Problems With Fishless Cycle

[eaglesaquarium]

Bio start or something like that it was called

 
There you go!  This isn't a "chemical", its supposedly a bacterial addition to get the process seeded.  We generally don't recommend those here either.  There have been cases where certain brands have had a measure of success, but by and large, once again, the variables are huge.  And if this individual added bacteria to the tank, but didn't provide an ammonia source, then the bacteria starved to death.

I have heard of people putting Tetra Safe Start in the tank to let it cycle and have had good luck with it. I have never done it tho.

 
You still need an ammonia source for this product though.  Just adding Tetra Safe Start - or any of these products - and then sitting back for a week won't work.  Tetra Safe Start suggests to add fish immediately (and there's the ammonia source).  Personally, I have reservations about these products, because they must be handled just right for the bacteria to remain viable.

 

[dalton93]

I personally went down the fish cycle after my first few tanks I set up and found it to work better I don't like using chemicals uncles I really have to such as my frets and meth blue

 

[CJH0825]

The problem with Tetra Safe Start ( IMO ), is that it makes the cycle skip the Nitrite part of it. 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I personally went down the fish cycle after my first few tanks I set up and found it to work better I don't like using chemicals uncles I really have to such as my frets and meth blue

 
I'm sorry, I don't understand this.

 

[the_lock_man]

I personally went down the fish cycle after my first few tanks I set up and found it to work better I don't like using chemicals uncles I really have to such as my frets and meth blue

 
I have found the complete opposite, fishless was far easier for me. You don't use Meth Blue in a fishless cycle. And what did you mean by "frets" I assume you're posting from a mobile device with a teensy keyboard.
 

The problem with Tetra Safe Start ( IMO ), is that it makes the cycle skip the Nitrite part of it. 

 
I don't fully understand what you mean by that - the cycle can't skip the nitrite phase - could you clarify, please?

 

[dalton93]

I find that using fish to cycle works better cause I don't like to put trust in those chemicals and I would only ever put chemicals in my tank for my plants and method blue if I have an outbreak of disease

I find that using fish to cycle works better cause I don't like to put trust in those chemicals and I would only ever put chemicals in my tank for my plants and method blue if I have an outbreak of disease

Meth blue

 

[CJH0825]

Taken from another forum.....
 
IMHO Tetra Safe Start (previosuly Bio Spira) works!!!

Ive cycled various tanks with it....Each tank took about approximately ten to fourteen days to cycle...

You "will" see a very small Ammonia Spike but this is never more than 0.5ppm max...AND! you NEVER! see Nitrites....

So when Tetra say the immediate addition of fish to a new tank they really mean less sensitive fish and probably no more than 6...The reason being
is the fish are exposed to a slight rise in Ammonia (never more than 0.5ppm though) for several days...

I emailed tetra about this before and what they told me was "The patented bacteria in Safe Start need a constant LOW source of Ammonia to establish a proper colony so DONT carry out any water changes until the tank cycles"

Whatever is in Safe Start it works by keeping Ammonia below 0.5ppm and  eliminating the Nitrite stage of a cycle......

What I have seen happen in the tanks I have cycled with Safe Start is Ammonia will rise to 0.5ppm after about 3 days and then very slowly over the next week or so fall slowly back to zero...Dont ask me how but there was no NitrIte Stage....The tanks went straight from Ammonia rising and falling to readable NitrAtes without ever having readable NitrItes

This chart from tetra will make it clearer and this is exactly what Ive witnessed happening in my tanks.............
http/www.tetra-fish.com/images/TetraFish/flash/watercare/watercare.html
 
 
 
Whether it works or not, I don't know as I have never done it...

 

[the_lock_man]

If you're saying you don't trust the Bacteria-In-A-Bottle products, you could well be right, many people don't trust them. But, using standard bottled ammonia, (which you generally can't buy from a LFS) works infintely easier in my experience.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It skips the NItrite SPIKE, not the nitrite STAGE.
 
The person who posted that was referring to the nitrogen cycle and named the "nitrite spike" as a "stage".  The nitrogen still goes from ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate.  It doesn't skip being nitrite. 

 

[CJH0825]

Is there a difference in cycles? I thought there was only 1 cycle that had to occur, But if I understand you correctly, There are more than just one  

 

[dalton93]

Everyone has their preffered way don't they I suppose

Is there a difference in cycles? I thought there was only 1 cycle that had to occur, But if I understand you correctly, There are more than just one  

There is one cycle just different stages of it

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I find that using fish to cycle works better cause I don't like to put trust in those chemicals and I would only ever put chemicals in my tank for my plants and method blue if I have an outbreak of disease

Meth blue

 
I'm going to disagree with you regarding what works "better".  A fishless cycle, in my opinion is infinitely "better" because it doesn't risk the life of an animal.  The fish in a fish-in cycle are exposed to "toxic chemicals - i.e. ammonia and nitrite", whereas the the addition of pure ammonia in solution produces the same result - a cycled filter - without the threat to the life (and longer term health) of the fish.
 
 
When you say "those chemicals", please be specific regarding which ones you don't trust.

 

[dalton93]

Just the ones to kick start the cycling process

 

[CJH0825]

Everyone has their preffered way don't they I suppose
 

Is there a difference in cycles? I thought there was only 1 cycle that had to occur, But if I understand you correctly, There are more than just one  

There is one cycle just different stages of it

That's what I thought. And the person who posted that said that it went from ammonia right to nitrAte, skipping the nitrIte stage of the cycle. I am in no means pushing any specific product. Everyone has different ways of doing things. I'm just learning myself and been doing alot of reading on cycling a tank. I just thought that that post was interesting to me.

 

[dalton93]

He mentioned nitrite