Nutrafin "b Clear Biological"

[invictor]

Hi all,

Got the new tank up and running after this weekends disaster, got a replacement Elite 60 tropical tank. Filled with water and gravel etc and added the Aqua Plus doseage and the Nutrafin Cycle doseage as advised by the handbook that comes with it, but the next morning the water was pretty cloudy (as it was the first time around). However the cloudiness seemed to dissipate within 24 hours last time, this time it just looks like murky water in the tank and almost 3 days later it is yet to clear. Should I just sit it out (and if so how long is it going to take to dissipate? I'm doing a partial water change each day but as I've read in the guide it does little to nothing to help cloudyness).

Or should I buy this Nutrafin B Clear Biological treatment stuff which it says in the guidebook will "Clear cloudy water caused by New Tank Syndromes bacterial blooms"? Is it really worth it and does it actually work?

 

[arobinson1984]

I wouldn't buy anything for it to be honest, let the filter do its work. There is a liquid called accuclear which would help it clear but there is no point wasting money on buying products when your filter will clear it anyway given time.

Did you give the gravel a good wash before putting it into the tank?? It's quite commen with new set ups and can just sometimes take longer than others to clear.

Also the nutrafin cycle is useless, I wouldn't bother buying it again, what you need is some pure ammonia if you are planning a fishless cycle.

Check out the beginners section where there are some pinned threads regarding fishless and fish-in cycling.

Andy

 

[fatheadminnow]

Hi all,

Got the new tank up and running after this weekends disaster, got a replacement Elite 60 tropical tank. Filled with water and gravel etc and added the Aqua Plus doseage and the Nutrafin Cycle doseage as advised by the handbook that comes with it, but the next morning the water was pretty cloudy (as it was the first time around). However the cloudiness seemed to dissipate within 24 hours last time, this time it just looks like murky water in the tank and almost 3 days later it is yet to clear. Should I just sit it out (and if so how long is it going to take to dissipate? I'm doing a partial water change each day but as I've read in the guide it does little to nothing to help cloudyness).

Or should I buy this Nutrafin B Clear Biological treatment stuff which it says in the guidebook will "Clear cloudy water caused by New Tank Syndromes bacterial blooms"? Is it really worth it and does it actually work?

First of all, Nutrafin Cycle is a waste of money. It is completely rubbish and does not work.

The only thing that was ever proven to help cycle a tank was Bio Spira, but that product has been taken off of the market a couple years back.

Do you have fish in the tank, or not.

Have you had a read in the beginners section on the pinned articles about how to cycle a tank?

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=277264

The murky water is called a bacteria bloom, which is caused by the water conditioner you added which changes the state of the water, allowing the water to hold beneficial bacteria.

These bacterias, called Heterotrophic Bacteria, get to work quickly to break down the organic waste in the water.

These bacteria are bigger than our trusted autotrophic bacteria, therefore they do not attach them selves to anything, so they live an colonize very quickly in the water column.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=246850

-FHM

 

[paulbr1]

Hi, I wouldn't worry about the haze, my two had it for a while in the beginning and it will clear.

As a side note - one of my tanks has been running for a few months now and was quite clear but when I look from the side there was a slight haze - I had loads of floss in the filter and this made no difference, but I got myself some Accu-Clear "API" popped it in and it was crystal within about 30mins.

I don't normally reccomend product but if you are hazy and not "new hazy" it does what it says on the tin.

Paul.

 

[invictor]

Thanks for replying.

No I don't have any fish in it yet, although was hoping to get a couple of fish in there on the weekend as thats the next time I can get out to get some. Thanks for the advise on Nutrifin Cycle, luckily I didn't purchase it, it came with the tank, so I won't be wasting my money on it in future if you guys think its a waste of time. I was hoping to do a fish in cycle, but a bit apprenhensive about putting one in there whilst its cloudy....?

 

[rabbut]

Why are you choosing to do a fish-in cycle? Do you like water changes? fish-in cycles will force you into daily 50% or more water changes for about 4 weeks, often longer, while exposing fish to toxins and shortening their life span Yes, it's the old way, but the old ways are not always the best. It is far less stressful, for both you and the fish, to do a fishless, even though you will be staring at an empty tank for 4 weeks

If you really want to pursue a fish-in cycle, post back and I'll run you through a few added precautions to take and advise on the best fish to add, but really, it would be better to cycle with liquid ammonia Hopefully, fish deaths will be avoided if you think through the precautions and choose the "cycle fish" with care before starting, but you can never avoid causing long-term harm when you intentionally expose the fish to poisons

All the best
Rabbut

 

[invictor]

I would have liked to do a fish in cycle, but after this morning I'm not so sure! I woke up to this, a very brown tank:

It surely shouldn't be this brown should it? I'm tempted to take the water out, rewash the gravel and start again depending on what you guys think?

I did originally start with sand in my first tank, but the cloudyness was silly so I just took everything out and changed over to gravel, but then it burst obviously and this is the new tank (same filter though). Perhaps some sand got lodged in the filter and is slowly browning up my water? Help!

Edit: On closer inspection, it would seem my log has decided to grow some hair.....that can't be right for a 3 1/2 day old tank surely.....

 

[rabbut]

The brownness is from the log. It is called tannins, and isn't actually too bad Most fish will like it, it's just an eye-sore for us to look at

The Stingray Elite filter you have is rubbish IMO. There is barely any media in it, and what little media there is is basically Zeolite and carbon. Both will remove Tannins and stop the water going cloudy. The fact that it is cloudy already tells you that the cartridges are saturated already, so how will they cope when fish are in, creating more stuff for them to absorb. The Zeolite will prevent the tank cycling too IME, so you really need to either replace or modify the filter to make it work properly

You still haven't said why you want to do a fish-in cycle. This is really intriguing me

All the best
Rabbut

 

[pippoodle]

for the stingray filter throw away the cartridges and dont use them again they're not worth the money
replace them with sponge one side and floss the other side then replce the floss every week if dirty and rinse the sponges once a month in tank water - dont replce the sponges until they fall apart

 

[invictor]

I've given up with the log now, I thought it could possibly be that. The log looks very nice but the brown water is a total eye sore, so I'll have to put up with no log for the time being . The singray filter came with the set, might see how it goes and possibly purchase a new one sometime down the line. As long as it does the job it says it will do on the box for the moment thats fine for me!

The only reason I'm keen on doing a fish in cycle is because its what its advising me to do in the booklet - I doubt this kit is designed for hardcore fish keepers what sort of fish you recommend then for a fish in cycle? And what sort of precautions would I have to take? I guess daily water changes are a must from your previous post!

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[paulbr1]

Hi, don't chuck the bogwood!!!

Find a pan big enough to boil it, if it wont fit in completely do one end and then the other, you will need to boil it for a good few days on and off, but when the "changed water" stays pretty much clean you are there.

I boiled mine several times a day and changed the boil water everyday, my tank has had no "bog wood" haze since..

Paul.

Another note,

If you know anybody local with tropical - ask them if you could have a little of their mature media - then add this to your filter this will spead up any cycle and will be better for the fish even if you do decide to go "fish-in-cycle "

Sorry for the smiley but that is the usual for fish in cycle. - - -go fishless

Good luck

Paul

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yeah, the brown water is the tannins, and they are a natural extractive from wood when submerged in water.

To get rid of the tannins, you have to soak the wood in a bucket of water for a couple weeks to get as many tannins out as possible.

I also boiled the piece of wood in my tank for 4 days, after it was soaked in water for a couple weeks

it still leaks out a little tannins, but nothing too bad at all, hard to notice.

The only way to get rid of tannins that are already in your tank is over time through water changes, or adding new carbon to your filter every 3 days or so for like a years, which would get really expensive.

Also, like mentioned above, some fish really like the tannins, especially brackish water fish like Cichlids. They will really appreciate the tannins.

Other than that, it does no harm to anything, and if you don't like it, take the wood out and soak it for a couple weeks, and boil it.

-FHM

 

[rabbut]

Also, like mentioned above, some fish really like the tannins, especially brackish water fish like Cichlids. They will really appreciate the tannins.

Cichlids are brackish? Mebe I should go add some salt to my Discus tank then, even though my Discus are *supposedly* salt intolerant

The singray filter came with the set, might see how it goes and possibly purchase a new one sometime down the line. As long as it does the job it says it will do on the box for the moment thats fine for me!

See, that's the thing. The filters stupidly low amount of filter media and the Zeolite means is won't do what it says on the box It needs modifying if you want a lightly stocked tank (very un-usual) or replacing so it will a)cope with the tank when fully stocked with fish and b)not mess with the biological filter.

The only reason I'm keen on doing a fish in cycle is because its what its advising me to do in the booklet - I doubt this kit is designed for hardcore fish keepers

This is the booklet that recommended the water clearing chemicals you didn't need and the dead filter bacteria bottle that didn't even contain the correct filter bacteria when they were live yes? sure you really want to take the booklets advice? You are correct in saying the booklet isn't aimed at "hard core fish keepers", (I'd argue fish keepers in general), it's aimed at Mister Joe Average Fish Haver that views the fish as decorative objects that are nice to look at, thinks it's entertaining that the Tiger Barbs are killing the Siamise Fighter, and has accepted that all fish only live a couple of weeks in general, mainly as they all die in the cycle while the tank matures Really, it's best for you and the fish to do it the recommended way, linked to here

However, if you really do want to go fish-in, read on...

what sort of fish you recommend then for a fish in cycle? And what sort of precautions would I have to take? I guess daily water changes are a must from your previous post!

What fish do you have your eye on ATM? Most live bearers (Mollies, Platties and Swardtails are ok, NOT Guppies though), Harlequins and Danios are all fairly hardy, as are wider bodied Tetras. This said, the Wider Bodied Tetras (Black Widows, Black Phantoms, Columbians e.t.c) tend to be aggressively nippy to other fish and would potentially rule out later stocking choices.

You want to stock at 1" per 5-10 gallons to start, so two to three smaller fish to start with. You then cycle untill the Ammonia and nitrite read zero for a week solid without water changes to help keep them down. Now you UP-TO double your numbers and repeat until fully stocked.

You need to test at least once a day, preferably twice, with a good quality liquid regent based test kit and water change at least 50% every time you see Ammonia or Nitrite present.

For Write-up's on Fish-in cycling, read;

My fish-in cycling write-up

and for a second reading and to clarify anything that isn't clear from my document

Miss Wiggle's write-up

A Fishless cycle only has one water change in the end in medium to hard water areas, and only need daily testing towards the end, You can often get away with literally doing no work on the tank for the first week fish Fishless, whereas you will be building your upper body strength without going to the gym if you go fish-in

HTH
Rabbut

 

[fatheadminnow]

Also, like mentioned above, some fish really like the tannins, especially brackish water fish like Cichlids. They will really appreciate the tannins.

Cichlids are brackish? Mebe I should go add some salt to my Discus tank then, even though my Discus are *supposedly* salt intolerant


HTH
Rabbut

Sorry, I was not thinking clearly, I have to write this stupid paper for history here at he University; a little stressed right now. Not thinking clearly.

Thanks for the correction.

-FHM

 

[drobbyb]

Not to Hjack but...It's ok FHM, nobody's perfect