bacteria in a bottle? for cycling?

[Billybatz9]

Hey guys,

Why's your opinion on using those bacteria in a bottle items used for cycling a tank? Any good recommendations?

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

I've successfully used instant ocean bio-spira twice. It is a bit pricey though, so I would check into something like sachem stability. You do get what you pay for...I tried just knock off brand that petsmart was selling back when I first got into it and it didn't do anything.

 

[edinphilly]

I've used Stability with success a couple times.

 

[pyithar]

i use stability+seeded pad from my sump+some water from my system whenever i need to setup my quarantine tank.

 

[Hojo220]

I used fluval biological enhancer and cycled my tank in 11 days. This included a damsel with live sand and live rock.

 

[Billybatz9]

Do I need to add any amonia if I am going to be using stability?

 

[JMorris271]

If a QT can be set up by treating the water with Prime or something like it, I wonder why more don't do it that way? It seams easier and instantanious.

 

[BowedFloor]

If a QT can be set up by treating the water with Prime or something like it, I wonder why more don't do it that way? It seams easier and instantanious.

prime doesn't cycle the tank, and it provides no useful bacteria. it's a sulphur denitrator, neutralizes chlorine (and maybe chloramines), and deals with some heavy metals I think.

Also: OP all of my aquariums I cycled using bacteria from a bottle. Seachem stability and KZ ZeoBak.

 

[h8z2luze]

I have used Bio-Spira and Start smart by TLC with success.

 

[gone fishin]

Bacteria in a bottle can be one of those hot button discussions. You can use one if you prefer or not.

You do want to add an ammonia source to start the cycle. This can be pure ammonia (No surfacant in it), A shrimp from the deli, food flakes you get the picture. Once added sit back and wait till it is done. Good luck

 

[Billybatz9]

Bacteria in a bottle can be one of those hot button discussions. You can use one if you prefer or not.

You do want to add an ammonia source to start the cycle. This can be pure ammonia (No surfacant in it), A shrimp from the deli, food flakes you get the picture. Once added sit back and wait till it is done. Good luck

I think I will just go buy ammonia. How much ammonia do I add into the tank?

 

[Billybatz9]

Bacteria in a bottle can be one of those hot button discussions. You can use one if you prefer or not.

You do want to add an ammonia source to start the cycle. This can be pure ammonia (No surfacant in it), A shrimp from the deli, food flakes you get the picture. Once added sit back and wait till it is done. Good luck

So apart from instant ocean bio-spira or stability, I need to add amonia to that also?

 

[formsix]

If a QT can be set up by treating the water with Prime or something like it, I wonder why more don't do it that way? It seams easier and instantanious.

You certainly can if you don't want to cycle the QT. I do this, as do many others, with success. However, I think of Prime as a back-up to deal with ammonia, and rely on large water changes as the main way to keep ammonia down. This works really well for procedures like tank transfer where you are completely changing all the water every 3 days (by virtue of changing tanks). I also don't mind doing large water changes (50%) in a 20g 2x a week while my fish remain under observation. I also add Prime daily after the first two days as a precaution. However, all of my fish are SMALL, like 2-3" max, and I only QT 2 at a time. For larger fish you would need to do even more frequent water changes, possibly in a bigger tank, which could get kinda insane and price pretty quickly.

Personally, I wouldn't want to set up a cycled QT that I was going to break down after each fish -- that's a ton of work, and I'm not sure how confident I'd be that the tank was truly cycled (if the point is to do it relatively quickly). I think that an uncycled tank that you stay on top of w/ large water changes is the safest and most fail-safe method, but again, can require a fair bit of work and salt water. A permanent cycled QT that fish go in after tank transfer would be my ideal set up, if I had the space, inclination, and willpower to not permanently want to keep critters in it!!

 

[JMorris271]

20 ml per 50 gals will get you to 4ppm

 

[MondoBongo]

i used SeaChem Stability a few times in the past.

i'll be honest, it seems to have helped cycle things more quickly, but really that is just anecdotal. i've been dying to get a look at this stuff under a good power microscope, but unfortunately haven't been able to access one.

 

[Billybatz9]

Do you guys recommend a shrimp or stability by seachem for cycling a tank?

 

[firemountain]

I used Dr.Tims nitrifying bacteria, worked great!!

 

[Billybatz9]

I used Dr.Tims nitrifying bacteria, worked great!!

Kind of expensive :hmm2:

 

[GT350pwns]

Second for Dr tims. Although, I used it 3 weeks into my cycle and tank had already shown 0 ammonia, nitrite, and some nitrate. Put it in before the addition of my two clowns just to make sure they wouldn't be stressed.

 

[Sk8r]

I use one piece of live rock, which will stay there---and bring me worms, pods, sponges, and all sorts of good things. No potions. I use a sewage-like sludge remover in my koi pond outdoors, and it works well for what it does. I just drop in a few flakes of fish food a day; I don't use ammonia or raw shrimp or anything of the sort.

But here's the problem. Not that these are bad bacteria---but that cycling means more than just skinning-over the rock and sand with bacteria...no. It means giving time for the bacteria in a rock or a dose to spread out and not only coat every other rock, but to sink deep into crevices and pores of that rock.

This is WHY we recommend 4 weeks of cycling, partly because it can take that long for the bacteria colonies to develop in type and numbers, but also because a skin-coating of bacteria is awfully week, and not really up to handling a problem if one turns up.

The BEST course is 4 weeks of cycling (bacteria reproduce fast) and a cleanup crew working for four weeks, not because they're going to eat all the algae, but so their relatively mild poo can go on strengthening the bacteria and set up the natural cycle of poo to nitrogen gas. During that time you can have your first fish in quarantine. Not a herd of fishes---just one, or a mated pair...so you bring your tank under poo stress little at a time.

This avoids agony letters to RC asking What happened? My fish disappeared!