Speeding up cycling

[iuman1979]

Does anyone have any experiences with products like StressZyme which are supposed to contain live bacteria to speed up the cycling process? Any recommendations?

 

[poppab02]

The general consensus I believe is that nothing besides Bio Spira works as advertised. I personally cycle the old fashioned way so I have no personal experience but there have been several previous threads on this subject and that is generally what people say.

 

[iuman1979]

I talked to the LFS owner and he said StressZyme would cut off a week, and keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down, but he usually does it the old school way.

 

[trent]

ive got by cuting a week or so off, using the same StressZyme chem.

 

[Mofo2713]

It might speed it up a bit but it will defintely not keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down.

 

[TankGirl]

You can definitely speed up a cycle with seed material, like gravel or a decoration from a mature tank. You can also do this with filter media or a biowheel borrowed from an established tank. This way you are bringing over bacteria to the new tank, just like what you do with Bio-Spira.

 

[BASSNMAN]

I have not tried biro spira, but have used a variety of other cycle products. In my experience the only thing they reduce is your wallet. The best way to speed the cycle is to use gravel or a filter from a cycled tank. You can put the gravel in a plastic container and submerge it in your tank without mixing substrate.

 

[trent]

It might speed it up a bit but it will defintely not keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down.

i found this to be true

 

[XXFirefighter]

patience....
Nothing more...

 

[Atl4life]

I'v seen that Peroxide speeds it up some, but i wouldnt reccomed it, because i dont know what it would do to your fish. I have used it and it didnt effect my tank any. It is supposed to be like putting in liquid oxygen and it makes the good bacterica move quicker. I used Hagen Cycle, which i think works pretty well after it is well in there. Once you put it in weekly for about 4 weeks your tank is on cruise control. After putting it in for 14 months i stopped for 2 months and my nitrates and ammonia ect stayed zero. I have a cascade filter and i dont use the bio filter in there, because it gets slimy easy. It was leaking after like a year, so i got a new one and my tank is still fine. I did get ick last year, but that is beause i dont have a heater.