicker,but not one of them worked so one of my friends suggested i put some of her gravel in my tank and it would mature it better and guess what within a week all my readings where great, coincidence?i dont know,but what i now believe is the fish keepings biggest rule is patience,,so what do you think is the stuff on the market today to cycle your tank any good??or are they just a money maker for people who are starting up and dont know any different way.and if you also have any cycling tips put them here so newbies can read them
thanks in advance for your reply

 

[Gunnie]

There is only 1 product out there that is the true bacteria found in a cycled tank, and that is bio spira! Unfortunately it has not been available for about 8 or 9 months now because they couldn't keep up with the demand. It's supposed to be available again this month. I think you got it right though. Patience is the key, and if you have access to an established aquarium, you can cycle your new tank without a cycling product from your lfs. Bio spira is great in an emergency though!

 

[enchanted]

I used NitroMax and yes, it did help speed up the cycle. What was in it that caused that? I don't know, but it did work.

 

[FishDan]

For the most part, a majority of these products don't really work. Bio-Spira does only because it contains live cultures of the bacteria needed to "jump start" the cycle. Most all other products have dead bacteria, which don't really help. Bio-Spira is kept refrigerated and must be used before it's expirey date, or it becomes as useless as many of the other products on the market. The big reason Bio-Spira has not been availabe was not so much do to an inability to supplyu the demand, but I believe there was a fire that damaged a large quanity of the product. And, since it is live bacteria they are selling, it takes time to "make" more.

\Dan

 

[cluster]

check this link out im considering it maybe

http/fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

 

[Gunnie]

Yep. That is the link for bio spira. It's not available yet but will be soon. I have ordered it from Bernie at The Fish Store 3 times with great results. You must use it as directed though, so read the directions carefully. It must be added at the same time you add ALL your fish you will be putting in the tank, so make sure you have the proper amount of fish for the tank. If you add the bio spira after the fish have been in there awhile, the bacteria has to play catch up, and your fish may have to go through an ammonia spike until they do, and may not catch up fast enough to keep the level from becoming toxic. Here's more info on bio spira:

Bio Spira Experiment


Bio Spira Availability

 

[cluster]

damn thats the problem im having now..... completley redoing the fish tank and then adding it at the same time and adding fish bad idea eh...? right now im changing water daily and got my blue ram in a 2.5gal the other fish seem fine atm

 

[s10moor]

ive been using nitra=zorb to reduce the nitrates in my tank and it seems to have worked slightly (though that could also have been the increase in water changes)...would i buy it again? NO....

 

[Gunnie]

Before bio spira, when I was pretty new to the hobby, my hubby decided to buy a 7 inch long jack dempsey he felt sorry for that was in a 20 gal. long tank at the lfs. Of course we had no place to put him except for a 10 gal. tank, so we bought a 29 gal. from WalMart. After about 3 or 4 days, you know what happened. The ammonia started to rise. The water even looked yellow. Of course the lfs wouldn't take him back unless we gave him back for free, so I started looking around on the net for what to do. I found a product that appeared to be what I was looking for called ammonia eliminator. They also had another product called nitrite reducer. I bought both and had them overnighted to the house. I called the company and explained my dilema, and he told me to triple the dose. I was also sent the saltwater version, which he told me would be okay in my freshwater tank. Well to make a long story short, even with water changes twice a day, after 2 days, the stuff worked! My ammonia and nitrites were gone I'd say within a week, and that was about 18 months ago! We still have the fish, and I believe the product did what it was supposed to. In your situation cluster, it might be what you need. I have also been in the situation where I killed my biological filter in a 100 gal. tank with 2 oscars, 2 jack dempseys, and 1 large pleco. The water was so bad, it made my whole house smell like a sewer! I moved the fish temporarily to a 55 gal., knowing the ammonia level would be toxic within a few days but had no choice. I then ordered my bio spira from Bernie at The Fish Store and kept a close watch on my 55 gal. tank. I also refilled the 100 gal. and left it running with no fish in it. When the bio spira arrived, I added it, and immediately added the fish back in. That was in June of 2003, and the tank is crystal clear! If you can get a hold of some bio spira, draining and refilling the tank is not necessarily a bad thing since the bacteria will be in your bio spira.

Ammonia and nitrite reducer

It's on sale at Dr. Foster and Smith

 

[cluster]

thanx for the info, im about 5mins away of doing my regular water change, i wasnt going to test the water today since its only the 4th day staright of doing changes i was gonan test on tuesday agai, due tot he fact i was told it would take me 4-6 weeks to resolve the situation .........

 

[Def]

In my opinion and experience, Cycle does work. For me it reduced the time to do a fish cycle in a large tank, and during the cycle it kept the ammonia and nitrite levels at a minimum.

 

[FishDan]

Personally, instead of adding chemicals to remove or reduce ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, I'd just do water changes. In the case of having a new fish in an uncycled tank, daily water changes will keep the levels low enough without adding chemicals. Chemicals and the like are okay for emergencicies (I keep a little container of White Diamond ammonia reducer, but have never used it) but for assisting a cycle I think they are a waste of money. Maybe they work, but I am of the opinion the fewer chemicals I add to my water, the better.

\Dan

 

[cluster]

well after placing a online order and they responded today saying they are out of stock till 10/22


but yet i was at the LFS few after seeing the response and i figure ahh lets look in this section they might just have it and i be surprised my new LFS i go to on a regular now did carry it for $9/bottle

containing treatment for 300 Gallons