# Help with cycling products



## Maranatha! (May 29, 2009)

We're working on a 125 gallon that we just got a couple of weeks ago. We need to have it cycled before the 21st in order to take advantage of an offer of free shipping by the folks we're going to order the bulk of our fish from. Has anyone heard of a couple of quick cycle products called Stability from Seachem or Special Blend from Microbe Lift? We have access to the SafeStart from Tetra (is the new name of BioSpira that is no longer refrigerated), but it's pretty pricey at $26. a bottle for 75 gallons worth (8 oz), so we'd need two... $52 for one treatment. The Other stuff comes in bigger bottles and is a great deal less expensive: $12 for 11 oz and $17 for 16oz. If the products are similar in effectiveness, we'd love to get away with the cheaper product.  The fish store where we're ordering our fish sells the Stability and Special Blend, the SafeStart is available at the local pet store. So... anyone had experience with either of the two less expensive products? Are either of them at least AS good as BioSpira? We'd need to make our order quickly as the Stability stuff says it takes 7 days to fully cycle the tank to safety for the fish.

In His love,


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## Morpheus (Nov 12, 2008)

Not sure about any of the products you mentioned, but you did mention a fish store. Any chance they will give you some used filter media to help jump start your tank? Or maybe you know someone with an established tank?


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Agreed, established filter media and gravel; get a hold of as much of it as possible.
There isn't a single product made on this planet that instantly cycles a tank.
I don't care what anyone says or what any bottle claims.

If you are worried about the bacteria dying off you can get some Ace brand ammonia to keep it fed.
Check your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels a few days prior to the fishes arrival and water change accordingly.


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## Maranatha! (May 29, 2009)

smellsfishy1 said:


> Agreed, established filter media and gravel; get a hold of as much of it as possible.
> There isn't a single product made on this planet that instantly cycles a tank.
> I don't care what anyone says or what any bottle claims.
> 
> ...


The Stability claims that if you use the product for 7 days, you can add your fish. Not exactly instant, but very quick by normal cycling standards. 

We've put some sand into a cut off bit of pantyhose into the filters and onto the substrate from our 72 gallon bowfront tank that's been up and running for 4 years, but we don't think that's enough to do the trick. We tried to put filter media from the 72 into one of the filters of the 125, but I guess the size difference (same brand filters, just different size) didn't go well because the bio-wheel stopped spinning.

We had some cheap fish (tetras) in there to cycle for a week... we had to take 'em out, though... they developed ich and started dying off. =( We can only assume it was the local pet store's water... they stuck like 17 of them in one bag and hubby didn't want to dump them all into the net on top of each other, so the pet store water was introduced into the tank. :x I wouldn't use ANYTHING from our local pet store in our tanks. 

Anyway, we figure if we can keep the bacteria we already have in there alive (it's been going for about a week and a half), til Tuesday and then start dosing it with Stability or something similar, HOPEFULLY it'll be safe for the fish we're ordering on the 21st. The fish store we're ordering from is in another state and they're offering free shipping untl midnight of the 21st. 

How long can bacteria go without an ammonia source, by the way? We got all the tetras out of there this evening, now the ich has no host, so should die off rather quickly, but we'd like to keep whatever bacteria we HAD built up. If we put some liquid ammonia in there tomorrow evening, will that be too long for the bacteria to live without an ammonia source? If so, maybe hubby can take a lunch break and run to the store to get some, then run back to work. hehe I'm REALLY kinda upset about the set-back the ich introduced, but trying to keep the image of that gorgeous tank we've been planning for a few years now in mind. :fish: 

In His love,


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

shoulda left a dead tetra in there?wouldve been more than enough to feed the bacteria i think?.....as far as how long it lasts....*** been told anywhere from 24-48 hrs.


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## angel_saza (Dec 29, 2008)

i used seachem stability to cycle my 120L tank. I added 10 small rosy barbs the day after i filled it up and used the stability for about 10 days. All was fine.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

tetra start right worked for me


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## Maranatha! (May 29, 2009)

Thanks for the advice, all! When do you add the Tetra SafeStart? With the Stability, I believe you're supposed to add a certain amount 7 days before you add fish... is it about the same timeframe to add the Tetra SafeStart?

In His love,


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

I used Stability to cycle my old 55,and my 90, Though there a lot of people here that have had bad experiences with it. When you buy it , check the date on the bottle . If it's not very new don't use it. Try to find some that has been recently produced to increase the likelyhood of success. With Stability you can add fish immediately but my suggestion is to add some cheap tough fish (like giant danios) first to see whether or not the stuff is working before adding a bunch of expensive fish. As always test your water during this period . I haven't used SafeStart , but if your using both products I'd assume that you could add them both at the same time giving you a bit of a back up in case one isn't doing the job. One important note here is that even though those products may be doing their job, I wouldn't add a bunch of fish at once. They may well do the deed for a lightly stocked tank but adding a bunch of fish all at one time could easily overwhelm the products ability to do it's job. My experience with this stuff is to start out with a few then after a month or so slowly add new fish . This gives the beneficial bacteria time to become established on their own and the ability to handle changes in bio-load more effectively. Stability works (or at least it did for me) but we can't ask the world of this stuff, just that it can help get things going. We still need to be cautious when using any cycling aid and use some common sence.


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## Maranatha! (May 29, 2009)

Joels fish said:


> I used Stability to cycle my old 55,and my 90, Though there a lot of people here that have had bad experiences with it. When you buy it , check the date on the bottle . If it's not very new don't use it. Try to find some that has been recently produced to increase the likelyhood of success. With Stability you can add fish immediately but my suggestion is to add some cheap tough fish (like giant danios) first to see whether or not the stuff is working before adding a bunch of expensive fish. As always test your water during this period . I haven't used SafeStart , but if your using both products I'd assume that you could add them both at the same time giving you a bit of a back up in case one isn't doing the job. One important note here is that even though those products may be doing their job, I wouldn't add a bunch of fish at once. They may well do the deed for a lightly stocked tank but adding a bunch of fish all at one time could easily overwhelm the products ability to do it's job. My experience with this stuff is to start out with a few then after a month or so slowly add new fish . This gives the beneficial bacteria time to become established on their own and the ability to handle changes in bio-load more effectively. Stability works (or at least it did for me) but we can't ask the world of this stuff, just that it can help get things going. We still need to be cautious when using any cycling aid and use some common sence.


Hi Joel, thanks for the advice! :thumb:

We've been doing a fishless cycle for a few days (since we found out our cycle fish had ich! :roll. We took 'em all out, so there's no host for the ich... should kill it pretty quick. We've thrown in a lot of sand from our 72 gallon (it's been up and running almost 5 years), a filter pad from the 72 gallon, and a fake plant from the 72 gallon. We also threw in a bottle of SafeStart (used to be called BioSpira). We're keeping the ammonia levels at 3ppm using Ace Janitorial Strength Ammonia (no dyes, perfumes, surfactants, detergents, etc...).

Anyway, from the info we're getting from cichlid-forum, this should prepare a large enough bacterial colony that we can put several fish in at once (so they can all go in at the same time, thus cutting down on territorial tiffs). We're also ordering some Stability along with the fish. That way, as the fish are floating, we can throw in the Stability also on top of everything else. We've also upped the temperature in the tank to 88 degrees to, #1. treat the ich and #2. speed up the bacterial growth/division. We'll be adding Stability to the tank for 7 days as the fish are getting acclimated to their new home. We'll know, probably by Friday, whether the tank's cycled enough to add the fishies. :fish: It'll be nice to save $80 on shipping, but not worth it to risk $350 and several fishie lives! 

In His love,


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