# Fishless Cycle with Tetra SafeStart??



## Samm (Aug 20, 2016)

Hello everyone!:smile2: I have some questions about cycling using Tetra SafeStart. I read all of the cycling stickys and they were very helpful, but I'm still left with some questions. I'm upgrading my betta from his 5 gallon to a 10 gallon; I have had the tank set up and an Aquaclear 30 filter running for about 24 hours now. My question is, can I do a fishless cycle using Tetra SafeStart? Tetra's instructions for use are to do a fish-in cycle with the product. However, that's what I did with my betta in his 5 gallon and he was quite stressed and even fell ill. Has anyone had experience with SafeStart fishless cycling? Would the steps in the fishless cycle change if I were to use Tetra SafeStart? Thanks in advance!


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Before I started fishless cycling, I had done tons of research online. These bacteria stuff can shorten cycling process only 2 days or so. You can set the Aquaclear 30 filter on 5 gallon and run for days so that beneficial bacteria grow in the new filter media. Then you can move it to a 10 gallon tank and start fishless cycling with pure ammonia.


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## Samm (Aug 20, 2016)

Oh ok I see, I'll give that a try, thanks!


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## Baelenn (Apr 22, 2017)

I used Tetra Safe start to. I feed it fish food for a few days until it read Ammo 0, ITES = 0 , ATES = 20 for 2 days. Then I put a fish in. That was 3 weeks ago and the numbers havent changed.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

TSS works either _fishless_ (you provide the ammonia) or _fish-in_ (fish provides the ammonia) as it was designed to do.

If your 10g is already set-up, I would transfer the filter from the 5g, check your water and transfer the fish. 

Then test every few days until you're sure the ammonia is under control. A few drops of Prime every day or so is good for reassurance. In a 10g it takes along time for ammonia to build up; a weekly >25% water change will stabilize that.

See CYCLING: the two-sentence tutorial


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## Samm (Aug 20, 2016)

I ended up going the fishless cycle route with Dr. Tim's ammonia and TSS. Currently on day 5 and finally seeing nitrite!


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