pennytupence

Im really glad i read this thread, the ammonia in my tank was reading slightly high and i too put cycle in there.So is it ok to put Tetra safe start in instead?

Shawnie

only after a few days of water changes..you DO NOT want any cycle (the product) in your tank when you add TSS

jdhef

Just to expand a bit on what Shawnie wrote above:

Cycle contains bacteria that is not self sustaining. So it will process ammonia, but only for a short time, then that bacteria dies off. So you need to keep adding Cycle on a regular basis. And since the bacteria contained in Cycle is processing the ammonia, the self sustaining bacteria that you really want, never gets a chance to establish, since the bacteria in Cycle starves it out.

SafeStart contains the good self sustaining bacteria. But if you have Cycle's bacteria in your tank, the bacteria in SafeStart will be starved out and die off.

Shawnie

you are so much better with words
thanks for always covering my back

jdhef

Now that is really funny!

pennytupence

Oh lord,i already put safe start in what should i do now? seeing as what i've read it will be starved out.I didnt put much cycle in.I put 80mls of Safe start in though.What a walley i am.

jdhef

I would just hang in and hope for the best. In the worst case, the cycle would process all of the ammonia and nitrites and starve off the SafeStart. Then the bacteria in Cycle will die off, and you could then add SafeStart again.

So just keep on eye on your ammonia levels for the first few weeks. If your ammonia is good, then starts to rise in time, you will know that Cycle starved off the SafeStart and the Cycle bacteria is dying off.

pennytupence

Ok thank you for your advice.

pennytupence

Well i've done eveything you guys suggested but still i've lost 2 more babies.It really does get you down when you think your doing your best and still you lose them,i know its only a fish but i do get attached to them.I dread going down in the morning now.

eaglescout316

AmQuel+, from what i've heard, can lock ammonia/nitrite but still have it available for the bacteria. I've used it from time to time when i've had little ammonia blips.

kbekl

also amquel+ removes 1.2ppm of ammonia

Shawnie

I saw that in another thread of yours.....and all that ive read on amquel+ , is the process of detoxifying not a certain percent of PPM removal.....it it removes the ammonia, it cant properly cycle the tank..ammonia needs to be there to feed the bacteria.....

eaglescout316

It does not remove it, it detoxifies (detoxifying and locking are synonyms in this case) it. Hence it leaves it available for the bacteria.

rebeccmh

I got AmQuel + too after doing a lot of research about this, plus someone else here answered a question I had about it. EagleScout is right...AmQuel doesn't remove the ammonia, it only detoxifies it so that it is still available for the cycle. On the Kordon website for Amquel+ ( http://www.novalek.com/kordon/amquel+/index.htm ) it says that it doesn't interfere with the cycling process or the bacteria, so it is safe to use when cycling a tank.

Craig-D

What I would suggest the OP should do is wait to see if the TSS takes hold or is interfered with by the Cycle bacteria as also suggested above. More TSS can always be added later if the Cycle does interfere. I'd start dosing with Amquel+, Prime or whatever immediately while waiting to prevent any further losses.

Rebecca is correct. If you really want to get scientific, what Amquel+ does is permanently break the atomic bonds of the elements that make up ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The newly separated elements can still be consumed by the bio-filter because the beneficial bacteria does not know the difference. Prime works differently. It binds with the ammonia atomically to form a new element that is not toxic (but for only for 24 hours, a time limit Amquel+ doesn't have because its effect is permanent). The ammonia part of this new element remains available to be consumed. Thus the bio-filter is not interfered with by either product.

pennytupence

Wow you guys really know your stuff,well i didnt do anything and just waited for a week and tested again and everything in the garden is rosy again result of test water perfect for fish no more losses but thanks you guys

jdhef

I'm glad it worked out for you!