FishN00b83 said:
I already started dozing 4ppm, so I'll stay with that I guess. I'll keep updating the thread with my results, and once it looks to be cycled, I'll test it for a week before I decide to put any fish in. One thing thats bothering me is once I put the seeded media in the filter and the tank appears to be cycled, how do I know what bacteria is doing the work? Will the heterotrophic bacteria starve the nitrifying bacteria and prevent it from multiplying?
I've never heard of eco-complete causing problems, but I don't know the science behind it.
Theoretically, if it does in fact contain heterotrophs, and is already causing this much conversion...I'd be a bit concerned, but that's just me personally. I have read articles about heterotrophic outcompeting the autotrophs...but honestly I can't give you a definitive answer whether it's reason for worry or not.
Here's my personal concern (again, just speculation for other readers following)...if after this short period of time it is already chewing through ammo and no2 this quickly...that means there's a LOT of the heterotrophs. Whether the true nitrifying bacteria will be able to compete with them is questionable to me. My initial thought would be no...but again, just speculation.
Here's a couple links about autotrophic vs heterotrophic bacteria.
http://www.bioconlabs.com/autoheterobac.html
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html
The people at eco-complete are pretty good at responding to questions from what I've heard, so asking them might not be a bad idea. It might be smart to link them the same articles I included so you can show you've already done research. I'm not saying they're bad people...but a company that sells things is going to stress the positives of their product...while occasionally glancing over any negatives.
If heterotrophic bacteria were indeed stable and long lived...it'd be great for the hobby. Tanks could instantly be cycled, and the bottled bacteria would be awesome...but unfortunately they're not. Like I said before, things that seem too good to be true often are.
It's just the fact it's Eco-complete we're talking about which puzzles me. If it were a bottled supplement I'd be more concerned...in this case I'm just more confused than anything.