Cycling with tetra safe start

I am currently about 18 days in my fish in cycle with tetra safe start plus. Everything g has been going really well. I waited the full 14 days, actually 16 days, before doing my first water change like recommended. Through the whole process my water stayed pretty stable for a new aquarium. My ammonia stayed .5 or less until the last few days, my nitrites stayed zero and nitrate consistently climbed until they reached 20. Then the night I was gonna do my water change I did a test again and my ammonia was closer to 1 than .5, my nitrates were still around 20 but for the first time I showed nitrites of .25. It kinda scared me a little because a lot of people said some times when using tetra safe start plus the cycle can skip the nitrites all together and that had been my experience for over 2 weeks. So I did the water change, between 60-70%. I waited 24 hours and tested again and the numbers are ammonia .25 nitrite 0 nitrate 10. My question is where am I in the cycling process now? I understood going in the 14 day cycle was wishful thinking. I figured it would most likely take a bit longer, but now I’m kinda lost not knowing where I am and where to go from here. I know there’s mixed reviews on safe start, but I have to say I’ve been pleased with it so far. My fish all seem happy and healthy. No signs of stress or illness. And I did redose the tank with safe start after the water change. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience using safe start and if anyone has any idea where I’m at in the process. Am I close? Anything else I should be doing?
as usual thanks everyone for any advice or your thoughts!

 

The thing about bottled bacteria is that you won’t know where in the cycle you are. The good news is that I would assume you have both types of bacteria. You most likely will need to just keep doing water changes in a fishless cycle. Eventually, I think ammonia will drop but then nitrite might get even higher.

 

The thing about bottled bacteria is that you won’t know where in the cycle you are. The good news is that I would assume you have both types of bacteria. You most likely will need to just keep doing water changes in a fishless cycle. Eventually, I think ammonia will drop but then nitrite might get even higher.

Those nitrites are what make me nervous. I’m doing a fish in cycle so I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on them. It’s making me a nervous wreck! Years ago when I had fish I never knew about cycling. It was a lot less stressful but I spent a lot of time wondering why my fish were dying hahah

 

Those nitrites are what make me nervous. I’m doing a fish in cycle so I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on them. It’s making me a nervous wreck! Years ago when I had fish I never knew about cycling. It was a lot less stressful but I spent a lot of time wondering why my fish were dying hahah

I just recently did fishless cycling for two separate tanks. Let’s just say I’m glad I most likely won’t need to do it again.

 

Did you waut at least 24 hours after your water change to add TSS+ the seccond time? Are you planning on waiting an additional 14 days for the second bottle of TSS+ to work?

It sounds to me that you are on track. I would just keep and eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels. If they start to climb, you may need to abandon the TSS+ and just do dialy water changes until cycled.

 

Did you waut at least 24 hours after your water change to add TSS+ the seccond time? Are you planning on waiting an additional 14 days for the second bottle of TSS+ to work?

It sounds to me that you are on track. I would just keep and eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels. If they start to climb, you may need to abandon the TSS+ and just do dialy water changes until cycled.

No I didn’t wait to add the safe start. It says you can add it during water changes or when adding fish just as a booster so I did it with the water change. My water on the other hand I keep conditioned and stored, on hand for at least 24 hours before I add it to the tank. I did it more as a booster than restarting the cycle. I’ll do water changes now as needed and won’t apply the 14 day rule since its not a new cycle anymore. That’s my plan any way. Even with the first 2 weeks, if the ammonia had gotten too high or the nitrites started rising I woulda gone ahead and done a water change. I’d definitely rather do what I can to make sure my fish are safe than worry about quick cycling.
I am hopeful I’m close to the end of the process. Seeing those nitrites that last day got me scared. I think where I’d read that it usually skips that part during the process gave me a false sense of security. I was also worried my cycle may have stalled because I wasn’t seeing and big changes, but I guess that’s definitely not the case hahah patience isn’t one of my stronger attributes obviously that’s why I originally went with safe start. But apparently I’m just gonna have to hurry up and wait
Thank you!!

 

Sometime it seems to skip the nitrite spike and sometimes it doesn't. Just keep an eye on the numbers and do water changes as needed. There is no need to add anymore bottled bacteria. They recommend adding with each water change simply to keep you buying more product. Once a tank is cycled there is absolutely no reason to add more bottled bacteria.

It seems the TSS+ worked well for you. It may be time to go to your weekly water changes now but let you numbers be your guide. If ammonia and/or nitrites spike up to over .25 do a water change.
You said you treat your water and then let it age. Water conditioner work instantly so no need to age the water change water. If you are using Prime and aging the water you've added it to you are negating Primes ability to detox ammonia by aging the water.

 

. . . My question is where am I in the cycling process now? I understood going in the 14 day cycle was wishful thinking. I figured it would most likely take a bit longer, but now I’m kinda lost not knowing where I am and where to go from here. I know there’s mixed reviews on safe start, but I have to say I’ve been pleased with it so far. My fish all seem happy and healthy. No signs of stress or illness. And I did redose the tank with safe start after the water change. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience using safe start and if anyone has any idea where I’m at in the process. Am I close? Anything else I should be doing?
as usual thanks everyone for any advice or your thoughts!

My advice would be to not worry about the timeline. Do water changes when needed to keep the combined ammonia and nitrites low (ideally below 0.50 ppm, but definitely below 1.0 ppm). It will take as long as it takes.

 

Sometime it seems to skip the nitrite spike and sometimes it doesn't. Just keep an eye on the numbers and do water changes as needed. There is no need to add anymore bottled bacteria. They recommend adding with each water change simply to keep you buying more product. Once a tank is cycled there is absolutely no reason to add more bottled bacteria.

It seems the TSS+ worked well for you. It may be time to go to your weekly water changes now but let you numbers be your guide. If ammonia and/or nitrites spike up to over .25 do a water change.
You said you treat your water and then let it age. Water conditioner work instantly so no need to age the water change water. If you are using Prime and aging the water you've added it to you are negating Primes ability to detox ammonia by aging the water.

Hi! Thank you for replying!
the reason I wait at least 24 hours is from the q&a with tetra about safe start. They say that any of the dechlorinators, detoxifiers, ammonia lock products etc will lock up or kill the ammonia that carries safe start and feeds it. They recommend to use any product like that at least 24 hours prior to adding safe start and not until 7 days after. They said it will kill the bacteria. That’s why I am currently not using prime at all. Just a regular water conditioner/dechlorinator. Keeping it stored and ready also helps me keep it closer to temp in case I need to do a water change quickly without notice and not have to panic about trying to match the temp from the faucet. I’m sure it’s over kill but that’s pretty much how I live hahah I always waaaaay overthink everything.
may last water test the ammonia was lighter than the day before so right now somewhere between 0 and .25 but still present. Nitrites are still zero and nitrates seem to have gone to somewhere between 10-20, just a bit darker than the previous day. I added some top floating plants a couple days ago as well. Hopefully those will help keep the nitrates a bit under control.

My advice would be to not worry about the timeline. Do water changes when needed to keep the combined ammonia and nitrites low (ideally below 0.50 ppm, but definitely below 1.0 ppm). It will take as long as it takes.

Thank you!
I wish I had the capacity to not worry and be patient hahah I have accepted the fact that 2 weeks wasn’t gonna do it I think I just needed to know I was indeed on track, at least progressing. I was dreading that first water change, I was scared to death as a matter of fact. I just knew I would wake up the next day and all my fish would be dead! Thankfully they took it better than I did. So now I’m ready to continue with water changes as needed and get it done. This is all so new to me and I kind of get a little obsessive when I want to get something right, especially when I have these little lives depend on me. So all your help and advice will always be appreciated and noted. Thanks again!!

 

. . . may last water test the ammonia was lighter than the day before so right now somewhere between 0 and .25 but still present. Nitrites are still zero and nitrates seem to have gone to somewhere between 10-20, just a bit darker than the previous day. I added some top floating plants a couple days ago as well. Hopefully those will help keep the nitrates a bit under control.

0.25 ppm is within the margin of error for testing, so if yours is lighter than that you may be at zero ammonia, or so close to it that it doesn't matter. It's my understanding that even in a fully cycled tank you will occasionally have very small amounts of ammonia that the bacteria colony just hasn't had time to process yet.

I'd keep testing frequently for a while, but it sounds to me like you're getting pretty close.

 

0.25 ppm is within the margin of error for testing, so if yours is lighter than that you may be at zero ammonia, or so close to it that it doesn't matter. It's my understanding that even in a fully cycled tank you will occasionally have very small amounts of ammonia that the bacteria colony just hasn't had time to process yet.

I'd keep testing frequently for a while, but it sounds to me like you're getting pretty close.

You know, something else I just realized. I dosed with safe start again after the water change. Their bacteria is dispersed on a type of ammonia that feeds it during the process. That could also account for some of the ammonia showing up on the test I guess. I’ll definitely keep testing and watch to see what happens. Hopefully the nitrites will stay at zero. Any recommendations on nitrates? What is too high?

 

Any recommendations on nitrates? What is too high?

There are varying opinions on that, but for most fish I wouldn't get too concerned unless it gets above 40 ppm.