roseofsharon

Hello,

I am a beginner and I have spent days researching about betta keeping. I have one crown tail male betta which I plan to move from a one gallon (I know, bad but I didn't realize there was so much to it) to a 3 gallon tank soon. (That is all I have room for) I have ordered all the testing kits and plan to do a fishless cycle (I read that yes you can cycle a 3 gallon, is this recommended?) I have a small heater and a palm filter, silk and plastic plants, and one swim through decoration coming.

I am having a very hard time finding the pure ammonia to start the cycle, soo.....(and I am on a bit of a time restraint,) so I was hoping to speed things up a bit and was hoping to use Tetra SafeCyle but I need step by step....

I imagine you set up your equipment to make sure it is running...do I let it run for awhile before adding anything?

Do I still need to test the water, and how soon and how much of a water change do is needed?

Help, please!

Lucy

Hi Welcome to FishLore
Congrats on upgrading your betta to a 3g. I'm sure he'll love the room and warmer water.
I don't have much experience with Tetra SafeSatrt
It's my understanding that you add it and the fish at the same time, don't do anything for I think 10 days.

Others have first hand experience, so I'm sure they'll chime in
Good luck and don't forget to post pics!

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!
if you can find tetra safestart (make sure its not cycle) for your tank, you would add your betta baby and the tss at the same time...

id get the tank filled with a water conditioner like tetra aqua safe(thats recommended with tetra safestart) and wait 24 hours..after that add your betta and your bottle of tetra safestart and wait 7 - 10 days before you test...then go from there ....

goodluck and I agree share pics! we love pics

eiginh

Hello and welcome to FL!

Was the one gallon tank that had the betta in it cycled? If so you can use that filter and same water to put in the 3 gallon and that will help speedy up your cycle. Test your water as soon as you set it up and check your bottle. Does it read Tetra AquaSafe or Tetra SafeStart?

RonDutt

Sorry to thread-jack a bit but eiginh, is there a difference between AquaSafe and SafeStart? My LFS has SafeStart but Petco and Petsmart keep telling me AquaSafe is the upgraded version of SafeStart.

roseofsharon

They are two different products.......I ordered mine online...

Hello,

It's SafeStart.

RonDutt

The product descriptions are pretty much the same, with AquaSafe also declorinating. Nice to have 3 LFSs though Petsmart, Petco, and Clark's. Smart, not so smart, and geniuses

roseofsharon

Thank you....pictures as soon as I get set up!

Lucy

Tetra SafeStart is a bacterial additive, one of the very few the members had luck with to cycle their tank quickly.
AquaSafe is a dechlorinator. It doesn't claim to cycle your tank.

jdhef

Roseofsharon,

Make sure you add the entire bottle of SafeStart to your tank. Don't worry about overdosing, it is impossible, but you can underdose.

Additionally your water will cloud up for a couple of days, but don't worry it will clear up on it's own.

Good luck!

peacemaker92

WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

Great info above. Hope everything goes well. Best of luck!

eiginh

AquaSafe is totally different than SafeStart as what Lucy suggested.

That's good you have SafeStart, just follow jdhef's instruction and you're set!

iloveengl

I just wanted to add to Shawnie and Jdhef's great advice that you should not change any of the water during those ten days. Hooray for the new betta home - can't wait for pics.

ABCDemily

AquaSafe is a conditioner that doesn't cycle the tank, TSS does cycle the tank Be careful not to underdose, I did when cycling my bettas tank and it got nasty for a while, so add quite a bit (leave a little left over just in case)

Good luck!

aquarist48

Hello Rose. Lots of good information above.

Welcome to Fish Lore! I hope you enjoy the site!
Ken

Shawnie

you NEVER want to use a partial bottle....it states right on the back to use the entire thing....you cannot overdose with tss as john suggested..

roseofsharon

Thank you all SO MUCH for your input. I am so nervous about this. I have deliberated and read so much about this for days now, and have read information about whether or not it is better, in my situation of a three gallon, to filter/cycle or just do uncycled and do full water changes....but then I read if you heat the tank then you should also filter it and if you filter it you should cycle....so that has been the thought process so far.

I realize that larger tanks are easier to maintain, but it isn't happening in my situation, at least not now. I have the time to maintain my little fishie, and I enjoy doing it....just a bit nervous about this new change. The tank came yesterday. It is a 3 gallon glass bow front by Mr. Aqua. I am going to fashion some kind of cover for it. (any ideas?)

I am also nervous about the filter for this, it is an Palm Filter, so hopefully there won't be a problem, and a mini heater....actually I have two coming, a 7.5 watt which is not adjustable, and a 10 watt that is...the 10 watt is on back order...I wanted to get Falstaff into a larger heated tank as quickly as possible.

I have a small bottle of the safe start, it says 100 mL which I hope is enough for 3 gallons...I also have a bottle of the Colonize but I read that SafeStart is way better

jdhef

Don't be nervous, everything will work out fine! Plus you have a ton of people here just waiting to help you out if you run into problems.

While a five gallon tank is preferable for a Betta, a three gallon will work out just fine. Most people here agree that 2 1/2 gallon would be the minimum for a betta, so you are a bit larger than that. With a single Betta in a 3 gallon tank, you shouldn't have any problems maintaining the tank.

The bottle of SafeStart should say how many gallons it treats. Just follow the directions exactly as the are given. Use the entire bottle, add your Betta and wait 7 to 10 days before testing the water. If after testing your water, you find that your nitrates are still below 20, hold off on doing a water change until they get to about 20.

As a user of SafeStart I can honestly say it is really easy!