10 Gallon Tank Fishless cycling

Hi guys, Im currently cycling a 10 gallon tank, I’m in the 3rd week of Fishless cycling and I don’t have nitrites or nitrates and some people have told me to use Tetra Safestart. Have you guys tried this product? Did it help? And which one to use or is it the same thing?

 

I’ve seen your other thread and I personally think tss makes a small difference in how fast it cycled so it’s up to you but like the others said before it’s just a waiting game now

 

From what I understand, the SafeStart+ has a higher concentration of beneficial bacteria. Either product should work as should a variety of similar products from other manufacturers.

For any of them to work properly, however, the tank needs to have enough ammonia in the tank to feed the bacteria so they can multiply. Some people add pure household ammonia to achieve a concentration of 1-2 ppm. In a 10 gallon tank, the is only 3-5 drops.

If I am doing a fishless cycle, I like to put in a pinch of fish food into the tank each day. Bacteria will break down the fish food into urea which will be broken down into ammonia which will then be converted to nitrite and nitrate by the bacteria in your starter culture. While using a product like SafeStart will speed up the cycling process, there is no such thing as immediate cycling of a tank.

Keep checking ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels on a daily basis. If the ammonia levels get much above 1 ppm, then reduce the amount of ammonia or fish food you add. Keep at it until the ammonia and nitrite levels show zero several days in a row and the nitrate levels start to climb to around 10 ppm. At that point, you can do water changes to keep the nitrate level from going higher than that. Since you are doing a fishless cycle, there is no need to do water changes unless your ammonia level gets above 2.0 or the nitrates get above 10.

 

From what I understand, the SafeStart+ has a higher concentration of beneficial bacteria. Either product should work as should a variety of similar products from other manufacturers.

For any of them to work properly, however, the tank needs to have enough ammonia in the tank to feed the bacteria so they can multiply. Some people add pure household ammonia to achieve a concentration of 1-2 ppm. In a 10 gallon tank, the is only 3-5 drops.

If I am doing a fishless cycle, I like to put in a pinch of fish food into the tank each day. Bacteria will break down the fish food into urea which will be broken down into ammonia which will then be converted to nitrite and nitrate by the bacteria in your starter culture. While using a product like SafeStart will speed up the cycling process, there is no such thing as immediate cycling of a tank.

Keep checking ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels on a daily basis. If the ammonia levels get much above 1 ppm, then reduce the amount of ammonia or fish food you add. Keep at it until the ammonia and nitrite levels show zero several days in a row and the nitrate levels start to climb to around 10 ppm. At that point, you can do water changes to keep the nitrate level from going higher than that. Since you are doing a fishless cycle, there is no need to do water changes unless your ammonia level gets above 2.0 or the nitrates get above 10.

I agree with this just make sure to have enough ammonia. And I never followed the instructions on that I just dump the whole bottle ( make sure to shake well )

 

I used tetra safe start ( the one on the right) and I'm in the 3rd week of cycling with ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all present. I would recommend using this product. make sure to have a source of ammonia to feed the beneficial bacteria.