joshthefisherman

I just started cycling a tank and was wondering if anyone has ever used Cycle if you have what did you think of it

sgould

It is not a well respected product. Many have stated that it did not seem to do any good at all (which was my experience), and some have even said that it caused their tank to go into continuous mini-cycles. The consensus around the forums seems to be not to use it.

susitna-flower

I agree with sgould, I have also used it with no significant help. I did not notice mini-cycles, but it seemed to be a product that just cost me money without a real noticable benefit. Since it is kept on the store shelf, the available live bacteria could not live for long.

The most recommended product for cycling your tank seems to be BIO-SPIRA. It is kept refrigated until use, and can be purchased from many local fish stores, but if you can't find it by asking at your store, it is available at www.drsfostersmity.com . When you use it as the directions indicate, adding fish and not changing water, your tank will be fully cycled in a week.

Gunnie

Bio Spira is the only true product that actually contains the correct bacteria found in cycled tanks. Some do contain strains of bacteria, but not the ones found in a cycled tank. The other products may accelerate the process but will not provide an instant cycle like Bio Spira can. With that said, I have tried Cycle and found it to be a total waste of my money. I saw no positive results using it in my experience. As susitna-flower mentioned, Bio Spira can be purchased at www.drsfostersmith.com. If you happen to be able to find it locally, make sure the dealer is reputable, and has been refrigerating the bio spira. You don't want to purchase an expensive packet of dead bacteria!

sirdarksol

A bit of further explanation.
The bacteria that Bio-Spira contains are aquatic strains of the nitrifying bacteria.
The types that Cycle and the other brands have are all terrestrial, which are capable of going into a spore form that has an indefinite shelf-life, but will only survive for a very short time in water. The end result is that the bacteria in Cycle will devour ammonia for a couple of days, starving the aquatic nitrifying bacteria. Then, the Cycle bacteria will die off, dumping ammonia back into the water, thus sending the tank through a mini-cycle.

JVzer0

Has anyone ever tried using Septo-Bac to cycle a tank? It's meant for use in septic tanks but I've found a few people that claim it works to cycle aquariums the same way Bio-Spira does. However, since it comes in a powder form I am suspicious, although on the other hand since it is made for septic tanks it seems unlikely that whoever makes it is trying to fool aquarists.

Here's a thread that talks about an attempt to test it with partially positive results (the tank was already halfway cycled when the Septo-Bac was added, however).

http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/f...,10810.50.html

angelfish220

I dont know about you but I would use the recommended thing for aquariums and not something used in septic tanks. Just seems a little risky

Blub

joshthefisherman

i guess ill X this off the list

lovemyfroggies

The only product that works for instantly cycling your tank is Bio-Spira. It's live bacteria and has to be refrigerated. If bacteria isn't refrigerated it's dead and is no good. I've used it in two of my tanks. I've had no dead fish.

sirdarksol

Please turn the pink off.
Some of us old folks around here don't have all that great of eyes, and the bright colors give us headaches. (Really, not messing with the font at all, except when making a particular point, is the best idea)

swords3711

I think it is great. I have used it in every water change and when someone told me not to use it, I lost several fish until I reapplied.

COBettaCouple

I despise 'Cycle'. It's expensive water and we wasted a bunch of money on it when we started. All it did was put our tanks into endless mini-cycles. When we started using Fishlore and found out about it, we stopped using it and our tanks finally cycled.

melissa801

Hi...i'm new to this forum. I have used cycle. My 35 gal tank has been set up for 4 months. It doesn't seem like it did anything. Although I haven't had any fish die...it took a long time for my tank to cycle with it...probably as long as it would have taken without it.

eepruls

I just bought a huge bottle of Cycle at Wal-Mart for my tank and was going to start a fishless cycle tomorrow using it. It sounds so good when you read the package.

I haven't opened it yet and I have the receipt so I think I'll take it back. This is a great forum!