Advice For Using Tetra Safe Start PLUS

[Part Of Your World]

Hi,
My tank was 1st set up Oct 9th. So its not reached a full cycle or I mean its not cycled enough to stop testing daily and go to a regular maintenance routine.

I just ran the chemistry test on my fish tank water. I do have fish in the tank. 8 gold neon tetra and 4 skirt tetras with 2 being white and 2 being black. The levels are PH 7.6, High PH 7.4 ( idk why i bothered testing it) Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 0ppm. My next step was getting the new HOB filter set up.

I just got a new filter today (not enough room in the old one to use bio media, carbon, sponge and old cartridge.I soaked the new media in tank water with the old media filth, Stuffed the new and old media into the new filter, poured the used media tank water into the filter to prime it. Im gonna let it run for 24 hours. But then I want to use tetra safe start plus. Can I add it all to the tank with fish inside ? Should I pour it in the HOB filter with the media? Not sure what method works best. I just hope all the microbe bacteria inside the bottle are still alive

 

[Aiken Drum]

Pouring into the HOB isnt a bad idea, it will get it into contact with your filter media at the earliest opportunity.

Just dose in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. It won't hurt the fish.

 

[Part Of Your World]

Pouring into the HOB isnt a bad idea, it will get it into contact with your filter media at the earliest opportunity.

Just dose in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. It won't hurt the fish.

Thank you I'll be putting the whole bottle into thr media holding area of my filter.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you I'll be putting the whole bottle into thr media holding area of my filter.

Use as directed. No sense in putting the whole bottle in if there isn't enough ammonia production to feed the microbes. It's not about the now, it's about the continual.

 

[dalto]

What is your current filter? Are you planning to run them together?

Use as directed. No sense in putting the whole bottle

The directions for Tetra Safe Start do, in fact, say to use the whole bottle. Whether that is actually useful or not is hard to say but that is what they recommend.

 

[Andy Sager]

What is your current filter? Are you planning to run them together?



The directions for Tetra Safe Start do, in fact, say to use the whole bottle. Whether that is actually useful or not is hard to say but that is what they recommend.

Okay. I haven't used this particular product before so it's different than the Fritzyme I have used.

 

[Part Of Your World]

Okay. I haven't used this particular product before so it's different than the Fritzyme I have used.

Hi there, I have a 20-gallon top fin kit from PetSmart. It came with a Top Fin Silentstream 20 Power Filter with a cartridge. However, I found after research that only having a cartridge isn't the most beneficial to my fish. I purchased a Fluval - Media Maintenance Kit for AC30 Power Filter meant for 10-30 gallons. and also, more media for this model. It's been set up since Saturday evening (Oct 18th). I decided not to run the filters together. I am using both new and old media in the new filter. I just made sure to follow careful steps to make the transfer unlikely to lose beneficial microbes in the process.
I filled the bucket I use for water changes with tank water.
removed the old media from the current filter and placed it in the bucket, squeezing all the gunk out of it. then dumped the filter water into the bucket. I placed all the new media into the bucket, as well I let it marinate while I got the new filter ready.
I set up the new filter and then placed the new and old media into the filter holding spot.
I dumped the tank/old filter water into the filter to prime it and the rest into the tank. I squeezed out the remaining old media into the tank water that wouldn't fit into the new filter holding spot. turned on the filter and kept checking on it to make sure it was going to work. I waited 24 hrs., then last night I added the entire bottle of Tetra Safe Start Plus directly into the filter. Now, daily I will keep feeding my fish 2 times a day or at least once, I realize the live bacteria need ammonia to thrive on. As for whether Tetra Safe Start Plus will work, we will see in due time. I have only heard multiple times that 2 products actually have live bacteria in them: one is Tetra Safe Start Plus, and the other is Fritzyme.
Do you have any recommendations for me to try? Or am I just waiting at this point?

 

[Andy Sager]

Hi there, I have a 20-gallon top fin kit from PetSmart. It came with a Top Fin Silentstream 20 Power Filter with a cartridge. However, I found after research that only having a cartridge isn't the most beneficial to my fish. I purchased a Fluval - Media Maintenance Kit for AC30 Power Filter meant for 10-30 gallons. and also, more media for this model. It's been set up since Saturday evening (Oct 18th). I decided not to run the filters together. I am using both new and old media in the new filter. I just made sure to follow careful steps to make the transfer unlikely to lose beneficial microbes in the process.
I filled the bucket I use for water changes with tank water.
removed the old media from the current filter and placed it in the bucket, squeezing all the gunk out of it. then dumped the filter water into the bucket. I placed all the new media into the bucket, as well I let it marinate while I got the new filter ready.
I set up the new filter and then placed the new and old media into the filter holding spot.
I dumped the tank/old filter water into the filter to prime it and the rest into the tank. I squeezed out the remaining old media into the tank water that wouldn't fit into the new filter holding spot. turned on the filter and kept checking on it to make sure it was going to work. I waited 24 hrs., then last night I added the entire bottle of Tetra Safe Start Plus directly into the filter. Now, daily I will keep feeding my fish 2 times a day or at least once, I realize the live bacteria need ammonia to thrive on. As for whether Tetra Safe Start Plus will work, we will see in due time. I have only heard multiple times that 2 products actually have live bacteria in them: one is Tetra Safe Start Plus, and the other is Fritzyme.
Do you have any recommendations for me to try? Or am I just waiting at this point?

You are just waiting at this point. Continue daily testing to make sure the combined amount of Ammonia and Nitrite does not go above .5 ppm. If they do, you need to do water changes, not rely on chemicals to do " detoxify" them. Fish in cycles usually take a longer to cycle because you are diluting the ammonia levels more frequently. The addition of the live bacteria in a bottle usually helps speed things up if you keep the water in ideal ranges for the microbes but it's not going to be instantaneous.
Just so that you understand what the " cycle" really means, when the tank finishes cycling, it means that there are enough microbes present to consume and convert the ammonia level present at the time. The advantage to a fish-less cycle is that you can use a higher amount of ammonia to make a bigger microbe bed. The down-side to it is that you don't get to watch the pretty fishies during the process. With fish-in cycles, you get to watch the fish but you need to do more work, water changes and when you add more fish, you have to do it more slowly and with less fish at one time. So both have their merits. FYI, when I got started with keeping fish back in the 1960s, fish-in cycling was the only way we did it and the fish survived when done slowly.

 

[Part Of Your World]

You are just waiting at this point. Continue daily testing to make sure the combined amount of Ammonia and Nitrite does not go above .5 ppm. If they do, you need to do water changes, not rely on chemicals to do " detoxify" them. Fish in cycles usually take a longer to cycle because you are diluting the ammonia levels more frequently. The addition of the live bacteria in a bottle usually helps speed things up if you keep the water in ideal ranges for the microbes but it's not going to be instantaneous.
Just so that you understand what the " cycle" really means, when the tank finishes cycling, it means that there are enough microbes present to consume and convert the ammonia level present at the time. The advantage to a fish-less cycle is that you can use a higher amount of ammonia to make a bigger microbe bed. The down-side to it is that you don't get to watch the pretty fishies during the process. With fish-in cycles, you get to watch the fish but you need to do more work, water changes and when you add more fish, you have to do it more slowly and with less fish at one time. So both have their merits. FYI, when I got started with keeping fish back in the 1960s, fish-in cycling was the only way we did it and the fish survived when done slowly.

Thank you for your encouragement. I will continue to monitor the chemistry in the tank and not let it get above .5ppm combined level of ammonia and Nitrite. Or one or the other.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for your encouragement. I will continue to monitor the chemistry in the tank and not let it get above .5ppm combined level of ammonia and Nitrite. Or one or the other.

Or combined. For example, .25 ammonia & .25 of nitrite = .5 and that is the limit so water changes should be done.