anyone out there use

[laboul]

Does anyone have experience with a product sold at Big Al's called BioSupport?? It's supposed to be like BioSpira, bacteria that will cycle your tank faster.

I've been trying to cycle my 10 gal for a week now, just realized ammonia was way too high. Maybe because of that I don't have a nitrite spike yet. SO I did water changes, got it back down to 4 ppm, and added Biosupport last night. Maybe I'm being too hasty, but someone said my tank would be cycled in a day or two using BioSpira... this AM my ammonia is still 4 ppm, nitrite 0.

 

[laboul]

anyone?

 

[rdd1952]

I don't think the bacteria additives do very much. From what I have heard, bio spira is the best one but I don't have any experience. The best way to cycle quickly is with plants. I am probalby going to have my 75 gallon cycled in less than 2 weeks by adding about 50 plants. I put water in on Saturday and added ammonia to bring it to about 4.0 to 5.0. It really didn't change until I got my plants and put them in on Friday afternoon. The ammonia was down to zero by Sunday morning. I added ammonia again to get it back to around 1.0 and it was back to zero by 8:00 pm. I added again and it was back to zero again the next morning. It is going from 1.0 back to zero within a few hours. I am just waiting on the nitrite spike to drop to zero and I'm ready for fish.

 

[laboul]

Thanks. I heard this about plants, I can only hope that mine bring down the ammonia level as well... I've had them in there for about a month now, and I've been cycling for about a week. I suspect that my ammonia level was WAY too high initially, it took several water changes to get it down to 4ppm. I guess that the actual cycling will really have started yesterday... although kind of confused since my ammonia was 4 last night and 4 this AM, too.

Guess I just have to be patient!

 

[rdd1952]

It will take a while for some bacteria to appear. I also may have benefitted from the Eco Complete Planted substrate that I used. I know it is supposed to have bacteria in it already but whether it is still alive or not has been well debated. I mainly wanted it because for the plant benefits of it and also for the black color. Any bacteria help was just a bonus.
I have the same problem with a 2.5 gallon that I completely cleaned and am cycling again. I got way too much ammonia in it yesterday and have to do a big water change tonight to get it back down. I ran out of dechlorinator yesterday so I couldn't do it till I could get to the store and by more dechlor.

 

[a1wonder]

I have cycled with store bought products before with sucess. I did a fishless cycle added amonia directly to the water and used a product called "stress free" (which adds active bateria to the tank). Within a two - weeks the tank was fully cycled.
I gradually added 2 fish per three days keeping with the recominded dose of Stress Free weekly for a month. There has not been do date an ammonia spike.
Although it might have been a combination of good luck the product itself made a difference and I would recomind "Stress Free" (sold by petland) to anyone who would like to quickly and safely cycle their tank.