DawnM

So I was told my PetSmart to add bacteria supplement in my tank to aid the cycling process. I've purchased TopFin bacteria supplement. Should I return it and keep on going with the fishless instructions posted here?

Amanda

The only supplement I know of that works is Tetra SafeStart.

aquarist48

Hello Dawn. The bacteria supplement that I've seen most used by members of this site is Tetra Safe Start (TSS). From what I've learned most other bacteria supplements have to be added for the life of the aquarium and really doesn't cycle at all. Please wait for some more advice as I have never used TopFin myself.

≈ D ≈

lousieg55

Try and find the Tetra Safe Start, Little hard to find at times but that would be your best bet.

pepetj

Unfortunately the info I found on this products just states "Water, Sodium Chloride, Propylene Glycol, Nitrifying Bacteria".

I tend to believe this is not the "True" Nitrifying Bacteria (which are autotrophic and aerobic) and more likely the "Wrong" Nitrifying Bacteria (which are heterotrophic and can be both aerobic and anaerobic).

I've read (and keep on reading) my share on both types of bacteria and their life cycle regarding the nitrogen cycle. I am no expert though, just a fishkeeper. I am convinced that the "wrong" type will not really outcompete the "true" type since their requirements for life are quite dissimilar; the use of the "wrong" type could make it longer -timewise- for the "right" type to colonize the surfaces of the tank.

For the safety of fish, in the case of cycling with fish, I would consider using the "wrong" type to make sure no ammonia and nitrite spike will take place. Problem is that the number of the "wrong" type of bacteria needed to keep a self-sustained nitrogen cycle is close to 1 million to 1 when compared to the "true" type.

Just imagine what this means: I would need a tank with room to keep one million of the "wrong" type of bacteria living there to sustain the bioload that one "true" type of bacteria can handle. Does this make any sense? So within a week or two a new dose of the "wrong" type of bacteria must be added to the tank, but not forever, just until the "true" type settles in the tank.

So the advice of using heterotrophic bacteria for speeding up the nitorgen cycle, which in the long run at least for the home settings I can imagine is self-sustainable only through autotrophic bacteria, is not true at all. What it speeds up is the waiting time to introduce fish in there: I could safely introduce fish there since day one but I will need to keep adding heterotrophic until the autotrophic colonize the tank and are capable of keeping parameters in check. Figuring when that happens could lead to mistakes since I wouldn't know who is who in keeping the ammonia and nitrite readings of zero (or close to zero); to be on the safe side, I figure I would commit to keep adding the "wrong" type, weekly, for at least three or four months before risking the fish to suffer from ammonia and nitrite toxicity. I base this long time frame since I've read about fishless cycling taking that long in some extreme cases.

Pepe
Santo Domingo