Instant cycle products....

[Elisabeth83]

Doe's anyone use any of these products for a mature cycled tank? Cycle can be used once a week as maintenance, but doe's it really help?

This is what I have been wondering as well. A guy who works at my lfs says he adds the cycle stuff with every water change.

It says you can use it with every water change

 

[B75]

Have you got any friends who on a fish tank and live close to you or it doesn't even have a to be a friend, a neighbour perhaps.

Pop over to their house and as long as they have a mature tank, ask for some of their gravel or some bacteria from one of their filter sponges. That way you are guaranteed to really boost your cylce.

 

[Invader675]

I'm currently using "Cycle" in a 21gal but was planning to also use "Kleen Off" 9% ammonia. I've added fish flakes to kick start some rotting and used 10% rain water with 90% britta filtered water. I'll keep testing every 2 days and post the results. I'm hoping for a 20 day fishless cycle.

 

[leafs]

Doe's anyone use any of these products for a mature cycled tank? Cycle can be used once a week as maintenance, but doe's it really help?

This is what I have been wondering as well. A guy who works at my lfs says he adds the cycle stuff with every water change.

It says you can use it with every water change

What I'm thinking is, if you have a mature tank you should have all the good bacteria anyways. I guess it couldn't hurt to have some more as a back up if you happen to lose any for some reason.

 

[corbypete]

Doe's anyone use any of these products for a mature cycled tank? Cycle can be used once a week as maintenance, but doe's it really help?

This is what I have been wondering as well. A guy who works at my lfs says he adds the cycle stuff with every water change.

It says you can use it with every water change

What I'm thinking is, if you have a mature tank you should have all the good bacteria anyways. I guess it couldn't hurt to have some more as a back up if you happen to lose any for some reason.

indeed, any you cant use will simply die off if they are made redundant from lack of food etc.

 

[juiceball1]

My experience with Bio-Spira is that it doesn't "instantly cycle" your tank. I'm doing a fishless cycle and I added bio-spira to my tank on day 7. Sure my nitrite and nitrate readings went up, but my tank did not instantly cycle. My ammonia reading did not dropped to zero (0) until day 16 (I am adding ammonia every morning and I take my readings at the end of the day). My nitrite reading is now at .25ppm and my nitrate is 80ppm. My nitrites dropped from 2ppm to .25ppm in a day so my tank is close to completing the cycling process. Bio-Spira in my opinion is an expensive seeding product.

 

[leafs]

I guess some people may be led to believe that Cycle or Bio spira will cycle their tank instantly, but that's not the case. It will speed up the process.

 

[corbypete]

its a bit like adding an established sponge to a tank, lots of bacteria but they need to get around and cling to whats in your tank

 

[Invader675]

Added a record to my sig'. Ammonia is very high today since I took the reading soon after adding a capful! Never mind. Hope it'll help someone eventually.

 

[pahansen]

The subject of cycling with a dead fish (the suggestion of some LFS owner) came up before in another post. While I'd wager this would work, as it would give the bacteria a source of food, wouldn't there be a possibility of contaminating a perfectly good new tank with the dead fish (or remnants thereof)? I would think that this would be somewhat risky, unless you were sure that the fish in question had died healthy and merely of old age.

Anyone know for sure about this? And is there any difference between dead fish "protein" and just sticking a dead fish in your tank?

I'm with a couple other people -- get some "used" gravel or a sponge. If you know somone with a dead fish, then you probably know someone with some gravel and a filter!

-- Pamela

 

[pahansen]

I'm with a couple other people -- get some "used" gravel or a sponge. If you know somone with a dead fish, then you probably know someone with some gravel and a filter!

...or perhaps not. That could explain the dead fish!

Sorry -- it's getting late and I'm getting punchy.
-- Pamela

 

[pnyklr3]

Well, when I set up my 55 almost a year ago (before I had heard of fishless cycling) I torn down my 10 gallon, set up the 55 gallon with all-new EVERYTHING (including gravel and filter media), filled 'er up with "right temp" dechlored water, got the filter running AND DUMPED IN MY FISH ! I didn't lose a single one of them (I used cycle in the tank...mere hours before the fish went in), but I think it was do to sheer dumb luck B)

 

[Dorkhedeos]

or maybe because the tank is more than 5 times bigger than your old tank so it is more stable. i have a question, if i am looking for these cycle products, would i look on the shelf, or in the refridgerator? how long can you keep these products until they arent good anymore? if you left a bottle of ammonia out uncovered, wouldnt you have bacteria growing in there?

 

[corbypete]

or maybe because the tank is more than 5 times bigger than your old tank so it is more stable. i have a question, if i am looking for these cycle products, would i look on the shelf, or in the refridgerator? how long can you keep these products until they arent good anymore? if you left a bottle of ammonia out uncovered, wouldnt you have bacteria growing in there?

its ont eh shelf mate, or if you're lucky and they have some in the fridge, then you could have a source for 'the good stuff'. Obviously a shelf bottle in the fridge is no good!

as for a tub of ammonia left out, no. there is no dilution, the concentration is too high for anything to occure.. .remeber, its a cleaning product too!

 

[happyadd]

I have been using cycle in my fishless cycle. I think it does work to be honest with you. I left my nitrite start to rise. Then I added one capful a day for three days. (As well as small amount of ammonia). After three days my nitrate was 100+ so I stopped and waited. It is just an accelerator but does need ammonia.

Basically I think it is a de-nitrifying agent which is the bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate. Without ammonia I'm not sure if its any good.

I did have a bacterial bloom while adding it though, so I may have added too much, but they say you cannot overdose and there was no fish in there anyway so what the heck...

any help?