# Bacteria Supplements???



## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

So I've been doing some research on cycling and have found out the ammonia method is the best way to go (thanks again to whoever linked me the info on that). But I found a bunch of video tutorials on Youtube that say I should use a bacteria supplement since I'm using silk plants rather than live. I've never heard of this before and I'm not even sure if my local pet stores carry it. Also all of the videos are a few years old (they were all uploaded 2-3 years ago), so I've considered the possibility that this was just a fad for aquarists a while ago. Overall, though, I just want to do everything possible to make my cycling go as smoothly as possible. What do you guys think -- is this something I should look into further? Or just continue on with my research and cycle without it?
Thanks in advance, guys!


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

You mean those bacterias in a bottle? I don't touch those personally. Tried one once.. it failed miserably (used liquid test kits to prove) and the company (Tetra) refused to refund without ridiculous stipulations being met that cost more than the product (their money back guarantee is bull [censor], only plausible if you're in walking/short driving distance of their main office building in Va).
If you mean getting beneficial bacteria from an aged cycled tank (with healthy fish and no mystery deaths) that IS a good idea. But if you, and your family and friends do not have a cycled healthy tank its harder to find safe aged media to get a beneficial bacteria boost. If you have a lfs that actually has healthy fish (never any disease or deaths in the tanks) you can ask them for some old media from their filters.. but finding such a healthy store setups is very rare. But I have done a tank without any added bacteria, just the pure ammonia method and it worked fine.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Aqua Aurora said:


> You mean those bacterias in a bottle? I don't touch those personally. Tried one once.. it failed miserably (used liquid test kits to prove) and the company (Tetra) refused to refund without ridiculous stipulations being met that cost more than the product (their money back guarantee is bull [censor], only plausible if you're in walking/short driving distance of their main office building in Va).
> If you mean getting beneficial bacteria from an aged cycled tank (with healthy fish and no mystery deaths) that IS a good idea. But if you, and your family and friends do not have a cycled healthy tank its harder to find safe aged media to get a beneficial bacteria boost. If you have a lfs that actually has healthy fish (never any disease or deaths in the tanks) you can ask them for some old media from their filters.. but finding such a healthy store setups is very rare. But I have done a tank without any added bacteria, just the pure ammonia method and it worked fine.


Yeah, the people vids said it was basically bacteria you buy at the pet store. I considered it for about a half second because I don't know many people that keeps betta or other kinds of fish as pets. I don't really have a way to introduce bacteria into the tank. So I'm glad to hear that the ammonia method should work without the supplements and that my tank won't have trouble cultivating bacteria. 
Thanks for responding! ^_^


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Yep just set up the tank as you plan to have it with a fish (filter, heater (set to desired temp), dechlorinated water) and let it cycle. Leave the light off during cycling or you will get algae. I went a bit overboard trying to prevent algae and actually put a box over the tank (the box it came in) while it cycled (the tank I speak of was next to a fully cycled tank which had plants so lights are on daily). I removed the cover to do water tests, add ammonia, and do water changes then put it back on. This looked stupid *but *I had no algae from the cycle as algae needs light. So when the cycle was done the tank looked clean, just needed some heavy water changing to remove nitrates and it was ready to use! But most people won't go that far as to put a box (or towel, curtain, etc) over a tank to prevent algae during cycling.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Lol. Putting a box over it sounds like an awesome idea, especially since I live in a place where it's sunny year round. I probably won't be using the aquarium lights much, though, since I'm using silk plants and I don't want it to overheat the tank, and I'm going to do my best to keep the tank out of direct sunlight. Besides, if I didn't let algae grow then my new algae scrubber would never get a workout. It's just part of the natural cycle of keeping a tank. It's something I signed up for and it's something I need to get used to doing, but I can definitely understand the appeal.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I have used Tetra SafeStart in the past and had very good luck with it. Make sure that the bottle is fresh and has not sat on the shelf too long. (hint grab from the back of the shelf and check the dates on all the bottles).

I used double the amount that it said to on the bottle and added it right into the filter.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Huh. Did it actually make your cycling go faster, Vivian? 

Also do you guys know if I'll any problems cycling with a carbon filter? Another website said that if I try to replace the cartridge, I'll have to start cycling all other again.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I've only use Tetra SafeStart and my tanks cycled in about 2-3 weeks. 

With any filter, you never want to change the media out since i will ruin your cycle. You can use carbon filled filters if you want. when the cartridge/media starts to fall apart then lay the new one on top of the old one for 3-4 weeks so the bacteria can transfer.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Wow, I can't believe it worked for you! That's awesome!

Oh, awesome! Thanks for filling me in. I was kind of freaking about that for a while. ^_^


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

actually, a large number of members on here have used Tetra SafeStart with success. I don't know where you heard it didn't work...


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

It was some website similar to ask.com, except it was all aquarium-centered. They said the bacteria supplements are a scam that do more harm than good.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

well i've found that those "ask.com" like sites are not that great. 

I would trust the people on this site more. I've never gotten bad advice here and most of the members are extremely well informed.


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## Polkadot (Feb 10, 2013)

Seachem Stabilty is a great cycle starter/helper too.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Yes, Stability is a great product. It isn't technically a bottle bacteria since you have to dose it many times over the course of a number of days. Many people on this site have had good luck with it - although I've personally never used it.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

I try my best to get all the information I can from this specific website, but it doesn't always have all the answers. I think the other site was aquariumadvice, btw. 
But thanks for the tips, you guys. I'm going to look into both products and try to figure out the pros and cons of both. Might end up trying one since I don't have a way to introduce bacteria into my new tank. I have to talk my husband about it first, though.


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

One time I had an idea to test out a bunch of those bottled products all in 5 gallon buckets in my basement to compare them, and then I completely forgot about it. Maybe I will revive that.

I have personally used Tetra safestart, Dr. Tim's One and Only, and Seachem Stability all to good effect. 

Most recently, I used a sample bottle I had of Fritz Aquatics "Fritzzyme-7", and my tank was cycled in 5 days. I did add 3-4 bioballs from my established tank filter as well, so that helped. But I think it's a product worth your time and money.


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## hgual22 (Jul 18, 2014)

I used tetra safestart to do a fishless cycle, using pure ammonia, and it sped it up. I saw Nitrites in less than a week, and then had no ammonia or nitrites in a little less than 3 weeks. If I get another betta I will certaily use it to speed up a fish in cycle. It works great. I got my bottle from walmart for $6.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks for sharing your experiences, guys. I'm really glad to hear that the bacteria supplements work. I'm really surprised to see more people aren't using them. Most of the reviews I've seen have people using them for fish-in cycling shortcuts :-/


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I've used Stability with great success to fish-in cycle tanks from 2.5-20 gallons. I would trust the people who've actually used a product. I've seen people on a number of sites claim products to jump start cycling don't work ... most eventually admit they haven't used the product so I wonder how they have an opinion. ;-)

Unfortunately there are products that have been mishandled at some point and the consumer pays when they don't work.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Thee are two kinds of so-called "nitrifying" bacteria. Therefore, the term is somewhat misleading, along with "beneficial bacteria" (a term I loath), live bacteria and others. I've had to coin my own word for bacteria which actually performs the cycle -- cycling bacteria. This is live nitrosomonas and nitrospira bacteria which actually oxidize ammonia and nitrite, and are self-perpetuating. (you only have to dose them once)

Tetra Safestart and Dr.Tim's One-and-Only are the two most often used; and are used to good effect by dozens of keepers on this forum. These are _living_ organisms held in suspended animation by the chemical matrix in which they're shipped. Being living things, they are vulnerable to overheating (>90*F) and chilling (<40*F). They have a long but limited shelf-life so, as Vivian says, they need to be used fresh. These are called autotrophic bacteria.

The other kind of "nitrifying" or "beneficial" bacteria (see what I mean about confusion?) has unlimited shelf-life and is not as susceptible to heat and cold. These heterotrophic bacteria break up sludge, help clean the filter and promote the biofilm which coats everything in the tank and is where the cycling bacteria live. Stability is arguably the best of these products (FritzZyme works the same way), but they still rely on cycling bacteria entering the tank either by being in the sourcewater or falling into the tank from the atmosphere ... or from "seeded" media or a product which contains live autotrophs.

Fishless cycling is more complicated than fish-in. In my opinion, if you're building a community tank, or are planning on stocking many (shoaling) fish at once, you'd want to be able to oxidize up to 4.0ppm ammonia per day. For a low-bioload Betta tank, fish-in is much easier. A few additional water changes and close monitoring are all it takes.

Change half the water whenever ammonia or nitrite approach 0.50ppm. Dose Prime @ 2-drops/gal of tank size with changes and 1-drop/gal daily until cycled. That easy enough?

I've read the Ask.com articles on cycling and find their opinions outdated, and biased. They need to hang out here for a while.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Hallyx said:


> Thee are two kinds of so-called "nitrifying" bacteria. Therefore, the term is somewhat misleading, along with "beneficial bacteria" (a term I loath), live bacteria and others. I've had to coin my own word for bacteria which actually performs the cycle -- cycling bacteria. This is live nitrosomonas and nitrospira bacteria which actually oxidize ammonia and nitrite, and are self-perpetuating. (you only have to dose them once)
> 
> Tetra Safestart and Dr.Tim's One-and-Only are the two most often used; and are used to good effect by dozens of keepers on this forum. These are _living_ organisms held in suspended animation by the chemical matrix in which they're shipped. Being living things, they are vulnerable to overheating (>90*F) and chilling (<40*F). They have a long but limited shelf-life so, as Vivian says, they need to be used fresh. These are called autotrophic bacteria.
> 
> ...


I have considered fish-in cycling. I did my research on it and know how the process works, and I know it's also considered selfish and inhumane unless you are an experienced aquarist that knows how to avoid hurting the fish. I don't know how to do that because I am new to this, and because I don't want to take the chance of hurting or possibly killing my betta, I've decided that fishless cycling is the best choice for me. 
Fish-in cycling is probably something I will look into again in the future once I've become a more experienced aquarist.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

It's really great that you're planning ahead and doing research for your Betta as a majority probably don't. As far as cycling, both fish-in and fish-less cycling work. It's a matter of personal preference and often governed by whether you already have the fish.

It really doesn't take an experienced aquarist to fish-in cycle safely. I do it a bit different from some as I check parameters every day and change 25% of the water when either Ammonia or Nitrites approach .25 ppm instead of .50 ppm/50%. I also use Seachem Prime and Stability and have cycled seven tanks from 2.5-20 gallons in 10-14 days. However, if a person feels uncomfortable about doing a fish-in cycle they shouldn't no matter what anyone else says.

As an aside, I, too, have read those comments on various forums and just shake my head. It astounds me that some find it necessary to label me "inhumane" and "selfish" (among other things) in order to convince people that theirs is the only way; especially when it's just their opinion and not based on anything that's ever been proven. :-(


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I agree with Russell, I did fish-in cycling on all of my tanks before I was "experienced". 

Just buy Seachem Prime as your water conditioner since it locks ammonia and nitrite into a harmless molecule for 24-48 hours. Also dose the entire tank with 1-2 drops of Prime every day. Change the water when ammonia or nitrate reaches .25ppm-.50ppm.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

I'm sorry if my comment offended anyone. That wasn't my intention. I'm not sure why I thought that was important to mention at the time. I end up saying a lot of things that I regret or don't think through very well because of the various mental disorders I have (though it's mostly attributed to social anxiety and borderline disorder). I know that doesn't make it okay and I'm in therapy, trying to learn to correct the behavior, but I still have a really long way to go since I was just only recently diagnosed, so I apologize in advance if I seem socially inept. Anyway, I'm really sorry if I did offend anyone because I really didn't mean to. 
I'm just not comfortable with the idea fish-in cycling because I'm still so new to this and I really, really don't like the idea of taking a risk that could hurt any of my pets, including a betta. It's like I said, I'd rather wait until I'm a more experienced aquarist.


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