Bacteria starters do they work

[crf50hugo]

I broke down my 120 to clean it out and start the right way for housing discus. So my bacteria is no longer present, do products like cycle really work?

[DonMD]

Not in my experience. If you are starting from scratch to prepare for discus, I would recommend sterilizing your setup, then conducting a fishless cycle. It should take about 5 weeks. Just my opinion. Good luck.

[TURQ64]

I don't know about cycle, but I've had good results with a few others.Seldom need it, but once in a while I strip a sump......Gary

[roclement]

Dr. Tim's is the only one I would use.

Rodrigo

[jimg]

Dr. Tim's is the only one I would use.

Rodrigo

+1

or tetra safestart, they are the same product but ordering from Dr Tims you may get fresher batch.
Put a thin layer of gravel or substrate on the tank bottom and do minimal wc's no wipedowns until you see no ammonia or nitrites.
I would not trust them 100% though. a good seeded filter is better

[crf50hugo]

Ok I'll try Dr. Tim's. I just don't want to seed with the old tanks bacteria that I used to seed the 50 gallon QT.

[roclement]

The good thing about using a starter is basically o chance of bringing something into the tank as you may with a seeded sponge. If you are into cycling tanks (I am not but that's another thread altogether) I would go through a fishless cycle instead of anything else.

Rodrigo

[Darrell Ward]

I have used seeded media, filters to start tanks for years. They all come from my own tanks, so I trust them. It would be different if they came from someone else. To me it's better than starting totally from scratch. I have no patience for such.

[joanstone]

I recently tried one called StartSmart Complete to combat a nasty ammonia problem one of my tanks was having. Within 2-3 days the ammonia level dropped to zero and the tank was completely clear with no water changes after the addition of bacteria. Previous to that, I had been doing repeated water changes. One thing I found interesting was that the StartSmart containers were bulging at the bottom indicating viable bacteria.

[Dudley Eirich]

I don't recommend the commercial ones.

[TankCla]

Do not use API to start your tank. I had good results with Nutrafin Cycle. You are good to go in 3-5 days.

[Harriett]

I had to restart a smaller tank after I inherited some flukes in a purchase...I used STABILITY--I poured it directly into the filter media and let it sit for a bit before turning the filter on. I repeated the dosing [and used 2 x the recommended dose] for 3 days--at which point the tank was cruising. At day 3 of dosing, the tank was completely clear and nitrites were zip. I put the [clean] fish back in and did daily 80% water chaanges for a few days, watching closely. I think it kind of worked. Since I was shakey on using that method and it would be really expensive for restarting a big tank, I took well seasoned [clean] media sponges and froze ithem in my deep freeze. I was told by a really exprienced friend that the bacteria will hold indefinitely in this way. It's like money in the bank for me, whether for a restart or a start up. I have enough in there to start a 125g tank., assuming it works!
Best regards,
Harriett

[crf50hugo]

All great info thanks for the support guys.