BENEFICIAL BACTERIA

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Swartz44

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My aquarium is up and running for 2 months now. I have 9 fish in 20g(2 angels,4 mollies,2 guppies & red tailed shark). The tank, i believe, is still cycling(high nitrites & nitrates. My question is can I buy a beneficial bacteria product that I could add to the tank to speed up the cycling process?

Thanks in advance
 
Don't bother testing for nitrates if you have nitrites because nitrate test kits read nitrites as nitrates and give you a false reading.

Yes you can buy bottles of liquid filter bacteria from most pet shops. I recommend adding a double dose every day for a week, then pouring the rest into the tank. Try to add the supplement near the filter intake so it gets drawn into the filter where it belongs.
 
If you do get a bottled bacteria, look for Dr Tim's One & Only or Tetra Safe Start. Don't expect them to get rid of nitrite instantly though, you still need to do water changes to get it to zero.


One of the problems may be the type of fish you have - all of them need a bigger tank than 20 gallons and they may just be too much for this tank.
 
I used Tetra Safe Start when cycling a new fishless tank with ammonia and it worked extremely well.
 
Can I get this(tetra safe start)and add immediately? Will it harm my fish? Can I just put it in my bio wheel filter?

Also im assuming the tank will eventually cycle on its own. Is this correct?
 
Can I get this(tetra safe start)and add immediately? Will it harm my fish? Can I just put it in my bio wheel filter?

Also im assuming the tank will eventually cycle on its own. Is this correct?
It shouldn't harm your fish. It's just the live bacteria that would normally be found in a tank. I added it into the filter area so it would get absorbed into the cartridges. The bottle also says you can add it when doing water changes or after medicating, etc.

The nitrate from the bottle should start to work to cycle your tank. When I added the Tetra Safe Start I had 0 nitrates and ammonia about 3 ppm. The day after I had 5-10 nitrate and ammonia dropped to between 1-2. It took about 6 days for the ammonia to get down to .25. At that point I did a 50% water change the next day then added fish. That was about 3 weeks ago and everything has been doing very well in my tank!
 
Bacteria in a bottle products can be good, but get a bad rap on forums. Bacteria is very resilient, but can be killed with poor handling, storage, and time. Sitting for long periods in a hot truck or warehouse can spell disaster.
I have even heard tales that products ordered by mail may be used, the bottle refilled with water, and sent back for credit...then that bottle ends up being sent to someone else!!!
I would agree that Dr. Tim's is one of, if not THE best B-in-B product. Tetra Safe Start (Which Tim developed) is a close second. If push came to shove, I think I'd go with mail order from Dr.Tim's.
Alternatively would be using filter media and/or substrate from another healthy aquarium.
Finally, as Byron has been quick to mention, he does a fish in cycle with one or two fish and lots of plants (in this case we're well past that!)
Here are several options for Cycling a New Aquarium.
At this stage, you may need to do nearly daily partial water changes to keep ammonia/nitrite levels in check.
Good luck - keep posting.
 
My aquarium is up and running for 2 months now. I have 9 fish in 20g(2 angels,4 mollies,2 guppies & red tailed shark). The tank, i believe, is still cycling(high nitrites & nitrates. My question is can I buy a beneficial bacteria product that I could add to the tank to speed up the cycling process?

Thanks in advance
Yes. I mean I bought some of these bacteria when I was looking for some fish and I put it inside. My fish were all okay after I put some of this bacteria inside.
 

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