Cycle liquid by nutrafin?

[casey]

My dad has bought some cycle liquid which claims to reduce fish loss, keep aquariums healthy and rapidly matures new aquariums.

It's supposed to speed up the cycling process.

Here's the blurb...

"Cycle releases massive amounts of beneficial bacteria into the aquarium. Each dose works to reduce dangerous ammonia and nitrite levels in the aquarium.... Cycle is an all-natural product that will not harm plants, animals or humans. It is impossible to overdose."

What do you think? Should I add it to my tank?

I wouldn't mind getting Stella out of the fridge a bit earlier, if I can.

 

[sharn]

nope, ive seen alot of those around but they dont work at all!! the reason being is that the bacteria that are supposedly in there need something to feed on and they produce waste which would mean some form of water changes (the container comes sealed). there is nothing in there for them to feed on so they just end up dying, either from starvation of from their own waste. if you could, maybe get some gravel or something like that from an established aqaurium and put it in the tank, the bacteria will multiply making your tank cycle a little bit faster

 

[casey]

I've put some frozen brine shrimp in there - can they feed on that or does it not work at all?

I don't know anyone else with a fish-tank, not anyone that I could trust as having the right water levels, anyway. Maybe I could ask the aquarium? There's a young guy in there who seems really interested in everything I have to say about axolotls! Maybe I should ask him for some gravel! hahaha - my dad said he's a little bit too helpful - seems a bit keen! I think he's just being friendly though. Maybe I'll take my boyfriend in there with me next time, just to be sure. lol!

 

[mark]

go in with out your boyfriend first and ask him for some gravel out of one of there established tanks
mark

 

[casey]

good idea mark! hahaha!

My boyfriend does that to me, with the girl from the fish and chip shop, cos she gives him free fish - I have to hold one of his friends hands so she doesn't know we're together, and thinks she has a chance, so he can get free fish.

So i guess he owes me one, anyway!

Not that we need the money - just good fun!

 

[casey]

I read that putting gravel in from an aquarium might be a bad idea as it could contain parasites - judging from some of the things that go on in my lfs and the amount of different tanks that they have in there, I think it would be pretty easy for parasites to be residing in their tanks, so I've gone against putting gravel in.

I've added some of the cycle, as I have brine shrimp in the tank, which has been cycling for nearly a week now, and there is some ammonia present.

The cycle product that I used is supposed to be all natural, and if the worst that can happen is that the bacteria that is in this product will die off, then that's okay, i guess - it's worth a try isn't it.

Anyway, i'm monitoring the water results every second day, and I'll let you all know whether or not this product has worked for me.

I want to get Stella out of the fridge as quickly as possible, so I'm hoping that this will speed up the cycle a little bit.

 

[alex]

hi this is really not very relevant but if you have more objects in a tank would that in theory mean that theres more places for the bacteria to grow so the tank would cycle faster?

 

[jon]

ive used "cycle" before in my fish tank when i had nitrate problems and have to say its good for a quick fix but you 've gotta address the problem thats there?
i dont know if it will speed up the whole cycle tho? over here in the uk we can get "cycle starter" which you pour onto the media in your filter and this kick starts the bacteria (i forget what its called off the top of my head but will find out?)

 

[sharn]

yeah the pet shops stuff can have bad bacteria in it, do you have any friends with healthy tanks you can get some off?

 

[casey]

No, unfortunately, I don't have any friends with tanks at all, let alone healthy ones.

I'll just have to do it the long way, or hope that the cycle product does something.

 

[joan]

Chances are, if you got your axolotl from the LFS and didn't raise it from egg by yourself from parasite-free adults, it's already got any parasites that were at the LFS anyway.

The only cycle kick-starter that's legitimate that I know of is Bio-spira. If you buy any of the 'fast cycle' products off the shelf, and not out of a refrigerator, they're junk. The bacteria you need have a rather short life, and even if they were alive when bottled at the factory, they die soon after while being kept at room temperature by either a)running out of food or b) dying in their own waste. Bio-spira (and it's kin), being kept in the fridge, has very slow bacterial growth, until (ideally) you dump it in the tank and the bacteria bloom and grow all over everything.