I've had my tank setup for ~6 weeks. 36G Freshwater Tropical Community. Currently less than 50% stocked, stocked very slowly (3 fish at a time over the ~6 weeks). No filter maintenance (canister). I bought and used this Nutrafin Cycle product, followed the directions spot on, including at the begining of the tank for 3 days before adding fish, at each water change, each time I added new fish, etc. The bottle, having good reviews on Amazon, promised a near instant cycle, healthy fish, and being able to stock almost immediately. Been testing with API Master Test Kit, though only recording the results for the past 10 days. Here they are:
Date______Ammonia__Nitrite__Nitrate__pH
12/11/2013__0.25____0.25____5_______7.6 (added prime) & Stopped using Nutrafin Cycle
12/12/2013__0.25____0.5_____20______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/13/2013__0.1_____0.5_____5_______7.8 (added prime)
12/14/2013__0.0_____1.0_____10______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/15/2013 (added prime)
12/16/2013__0.0_____0.25____5_______7.8 (added prime)
12/17/2013__0.0_____0.35____10______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/19/2013__0.0_____0.35____0_______7.8 (added prime)
12/20/2013__0.0_____0.4_____0_______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/21/2013__0.0_____0.25____0_______7.8
Clearly not cycled, per the magic of this bottle. For those finding this thread, please don't 100% rely on bacteria in a bottle (I'm going to say don't use it).
It seems now I'm not producing any Nitrates as I once was. Any thoughts? It almost seems, when I stopped adding Nutrafin Cycle, then the "real" Nitrites -> Nitrates bacteria actually started to grow?
Date______Ammonia__Nitrite__Nitrate__pH
12/11/2013__0.25____0.25____5_______7.6 (added prime) & Stopped using Nutrafin Cycle
12/12/2013__0.25____0.5_____20______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/13/2013__0.1_____0.5_____5_______7.8 (added prime)
12/14/2013__0.0_____1.0_____10______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/15/2013 (added prime)
12/16/2013__0.0_____0.25____5_______7.8 (added prime)
12/17/2013__0.0_____0.35____10______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/19/2013__0.0_____0.35____0_______7.8 (added prime)
12/20/2013__0.0_____0.4_____0_______7.8 (then did a water change)
12/21/2013__0.0_____0.25____0_______7.8
Clearly not cycled, per the magic of this bottle. For those finding this thread, please don't 100% rely on bacteria in a bottle (I'm going to say don't use it).
It seems now I'm not producing any Nitrates as I once was. Any thoughts? It almost seems, when I stopped adding Nutrafin Cycle, then the "real" Nitrites -> Nitrates bacteria actually started to grow?