Dr. Tim's One and Only

[MDDad]

Looks like this is one of the few bacterial additives that works well.

I haven't had much luck cycling my tank yet because of snafus. If I dump this stuff in would it speed it up? My concern is my ammonia levels are higher than recommended, somewhere around 6 ppm. Will that just kill off the bacteria, or do you think it would still work?

 

[Caliban07]

Looks like this is one of the few bacterial additives that works well.



I haven't had much luck cycling my tank yet because of snafus. If I dump this stuff in would it speed it up? My concern is my ammonia levels are higher than recommended, somewhere around 6 ppm. Will that just kill off the bacteria, or do you think it would still work?

Only one way to find out. Give it a go.

 

[Delapool]

Plus one - very rarely make things worse so worth a try.

 

[MDDad]

I'll give it a shot.


Do they colonize the filter and substrate as well as doing it au naturel does? Meaning a water change won't make them all disappear?

 

[Barliman]

I've only used it once, but I have to say I was impressed. I had set up a 10g to hold some platy juveniles and figured, since they were tiny and there were a couple of plants in the tank, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

Wrong.

A week later I tested the ammonia and found it at .5 -- uhoh.

I happened to have a two-ounce bottle of One and Only on hand, so I poured it into the tank and crossed my fingers. The next day, the ammonia read .25, then zero on the next. The platys are bigger now, but I haven't had a positive reading for ammonia since. Based on that experience, I'd say it worked.

I'm still not sure of the "add fish instantly" claim, but I am sure it greatly speeds up a cycle whether you're using pure ammonia or a few fish.

 

[MDDad]

I ordered a big (8 oz) bottle, which is good for 120G per the bottle. I only have a 29, so I figure I can "overdose" a bit to try to compensate for the sky-high ammonia, and see what happens.

I'll save the extra for an emergency if it comes up.

 

[Barliman]

I ordered a big (8 oz) bottle, which is good for 120G per the bottle. I only have a 29, so I figure I can "overdose" a bit to try to compensate for the sky-high ammonia, and see what happens.

I'll save the extra for an emergency if it comes up.

I don't think the shelf life is shortened once open, but I'd pour the whole thing in, regardless. It can't hurt.

 

[MDDad]

Would this stuff be good for situations like sudden failure of a filter or something where you're in jeopardy of losing established BB?

 

[Barliman]

Would this stuff be good for situations like sudden failure of a filter or something where you're in jeopardy of losing established BB?

I think it could be useful if you suddenly need to reestablish biological filtration. If a serious ammonia spike is a problem, though, I'd also keep some Seachem Safe on hand.

 

[MDDad]

Update.

The ammonia was actually right about 8ppm when I dumped in the One and Only last night.

Twenty four hours later:

Ammonia is a tad lighter than 8ppm, but over 4.

Nitrites, however, which were undeniably "blue" (0ppm) on the API test yesterday, were somewhere between 0 and 0.25 ppm today.

 

[Barliman]

Sounds like it's going in the right direction, now. I'd test everyday and just leave it until ammonia and nitrites read zero.

 

[MDDad]

Nitrites continue to climb. Now around 1ppm. Ammonia around 4 or a tad higher.

Should I be concerned that starting off with such high ammonia may have killed off the nitrite bacteria? Was my understanding that with this product you don't really see the nitrites at all.

Should I dump another dose in?

 

[Sniperhank]

You can try giving it another dose.
One of the big issues with this type of product is they must have a shelf life. With some saying it works and others not, be it a bottle of dead bacteria or even stocking to overwhelm the bacteria that they put in it becomes very hard to judge.
Either way, if you see ammonia and there are fish in the tank you need to act so the gills are not burned. Dose again or a water change. Only options available.

 

[Barliman]

Should I dump another dose in?

Either that or a large water change. But I would dump the remainder of what you have in, not just another dose.

 

[MDDad]

Both ammonia and nitrites are at 2ppm today.

 

[MDDad]

So ammonia is at zero (or a hair above, but not 0.25). Nitrites between 2.0 and 5.0 ppm.

Should I add some more ammonia so the ammonia bacteria won't "starve?"

 

[MDDad]

I dosed up the ammonia to ~2ppm at 10:30 last night. Ten hours later, it's down to 0.5ppm, nitrites holding steady.

 

[MDDad]

The pH seems to be creeping down as well. It was jumping up to the upper 7's after a water change, but now has crept down to about 7.0...do the bacteria actually contribute to acidity?

 

[Delapool]

Yes - tanks naturally tend to a lower ph from bacterial activity. Around ph 6.5 the bacterial activity may slow down but this could depend on bacteria as well. A water change (assuming tap ph is above 7) is usually all that is needed but in rapidly cycling tanks some addition of carbonate (eg baking soda) may be needed to keep ph / kh stable.

 

[MDDad]

Ammonia is being cycled from 2ppm to 0 in under 24 hours, but nitrites are holding steady.

Nitrates tested 5ppm, which makes no sense at all, because when we bought our house, the well water test revealed nitrates at 13 ppm, which necessitated an RO system.

Last week nitrates in the tank tested at 40-80...so that makes zero sense. I haven't done a WC since then. I'm beginning to think I screwed up the nitrate test bottle somehow, by perhaps not shaking vigorously enough/long enough per the API instructions the first couple times.

Could I have perhaps not shaken enough, causing the chemicals in Nitrate test bottle #2 to come out too concentrated on the first tests, and then being too diluted for accurate future tests?