# Tank Cycling w/ Dr. Tim's One and Only



## orau22

So I recently set up a 20 Gallon Long tank to house a group of Caudopunks. I used all the rocks/filters/substrate from my previously cycled tank and figured there would be no need to cycle. So I went ahead and ordered my fish. I added ammonia 5 days ago so the bacteria would not die and to my surprise the ammonia levels took a while to drop, which to me, sounds like it isn't cycled. Today I checked ammonia/nitrite/nitrate after a water change, I am showing 0ppm ammonia, .25 nitrite, and 25ppm nitrate. This sounds like it is getting close to being cycled (I'm not expert). My question is this, if I can get nitrite to 0ppm and keep ammonia at 0ppm, and reduce nitrate to an acceptable level (around 5ppm) can I put my fish in there for a day until my Dr. Tim's One and Only arrives on wednesday. And when it arrives can I add it in with the fish?

Basically I want to know if adding the Dr. Tims in directly with the fish, will it cause the fish any harm. And if my levels are acceptable, will the fish be ok in the tank for a day or two until the Dr. Tim's is added?

Thanks in advance.

PS: I also have 2 filters from a cycled tank in my tank as well to help.


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## jd lover

dr tim stuff doesnt work dont waste your money.

use prime and lots of water change and you should be safe (lol prime/safe get it? =p)


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## orau22

jd lover said:


> dr tim stuff doesnt work dont waste your money.
> 
> use prime and lots of water change and you should be safe (lol prime/safe get it? =p)


I am going to be doing water changes every other day and have been using prime with every water change.

I don't mean to argue or disagree with you, but I have read a lot of stuff showing Dr. Tim's works, we all have our own opinions.

When you say use prime, do you mean just use it with water changes, or what?


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## jd lover

mine isnt an opinion. dr tim product is so call bacteria in a bottle. now tell me exactly how does the bacteria survive in a bottle exact? it needs a food source and a oxygen.

when i said prime and water change i ment daily and prime detoxifies the amonia and all that icky stuff for 24 hours. after that it can kill your fish instantly


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## orau22

jd lover said:


> mine isnt an opinion. dr tim product is so call bacteria in a bottle. now tell me exactly how does the bacteria survive in a bottle exact? it needs a food source and a oxygen.
> 
> when i said prime and water change i ment daily and prime detoxifies the amonia and all that icky stuff for 24 hours. after that it can kill your fish instantly


here is why I believe it works.


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## jd lover

Like you said everyone has there own opinion And they are entitled to it but fact And opinion are 2 different thing. I read another members experice with it and "Dr" Tim said it didn't work because he didn't us it properly. It was very detail and all. I Just think "Dr" Tim Is fake and his product are nothing more than Water.

Like I said water change and prime is your best bet


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## orau22

jd lover said:


> Like you said everyone has there own opinion And they are entitled to it but fact And opinion are 2 different thing. I read another members experice with it and "Dr" Tim said it didn't work because he didn't us it properly. It was very detail and all. I Just think "Dr" Tim Is fake and his product are nothing more than Water.
> 
> Like I said water change and prime is your best bet


thanks for the help


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## jd lover

not trying to beat a dead horse but i have watched that video around 3 times now and i notice he said his product is bacteria in a bottle and that once you pour the bottle in the tank it will need a food source (ammonia) or it will die. im curious as to what kept it alive in the bottle....


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## vann59

jd lover said:


> Like you said everyone has there own opinion And they are entitled to it but fact And opinion are 2 different thing. I read another members experice with it and "Dr" Tim said it didn't work because he didn't us it properly. It was very detail and all. I Just think "Dr" Tim Is fake and his product are nothing more than Water.


So you're saying that you actually think it's a fraud? That's pretty serious. Or is it that you just think it doesn't work at all?

I'm thinking that if someone did fishless cycles on two new identical tanks, with new identical filters, and used the same water, with no other items in the tank, in separate rooms so that no bacteria might be accidentally transferred, using the product in only one of them, adding ammonia the same way to each, that that would be a pretty scientific test of whether it actually works. Since a tank from scratch will take weeks to cycle at best, and the bacteria should cycle a tank in a matter of days, it should be an easy to judge contest.

If there is anyone up for that, with no prejudices for or against the product, it would be interesting to see their results.


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## vann59

jd lover said:


> not trying to beat a dead horse but i have watched that video around 3 times now and i notice he said his product is bacteria in a bottle and that once you pour the bottle in the tank it will need a food source (ammonia) or it will die. im curious as to what kept it alive in the bottle....


That's probably the best question concerning bacterial additives. I'm curious to know more about this though.


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## jd lover

vann59 said:


> jd lover said:
> 
> 
> 
> Like you said everyone has there own opinion And they are entitled to it but fact And opinion are 2 different thing. I read another members experice with it and "Dr" Tim said it didn't work because he didn't us it properly. It was very detail and all. I Just think "Dr" Tim Is fake and his product are nothing more than Water.
> 
> 
> 
> So you're saying that you actually think it's a fraud? That's pretty serious. Or is it that you just think it doesn't work at all?
> 
> I'm thinking that if someone did fishless cycles on two new identical tanks, with new identical filters, and used the same water, with no other items in the tank, in separate rooms so that no bacteria might be accidentally transferred, using the product in only one of them, adding ammonia the same way to each, that that would be a pretty scientific test of whether it actually works. Since a tank from scratch will take weeks to cycle at best, and the bacteria should cycle a tank in a matter of days, it should be an easy to judge contest.
> 
> If there is anyone up for that, with no prejudices for or against the product, it would be interesting to see their results.
Click to expand...

dont think fraud just that its nothing special. he even said to stock lightly at first lol


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## vann59

I think the fishless cycle route is best at any rate, but if the product saved weeks of time, then it has real value. If you want a tank cycled so that it's ready for a larger load of fish, and prefer to put them in together, and perhaps save on two shipping charges, then the fishless makes more sense there too.


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## 13razorbackfan

I would just use seachem prime or safe and dose the tank or do water changes every couple days until your ammonia and nitrites are zero. If you can get good used media for your filter that has the nitrifying bacteria you can go that route also.

Remember...if you are using a regent based test kit make sure to wait 24hrs after using a dechlorinator or you may get false positives.


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## vann59

13razorbackfan said:


> I would just use seachem prime or safe and dose the tank or do water changes every couple days until your ammonia and nitrites are zero. If you can get good used media for your filter that has the nitrifying bacteria you can go that route also.
> 
> Remember...if you are using a regent based test kit make sure to wait 24hrs after using a dechlorinator or you may get false positives.


I definitely like to use a cycled filter whenever possible. But it would be nice to have a fall back product to speed things up when that's not an option.


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## orau22

I have two filters from an established tank already in this tank.


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## DrTim's

Hello All

I deal with the original poster's questions and why bacteria in a bottle can work.
I am not going to deal with the more personal attacks that's just ignorance.



> Basically I want to know if adding the Dr. Tims in directly with the fish, will it cause the fish any harm. And if my levels are acceptable, will the fish be ok in the tank for a day or two until the Dr. Tim's is added?


Yes, you can add the DrTim's One and Only in a tank with fish. The product is 100% non-toxic. Also if your ammonia and nitrite are in the acceptable range the fish will be ok for a day or two.

Bacteria can work in a bottle provided they are the right bacteria. I did my Ph.D. on this in the 1990's and published 3 peer-reviewed papers on nitrifying bacteria from aquaria and showed that _Nitrosomonas europaea_ and _Nitrobacter winogradskyii_ are the NOT actual ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in aquaria. My research was independently supported by several other research groups. My work also showed that no additive on the market at that time contained the correct bacteria and I was able to get 13 patents on these organisms.

So you can see that the field is poisoned against 'bacteria in bottle' because none worked because they did not have the right bacteria to begin with.

Once you put the right bacteria in the bottle you do have to protect the bacteria against freezing and against extremely high temperatures (over 120 F deg). OK, so assume you do.

Well then the common refrain is that no matter bacteria in a bottle can't work because they don't have access to food and oxygen. This argument is 100% false because bacteria are *not human* - they don't need to eat every day or have a constant source of oxygen - bacteria don't have lungs! Nitrifying bacteria need their food (ammonia or nitrite) and oxygen to grow and divide. If they don't get ammonia/nitrite and oxygen they just wait until it comes along and then they divide. That's how bacteria have survived for millions of years. So the whole argument about them dying in a bottle because they don't have 'food' and oxygen just shows a complete ignorance of basic bacterial physiology.


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## orau22

DrTim's said:


> Hello All
> 
> I deal with the original poster's questions and why bacteria in a bottle can work.
> I am not going to deal with the more personal attacks that's just ignorance.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Basically I want to know if adding the Dr. Tims in directly with the fish, will it cause the fish any harm. And if my levels are acceptable, will the fish be ok in the tank for a day or two until the Dr. Tim's is added?
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, you can add the DrTim's One and Only in a tank with fish. The product is 100% non-toxic. Also if your ammonia and nitrite are in the acceptable range the fish will be ok for a day or two.
> 
> Bacteria can work in a bottle provided they are the right bacteria. I did my Ph.D. on this in the 1990's and published 3 peer-reviewed papers on nitrifying bacteria from aquaria and showed that _Nitrosomonas europaea_ and _Nitrobacter winogradskyii_ are the NOT actual ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in aquaria. My research was independently supported by several other research groups. My work also showed that no additive on the market at that time contained the correct bacteria and I was able to get 13 patents on these organisms.
> 
> So you can see that the field is poisoned against 'bacteria in bottle' because none worked because they did not have the right bacteria to begin with.
> 
> Once you put the right bacteria in the bottle you do have to protect the bacteria against freezing and against extremely high temperatures (over 120 F deg). OK, so assume you do.
> 
> Well then the common refrain is that no matter bacteria in a bottle can't work because that don't have access to food and oxygen. This argument is 100% false because bacteria are *not human* - they don't need to eat every day or have a constant source of oxygen - bacteria don't have lungs! Nitrifying bacteria need their food (ammonia or nitrite) and oxygen to grow and divide. If they don't get ammonia/nitrite and oxygen they just wait until it comes along and then they divide. That's how bacteria have survived for millions of years. So the whole argument about them dying in a bottle because they don't have 'food' and oxygen just shows a complete ignorance of basic bacterial physiology.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response Dr. Tim!


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## jd lover

let me ask you dr tim. in the video you said if we dont feed the bacterial once we put it in the tank it dies. how is that different from not being fed in a bottle?


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## DrTim's

If I said that I mis-spoke. What video are you talking about and, if you don't mind, what minute marker do I say that?


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## jd lover

its the video the op posted somewhere in this thread. i believe you said that around 3-5 minutes in


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## vann59

orau22 said:


> I have two filters from an established tank already in this tank.


Then you should be just fine.


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## AulonoKarl

jd lover said:


> let me ask you dr tim. in the video you said if we dont feed the bacterial once we put it in the tank it dies. how is that different from not being fed in a bottle?


He said they need a food source once in the tank. He didn't say they would die if they did not have one. He mentioned that they need that food source to multiply, and I think that was what he meant in the video. _(added by mod: that's around the 6min mark)_


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## jd lover

if that is the case then i am willing to admit i was wrong but it seems it keep stressing about the bacteria needing food once in tank but being in the bottle its fine without it. a little clarifacation would be helpful


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## DrTim's

I listened to the video and, as AulonoKarl says too, I never said the bacteria would die. they don't. What I said is exactly what i said in my post here - if you want them to work (get rid of ammonia/nitrite) you need to provide them some ammonia or nitrite and then they will multiply and work to cycle your tank. The reason I keep stressing feeding them once in the tank is so that they start to grow. There are past post where I was knocked because we sell large bottle and the poster said that one can buy the least expensive 2 oz bottle and let the bacteria so why do I 'rip people off' selling the larger sizes. And he was right you can seed your tank with the 2 oz bottle and let the bacteria grow - if you have time and patience that's fine (we even sell the ammonium chloride to feed the bacteria) but if you want to stock the tank heavier and soon you need more bacteria sooner. It is a number game.


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## jd lover

well then my sincere apology. im sure both you and i know which post it was about the ripoff but you didnt bother to explain your side of the story.

as for the whole bacteria and the bottle thing and the feeding. it makes more sense now but i would rather stick to the traditional way. thanks for explaining things and as to what i said before i still wont recomend you but i am now not against you.


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## DrTim's

No worries and I was not referring to a recent post but something from a year ago or longer

take care


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## 13razorbackfan

I feel like I am back in school.....I love this stuff. There is a huge difference between information gathered from other users who have been told x, y and z versus a reputable source of knowledge such as yourself. I am soaking this stuff up.

Just so you know...I appreciate your time and willingness to answer my questions. Thanks again...


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## AulonoKarl

Thanks for stopping by, Dr. Tim. I feel better educated about your product and the bacteria in general. I didn't know what to think about the one and only, but your explanation cleared a lot of things up. I appreciate the research that you have done.


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## fmueller

I'd like to extend a public apology to Dr Tim for not coming into this thread earlier. Unfortunately I had overlooked it, but personal attacks and baseless accusations are not tolerated on CF, and repeat offences will lead to removal of site privileges. I am glad that things have been worked out amicably without moderator involvement, and Dr Tim could show that his academic title is well deserved, and his products have the required scientific backing.

in my humble opinion there is one point that can lead to confusion for beginners, and could have been made clearer in the excellent video posted by orau22. Adding Dr Tim's One and Only provides a tank with a basic level of nitrifying bacteria. It does not provide the huge excess of nitrifying bacteria that you get by performing a fishless cycle adding ammonia to a tank.

Adding Dr Tim's One and Only will allow you to stock lightly, and then ad more fish gradually while the bacteria colony grows and adjusts to new stocking levels. After a fishless cycle with ammonia, you can immediately stock a tank fully, or even overstock it, as you might wish to do for fish like aggressive Mbuna or Tropheus. However, even if you do a fishless cycle with ammonia, Dr Tim's One and Only can be extremely helpful, because it can speed up the cycling period from the usually expected 4-6 weeks to just a few days. If you use Dr Tim's One and Only plus ammonia, you can have your tank ready to fully stock within a few days!


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## fmueller

This thread evolved into an interesting discussion about the properties of the biofilm. I split it off into a different thread to give it a wider audience.


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## Guest

you guys can knock on me if you'd like, but I've personally used this product on my brand new 75g tank when I first entered this hobby again last year...

it worked for me and I was happy, my tank is going strong til this day and never had any problems with it...

but nonetheless, this is a great discussion thread.


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## Morpheen

I love this site. Such a wealth of information :thumb:


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## orau22

fmueller said:


> I'd like to extend a public apology to Dr Tim for not coming into this thread earlier. Unfortunately I had overlooked it, but personal attacks and baseless accusations are not tolerated on CF, and repeat offences will lead to removal of site privileges. I am glad that things have been worked out amicably without moderator involvement, and Dr Tim could show that his academic title is well deserved, and his products have the required scientific backing.
> 
> in my humble opinion there is one point that can lead to confusion for beginners, and could have been made clearer in the excellent video posted by orau22. Adding Dr Tim's One and Only provides a tank with a basic level of nitrifying bacteria. It does not provide the huge excess of nitrifying bacteria that you get by performing a fishless cycle adding ammonia to a tank.
> 
> Adding Dr Tim's One and Only will allow you to stock lightly, and then ad more fish gradually while the bacteria colony grows and adjusts to new stocking levels. After a fishless cycle with ammonia, you can immediately stock a tank fully, or even overstock it, as you might wish to do for fish like aggressive Mbuna or Tropheus. However, even if you do a fishless cycle with ammonia, Dr Tim's One and Only can be extremely helpful, because it can speed up the cycling period from the usually expected 4-6 weeks to just a few days. If you use Dr Tim's One and Only plus ammonia, you can have your tank ready to fully stock within a few days!


After watching the video I posted I was able to get the understanding that One and Only is only a baseline bacteria level, which is why he recommends adding all of it because it is not a threat to the fish, and the more bacteria you seed the better. In my situation I am only stocking with 6 juvenile caudopunctatus so the bioload is low. I was just worried because I thought my filters previously setup would be enough to convert ammonia/nitrite quickly, and after I dosed ammonia to keep the bacteria alive while I waited for fish, ammonia/nitrite wasn't converted quickly enough. This got me worried as I couldn't cancel my fish order and tank wasn't ideally ready. This is why I purchased the one and only and will put it in when it arrives tomorrow. The boost of bacteria I am hoping to get through his product should put me at a sufficient level to convert ammonia/nitrites in a timely manner to keep my 6 Caudopunctatus in a healthy environment.

I appreciate all the information put in from everybody and especially Dr. Tim for speaking out about his product. :thumb:


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## robertlewisca

I can only speak from personal experience, and this is not meant as a general commentary on the product itself - again, just personal experience.

I have tried Dr. Tim's One and Only twice while doing a fishless cycle on a 90G and a 30G tank. I am very meticulous when adding ammonia, doing daily testing, and capturing data. In my experience, with keeping my PH at 8.0, temp at 83 degrees, and never allowing ammonia or nitrites to get above 5 ppm. On my 90 Gallon, I used an 8 ounce bottle, and the tank did not clear ammonia after two weeks. Dr. Tim sent another bottle, and ammonia cleared within two days, and then the fishless cylce took off and completed within a week. On my 30 gallon, I used a 2 ounce bottle, I added One and Only keeping the same water parameters listed above, and my tank did not clear ammonia for six days, and did not clear nitrite for four weeks.

So, in the first tank (90g), the first bottle of Dr. Tims One and Only did not appear to work, or at least did not appear to speed the fishless cycle. The second bottle of Dr. Tims did appear to work and speed the fishless cycle. Then, on my second tank, One and Only did not appear to speed the fishless cycle at all.

So, in my experience, using the same water parameters, and following the directions in a very detailed and consistent way, I can only draw the conclusion that for me, the product works sometimes, but is inconsistent.

I hope this information helps those in this thread that have asked questions about experiences with the product.


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## fmueller

robertlewisca said:


> never allowing ammonia or nitrites to get above 5 ppm.


In absence of any further info about your system, I would hazard a guess that your ammonia levels might have been too high. Not "above 5ppm" can mean a lot, but even ammonia levels between 4ppm and 5ppm are very high. Tim Craig aka prov356 on this site (not to be confused with Dr Tim), who wrote this article on cycling, suggests 1ppm to 2ppm as optimal for establishing the nitrifying bacteria we want in a fish tank. As Dr Tim explains in the video, at higher ammonia levels other types of bacteria take over. Maybe your tank needed to grow some of those other bacteria first, before the ones in One and Only could begin their work? This would explain the delay, but Dr Tim might be able to shed more light on this issue.

At any rate, Dr Tim's products are scientifically proven to work, and his results have been published in peer reviewed scientific journals. A very important part of the peer review process is ensuring that a product or method works reproducibly every single time as long as the testing conditions aren't significantly changed. If a product or method works inconsistently, meaning for unexplainable reasons sometimes it works and other times not, you can not publish it in peer reviewed scientific journals. If you submitted a product or method for publication which worked for you 99 times, but did not work one time, you need to be able to explain why it did not work this one time, or else your work will be rejected.

In other words, if Dr Tim's One and Only did not work for you in some cases, there has to be a reason for that, and that reason can be identified if you provide us with sufficient information. I have pointed out one possible reason above.


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## robertlewisca

Thanks very much for your input. The only reason I cited 5 ppm is because that was the number that was specifically pointed out by Dr. Tim in posts in his forum on this board, and on his instructions on fishless cycling. In fact, I dosed my 90g with 2.5-3 ppm ammonia, and my 30g with 2ppm ammonia, and never allowed nitrites to go above 3-4 ppm in either tank throughout the process of fishless cycling them.

Also, I was not questioning whether One and Only worked, I was simply pointing out that in execution, perhaps the product as delivered to the end user may not be consistent. This has nothing to do with the peer reviewed scientific journals testing the ideal version of the product, but rather whether the product as delivered to the end user is always consistent, or in fact whether the recommendations for how much of the product to use in different sized tanks is indeed accurate.

With ammonia testing, nitrite testing, PH testing, Nitrate testing, KH and GH testing (irrellevant in this case as PH remained constant) and temparature testing the only tools available to me (and just about any other hobbyist), I thought it might be useful for the board to know one user's experience that took great care to keep water parameters perfexctly in line with the methods recommended by the manufacturer, understands how the fishless cycle works, and still had inconsistent results.


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## robertlewisca

By the way, to clarify, when I say 5 ppm was mentioned in the instructions and posts regarding fishless cycling, I am referring to the guidance that the concentration of ammonia and nitrites should never go above 5 ppm in the fishless cycle, because at that point, the nitrifying bacteria cease to process ammonia and nitrite. In my case, ammonia was never above 3 ppm in my 90g, and never above 2ppm in my 30g. Nitrites were never above 4ppm in either tank, and more consistently kept at 2.5 - 3ppm through small water changes conducted throughout the fishless cycle on both tanks.


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## fmueller

robertlewisca said:


> Also, I was not questioning whether One and Only worked, I was simply pointing out that in execution, perhaps the product as delivered to the end user may not be consistent. This has nothing to do with the peer reviewed scientific journals testing the ideal version of the product, but rather whether the product as delivered to the end user is always consistent, or in fact whether the recommendations for how much of the product to use in different sized tanks is indeed accurate.


I didn't mean to slam you for sharing your experiences. To the contrary, I very much appreciate that. Maybe I should also clarify that I have never actually used any of Dr Tim's products, nor any bacteria in a bottle. Years ago, when I started my first tank after moving to Ohio, I did a fishless cycle without any bacteria seeding - other than maybe from some plants I bought - and I remember that taking an awful long time. Since then I have always used bacteria from established tanks to start other tanks, and in fact, I believe if you have another tank already running, there is no point in buying bacteria in a bottle that you have readily available in your own home!

Since I have never used it, I am not familiar with the instructions how to use One and Only. My earlier guess that it might now work at 4ppm to 5ppm of ammonia was just that - a wild guess, and it appears I was wrong. Maybe Dr Tim will come to the rescue, but with the scarcity of information about your situation, I doubt he will be able to say much more than I. Maybe the product you bought was temporarily frozen during transport in winter, or it got too hot in a truck in summer. We just don't know enough to answer that.


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## robertlewisca

Thanks for your comments, fmueller. I didn't take it as a slam, and thanks for the suggestions for possible causes of my experience. I think I can rule out transportation issues in this case as well, because it was during Spring, and I live in the Los Angeles area not far from where Dr. Tim's warehouse appears to be. It was shipped overnight, and arrived on a really nice SoCal day. I think you're right that Dr. Tim probaby won't have much more to add, though. I've already taken it up with him.

I don't think my issue will be solved here, but I just wanted to share my experience for the benefit of others who might be considering their next steps.


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## DrTim's

I am not going to re-hash the past about this particular event. Suffice to say if you choose to do a fishless cycle and you are adding ammonia and keeping the ammonia/nitrite at an elevated level then the cycling time will take long. The higher the ammonia/nitrite the longer it will take for the bacteria to process. While I do say 5 mg/L-N is the critical level as above this the process really slows (basically to a crawl) it stands to reason that the closer you are to this value the longer the process with tank. Nitrite is more critical the ammonia -- nitrite poisons the ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and slows their ability to work. Keeping the nitrite above 2 mg/L-N will slow the process, above 5 mg/L-N with stall the process


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## jd lover

dr tim sorry to insult you before and i dont men to do it again but i would still recomend people to do the fishless cycling with amonnia. do slow and do it right is better than rushing and hving to fix things. it might be me but it seems your product is a bit confusing to use. i have never use it so i wouldnt know. its easy to understand but seems a bit confusing when you have to use it. maybe its just me. but i do appreciate you taking the time to explain in details how it works and all. every one has their own way and im sure if i was to be guided step by step with using your product im sure it will work fine.


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## DrTim's

jd lover - I think we are in agreement - fishless cycling is the way to go. But how does one do it 'right'. There are very few guidelines. What I tried to do was come up with a step-by-step program instructing people how not only how to do it but how to troubleshoot it. Fishless cycling can be easy or it can be painful. I deal with fishless cycling questions every day and they fall into about 3 different categories. So I am not against fishless cycling - if I was I would make that clear and I would not sell the ammonia.

But I do believe based on years of experience and the knowledge gained by helping literally hundreds of people fishless cycle their tank that there is a proper (meaning quick and relatively easy) way to do it. However, I cannot guarantee reasons within a certain time frame because every tank and aquarist is different.

So I think we are in agreement on that - I would just say use my bacteria because it speeds-up the process and who wants to look at an empty tank.


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## fmueller

jd lover said:


> it might be me but it seems your product is a bit confusing to use. i have never use it so i wouldnt know. its easy to understand but seems a bit confusing when you have to use it.


I haven't used it either, so this might be the blind men trying to guide you towards the light, but common sense would suggest that you just dump in the right dose (following the recommendations on the bottle) of One and Only once at the same time you ad the first dose of ammonia to the tank. Anything else would surprise me.

Of course you can also ad it later - like if it doesn't arrive in the mail in time, or if you only later decide to spend the money and speed things up. If you ad it later, it would work just the same, but the entire process would take longer because you missed some days during which the One and Only bacteria could have been working already.


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## jd lover

so basically your bacteria is like using an established filter from another tank but you eliminate the possibilities of cross contamination?


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## DrTim's

Exactly! Our bacteria are tested and are pathogen free. The One & Only is 100% nitrifiers and we are used in many aquaculture facility that have what is called a bio-security program. They sterilize their filtration system on a regular basis and want to quickly re-establish the biofilter and so use our bacteria which are 'clean'. 
We have a video on our webpage that the Georgia produced on their new system (2 million gallons) and the only product they show is the jugs of DrTim's Aquatics One & Only being poured into the biofilters.


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## 13razorbackfan

DrTim's said:


> Exactly! Our bacteria are tested and are pathogen free. The One & Only is 100% nitrifiers and we are used in many aquaculture facility that have what is called a bio-security program. They sterilize their filtration system on a regular basis and want to quickly re-establish the biofilter and so use our bacteria which are 'clean'.
> We have a video on our webpage that the Georgia produced on their new system (2 million gallons) and the only product they show is the jugs of DrTim's Aquatics One & Only being poured into the biofilters.


What is the shelf life of these nitrifying bacteria? Is that also comparable to the dormant life inside a aquarium where they are being deprived of a food source?

I feel confident now that I can recommend this product to people cycling their tanks and need a good seeding product.


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## Goddogo1

Api quick start, I have found works great.


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## DrTim's

The shelf life of the bacteria depends on many factors - temperature being probably the most important after the condition of the bacteria.
The nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) generally do not last as long as the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) which means in older material you'll have faster ammonia oxidation but some nitrite may build up as the NOB get going.

As for being comparable to the aquarium environment - there are different factors but as long as the bacteria are in a moist environment they last and wait to resources (they do not like being dried out).


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## Shahlvah

I used Dr. Tim's one and only to cycle my 240 gallon, I also seeded it with some media from my 100g. The thing is that between both things my tank was cycled and ready within max 10 days. I think it works. Just my opinion.


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## matt121966

I think I'll listen to the dude with the phd and uses big words.


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## orau22

Well I am here to write back on my experience with this product. I used a 2 ounce bottle in my 20GL and in 2 days I had a cycled tank, ammonia zero, nitrite zero, and nitrates were 40.

I recently setup a 55 gallon and bought the 4 oz bottle, I poured it in my tank with an EHEIM canister that I used for 2 weeks on an uncycled tank. Last night I accidentally overdosed my ammonia to 8ppm and this morning when I tested for ammonia I had 1ppm. I would just like to say that this stuff just plain works. My parameters have proven that and I feel very confident that the 16 fish that will be arriving at my house on wednesday will do great, just like the 6 in my 20 GL.


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## Quanie

Im new to the hobby. I also used it for my 90g, but didn't use the ammonium chloride and it works. Now I have to reseal my 90 and put up my 55g. So I used one and only, and ammonium chloride. So I have a question, after day 7 and 8 I checked the ammonia and nitrite and it both was 0ppm. So I put 2ppm and 24hrs after I checked and it both was at 0ppm. When I first started with one and one I never saw nitrite at all only ammonia. Is that good? And is my tank cycled? Please help, thank u


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## Shahlvah

I have use this product also when cycling my tanks. It works quick. I would say that if you're consistently receiving the right readings you are ready to go.
I never put many fish at once, but do small groups.


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## SeanB

So glad to have found this old thread. I was researching Dr. Tim's and wanted to see what experience people on the forum have had. Very cool that Dr. Tim himself came on and answered questions. I have ordered a bottle to cycle my 60 gal. I'll report back how it goes but have every confidence now that it will work as described.


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## DJRansome

You may want to work with the manufacturer.

Dr. Tim used to own the company and his product was sold refrigerated and shipped overnight to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. The business was sold and the product changed. So unknown whether current product works as well as the original.

Back then I would have started a tank with fish and Dr. Tim's.

Today I would do a fishless cycle with ammonia.


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## morrismorris

I am currently in the middle of cycling a 75 gallon, having used One and Only as well as their branded ammonia. I believe I am on day 11 or 12 and finally last night got an ammonia reading of .25 while nitrite were either 2, 5 or higher (the purple on the API test for nitrite 2ppm and 5ppm are so similar, I can't tell the difference). I put 300 drops of ammonia last night, so will test tonight to see what happened in that 24 hour span.

Reading through some posts in this thread, it sounds like the prior bottle cycled tanks quicker because if I had to guess, I am probably at least another week out. I am fine with that though. No rush; just want a clean and healthy environment for the fish.


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## SeanB

DJRansome said:


> You may want to work with the manufacturer.
> 
> Dr. Tim used to own the company and his product was sold refrigerated and shipped overnight to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. The business was sold and the product changed. So unknown whether current product works as well as the original.
> 
> Back then I would have started a tank with fish and Dr. Tim's.
> 
> Today I would do a fishless cycle with ammonia.


That's somewhat disappointing. I've already placed my order so I will give it a try and see if it speeds the process. I will go fishless until testing proves the tank has cycled.


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