Does Nutrafin Cycle Work?

[Phishy25]

I haven't kept tropical fish for about 3 years now and have recently got my old tank up and running. I was told from my local LFS that Nutrafin cycle would establish the bacteria immediately and make the water safe to stock straight away! I have to say I'm not convinced. I have a Evasion 120 with a external filter eheim 2126 and an internal heater (as filters heater has packed up) also air supply. I set it all up yesterday and added the correct dose of cycle. I will test it in a bit, thats if my test kit works (do they go out of date?) Its 3 years old now!

Any comments most appreciated. Can't believe how much I have forgotten

 

[KittyKat]

Never heard or seen it working.. only seen/heard it not doing much. I suggest fish-less cycle as normal.. the most it is likely to do is give the cycle a boost.

Test kits are not accurate when past use-by date.. although you could try comparing it to someone else's just to check? (For example if you have an LFS who will do a test for you.)

 

[Aqua Tom]

I cannot see how it could possibly work. The pot supposedly has the bacteria in it that we need. So what keeps the bacteria alive in the pot? They are not being fed at all.

 

[creg]

i used stress zyme for my cycle, wouldnt stock your tank straight away with this stuff just get a few fish every week (begin with the most hardy fish). thats what i did and didnt lose any fish.

who knows whether it actually works or not, but surely these products are tested by some sort of authority to make sure they do something to help.

 

[dertz8]

I tried it afew months ago to try and speed up cycling and by determination by water tests it did not speed up the formation of bacteria

 

[markandhisfish]

its not even worth the bottle it comes in .

 

[JasonandJill]

If the stuff actually worked I don't think all the knowledgeable people on any fish forum would recommend spending 1,2 or more months cycling their tanks. I've only ever used it when I've had to replace some filter media with new. Even then it's probably a waste of money, but it makes me feel a bit better.
As for LFS staff saying that it's fine to pour in a bottle of the stuff closely followed by a portion of "hardy fish"...is a bit like putting a person in a smoke filled building for a couple of months and saying "ok, you might choke a bit, maybe even die, but if you survive the first month or so, you should be ok. Even though you'll have lifelong damage to your lungs.
Best to read up all the info on cycling, be patient, and eventually add all the fish you want, without having to wake up in the morning and find yet another dead fish

 

[onebto]

I am on the side that says its about as useful as a politician

BUT i love it when this subject comes up it gets the emotions running.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Have to confess I did use a similar product (Tetra SafeStart) in my first tank, but then I did have it reasonably heavily planted too and I did start a fishless cycle using fish food for week previous. Then added some Rabbit Snails from "Des" and ten days later I bought six Pearl Danios, for my Rio240.

To this day I have no idea if the SafeStart helped or not, all I know is that in ~9 months I've yet to experience the dreaded "toxin spike" associated with new tanks in any of my now four setups.

Knowing a little more now than I did back then, my "top tip" would be to do two things as a newcomer to fishkeeping...

• Buy a sizeable amount of a fast growing floater plant such as the Phyllanthus Fluitans (Red Root Floater) I bought from "Voo" http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/334718-phyllanthus-fluitans-floating-plant/, that will cover at least half the water surface of the tank. Such plants are great at using any ammonia and nitrate (not nitrite) in the water, helping new fish and vastly reducing a "new tank syndrom" algae outbreak.
• Buy a 500ml bottle of Seachem Prime, found on Ebay for <£13 delivered. This product is a super concentrated dechlorinator (5ml per 100 litres normally, most similar products are ~5ml per 10 litres) that can also help control any ammonia or nitrite spikes by increasing the dose by 5x the standard amount, helping you and your fish out in an emergency.

 

[SensesFail]

I used biomature for a month which is a similar type of thing and it ruined everything I reckon, I'm 100days of cycling soon and that's not including the first month with biomature. I strongly believe that has stalled my progress and my filter big time! Creating high amount of ammonia and creating the wrong bacteria.

I'd recommend any day just buying household ammonia and doing the add and wait method which can be found in the beginners resource centre if required.

 

[waterdrop]

I cannot see how it could possibly work. The pot supposedly has the bacteria in it that we need. So what keeps the bacteria alive in the pot? They are not being fed at all.

Interestingly, though probably most here know how much I believe in and help with fishless cycles, I -do- understand the reasons behind why people like Tim Hovanec continue to try and make these bacteria-in-a-bottle things work: the autotrophic bacteria can indeed go into a spore-like state and survive a long time without proper nourishment. This is part of what drives people trying to do this. But the problem is that nobody seems to have made it work in a practical and reliable way yet and indeed, it sometimes seems to cause even worse problems (such as SensesFail has been having) than if it is not used at all (as opposed to simply doing nothing, as we have often told people was the effect.)

i used stress zyme for my cycle, wouldnt stock your tank straight away with this stuff just get a few fish every week (begin with the most hardy fish). thats what i did and didnt lose any fish.

who knows whether it actually works or not, but surely these products are tested by some sort of authority to make sure they do something to help.

This is just a Fish-In cycle. My own preference is not to use anything other than simple household ammonia (and perhaps a pinch of fishfood to add some complexity) and not to recommend that any of our beginners put these things in their filters. In fact, it is a particularly good feeling when we happen to catch those first early posts of newcomers and are able to stop them putting this stuff in their tanks, in my opinion.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

I have tried using that "stuff" and have found it to be less than desirable. Even though I used it in a new tank situation, I found that the tank required the same care that it would have required without the addition of any supplemental treatment.

 

[KittyKat]

i used stress zyme for my cycle, wouldnt stock your tank straight away with this stuff just get a few fish every week (begin with the most hardy fish). thats what i did and didnt lose any fish.

who knows whether it actually works or not, but surely these products are tested by some sort of authority to make sure they do something to help.

The trade is (effectively) regulated only as any other retail trade would be.

As for LFS staff saying that it's fine to pour in a bottle of the stuff closely followed by a portion of "hardy fish"...is a bit like putting a person in a smoke filled building for a couple of months and saying "ok, you might choke a bit, maybe even die, but if you survive the first month or so, you should be ok. Even though you'll have lifelong damage to your lungs.