Best Products

[squarefish]

I've been reading a few threads about cycle boosters etc. This got me thinking about the hundreds of products at my LFS and how many of them are actually any good. As a new aquarist can anyone recommend the essentials and the highly recommended ones?

 

[GRJ]

Hi, i am a newbie too. To be honest, no one really recommends any of the cycle aids you see in the lfs. As you need live bacteria to start your cycle, these products are a little sketchy on how they work. There is no seel by date on them andbacteria needs a food source to survive. I have used Stress Zyme a couple of times in my tank and it has done absolutely nothing. I am cycling with fish in my tank, and its only just getting into the cycle now after 4 weeks, my ammonia and nitrite are up at the minute. I was donated some filter media and that is what boosted my cycle up, so if you ca get someone to donate you a matured filter sponge, the squeezings from a matured filter sponge or sme gravel from an established tank, that will kick start your cycle. I got some gravel from my local lfs, they were really friendly and had no problem giving me two handfulls of gravel. Good luck and hope that has helped. Other people will tell you more as, as i said earlier, i am a complete novice and only learnt what i know from this forum. GRJ

 

[Meds081603]

I can recommend Prime. I use it with every water change and it helps during cycling. It will not cycle a tank faster but if your doing a cycle with fish it will neutralize the nitrite and ammonia on top of wiping out chlorine. It smells a bit like rotten eggs but the stuff works great. Other than Prime the only chemicals I use would be medicine when absolutely needed.

 

[Tolak]

The biggest thing you can do for your fish to keep them healthy is plenty of fresh water. A good water conditioner such as Prime or Aquasafe, 50% water changes weekly, every week, and you won't have to worry about all the beautifully packaged useless items. Get a quar tank for new purchases, this will keep your main tank disease free.

One thing you can do now is look around the lfs in your area, find the best 2 or 3, and keep their phone number and hours of operation handy. Most fish meds, just like meds for humans, do have an expiration date, so keeping a stock of meds, treatments, and other such things is often a waste of money. If you keep up on maintenance, use a quar tank, and only buy fish from reputable shops or individuals you will have very few problems. The only item you will be using regularly is a good water conditioner.

 

[DazedNCoNfUsEd]

Exactly as Tolak said. I can definitely recommend Prime for a water conditioner. It may seem a little expensive but it is VERY concentrated so you don't use as much for each water change. A little bottle will go a long way.

As far as cycle boosters, I think the only one worth while is the product BioSpira made by Marineland. It is actual live bacteria in a bag but it MUST be refrigerated before using it, otherwise the bacteria will die. They say you can fully stock your tank after adding it, but when I used it I just added a few fish every week or so, just to be on the safe side and it worked perfectly. But of course the cheapest way to jump start a new tank is by using some filter media from a well established tank.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

These are not cycle boosters, but two commonly recommended products that make aquariums a bit more stress free:

API Master Test Kit is something that I very highly recommend for checking on the quality of your tank water.

Python No-Spill system IF you have a tank larger than 40-50 gallons (unless you like the exercise of carrying around water for water changes)