Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm personally not a fan of any bottled bacteria or cycling products. Ive heard too many stories of crashed bio-filters that we've linked back to one of the "instant cycling" products. I think the best two items for a successful fish-in cycle are a bucket and a bottle of Prime.
Here's a good article you can check out though...it's a bit long winded, but gives some great info and also reviews many of the cycling products.
Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle and cycling. Methods for ammonia, nitrite removal.
I agree eco, I'm not a fan either, but I used some of these years ago and didn't have any issues with my tank crashing. I'm always leery of "stories" because of all the variables involved. Carbon stories are a perfect example.