Cycling Shortcut... Too Good To Be True

[tommo2]

Just emailed my lfs about getting some filter media to help with cycling.
Heres the reply i got:

we now have "tetra safe start" this alows you to add fish on the day you add it to the tank, we have had customers put 40 fish in a new tank with no problems

Ive done a google on the stuff and it sounds promising but im not sure whether to believe all that sales-pitch crap you see on manufacturers website. The price is also astronomical, for my 120gal 450 litre tank it would cost over 50 euro.

I suppose i could use it to help with cycling, thats if it works at all.


Your comments are welcome

 

[Glod]

It's reviewed in this month's Practical Fish Keeping magazine. Seemingly it uses the same bacterial strains as Bio-Spira which has a good rep for accelerating the cycle / minimising new tank syndrome.

I actually got some to try on my small tank just to see if it helps, time will tell.

 

[Torrean]

is it refrigerated?

 

[tommo2]

Dont know anything other than what the email reply i got stated.

Just got this off the web:

Final: TetraAqua SafeStart
Consumer Release: 31st May 2006



TetraAqua SafeStart – The Safe Start to Fish Keeping

TetraAqua SafeStart offers fishkeepers a trouble-free way to enjoy a new aquarium and gets your fish off to a healthy start. Available from July 2006, it is a patented blend of live nitrifying bacteria that allows the safe and instant introduction of fish. The vision of a healthy aquarium is often what attracts new fishkeepers into the hobby but for many the first experience of setting up a tank can take time and be frustrating. TetraAqua SafeStart enables the immediate activation of the biological filter, preventing dangerous increases in ammonia and nitrite, and making it instantly enjoyable for new fishkeepers to set up an aquarium.

Chris Nickson, Marketing Manager for Tetra UK comments: “Traditionally fishkeepers have had to spend weeks slowly adding fish, and often they experience high ammonia and nitrite levels that are harmful to the health of the fish and can cause further disappointment. This is the revolutionary result of 20 years of research* that discovered this patented blend of live nitrifying bacteria that allows the safe and instant introduction of fish. No other product contains this blend and can be used with such confidence.â€￾

TetraAqua SafeStart is also beneficial to aquariums if used after filter maintenance, water changes and other activities that may lead to bacterial loss, offering the perfect start for long-term success.

Two sizes will be available at launch: 50ml with an RSP of £4.99 and 100ml with an RSP of £8.79. TetraAqua SafeStart has a 12 months shelf life without refrigeration.

Ends

Notes to Editors
Tetra, a Spectrum Brands company, is the global leader in fish food, treatments and equipment, with offices around the world. As a market leader in the aquatic industry for over 50 years, Tetra is renowned for its leading edge technology, with the largest research and development centre of its kind.

TetraAqua SafeStart
* The long-held belief that bacteria of the genus Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are the only nitrifying bacteria in aquariums is wrong. Tetra’s leading Research and Development department has established that these kinds of bacteria are only significant in water treatment plants. In aquariums, only bacteria of the Nitrospira genus reduce nitrite, whilst ammonia is removed by those bacteria belonging to both Nitrosospira and Nitrosomonas. This ground-breaking change in Tetra’s understanding of biological filtration has led to the development of TetraAqua SafeStart.

For further information contact:
Mary Longhurst
Progression Communications
Tel: 020 8996 9550
Fax: 020 8996 9596
Email: mlonghurst@progressioncommunications.com



Any comments??? I dont know about it being refrigerated. 8)

 

[Boxa]

It wouldn't hurt to use it but I still wouldn't completely rely on it and still cycle the tank for a set period, I have used Bactozym in the past which seems to speed the process.

 

[tommo2]

Yeah, im going to try it while still doing my fishless cycle.
I filled my tank 10 days ago and added dechlorinator etc. on day 3 i added 4ppm ammonia but have still seen no reduction on ammonia. Nitrite is at 0.
The temp is 31c or 90f.

Ive got tired waiting that i need something to kick-statrt the cycle.
I really dont care how long it takes to cycle the tank as long as something is happening and i can see nitrite spikes etc. Right now i have a tank full of ammonia and no bacteria.

I wonder would i be better off adding only half a dose of safe start until i see nitrite levels rising. That way there will be food (nitrite) for the nitrite eating bacteria when i add the second dose. I would imagine that all the nitrite-eating bacteria in the safe start would be dead after a day or so with no food (nitrite).

Suggestions please.

 

[flamingonhot]

Tetra has an "instant cycle" product out now? HAHAHAHHAHA..sorry I just hate them and personally think half of their products claim false things.. that little CBS incident also added onto my dislike of them .

If it's refridgerated..and not expensive, try it. Just don't throw it in and three seconds later add 50 fish .

 

[tommo2]

I agree... sounds like a load of bs if you ask me... no product is a miracle cure.

The local fs emailed me back:
we now have "tetra safe start" this alows you to add fish on the day you add it to the tank, we have had customers put 40 fish in a new tank with no problems

Worth a try though

 

[Tolak]

I agree... sounds like a load of bs if you ask me... no product is a miracle cure.

The local fs emailed me back:
we now have "tetra safe start" this alows you to add fish on the day you add it to the tank, we have had customers put 40 fish in a new tank with no problems

Worth a try though

What species of fish in what size tank?

 

[tommo2]

120 gal tank
8'long, 13" wide, 30"high

Not stocked yet. Open to suggestions

 

[Tolak]

I was referring to their advertisement. You could put 40 zebra danios in a 220 gallon, add dechlor, and be fairly certain of having no problems.

 

[tommo2]

oops
They didnt specify... more bs i think

 

[dwarfgourami]

Note that the review in PFK by Rupert Bridges identified some very definite problems with this product. It worked in the sense of speeding up the cycle, but his fish still had to go through a cycle with high readings of ammonia and nitrites, just for a shorter period (11 days in his case). He therefore felt it was unethical to promote this product, when fishless cycling is available that does not expose the fish to any ammonia or nitrites. He contacted Tetra with his concerns. Their response was, most lfs and new fishkeepers aren't going to want to do the fishless cycle anyway, so this product has got to be good.
So there you are- this product makes your fish suffer less if you weren't going to do the fishless cycle anyway. PFK make it clear that they do not condone this approach.
However, you can have your cake and eat it- if you use this product to speed up a fishless cycle.

 

[Cheffi]

Yeah, im going to try it while still doing my fishless cycle.
I filled my tank 10 days ago and added dechlorinator etc. on day 3 i added 4ppm ammonia but have still seen no reduction on ammonia. Nitrite is at 0.
The temp is 31c or 90f.

Ive got tired waiting that i need something to kick-statrt the cycle.
I really dont care how long it takes to cycle the tank as long as something is happening and i can see nitrite spikes etc. Right now i have a tank full of ammonia and no bacteria.

I wonder would i be better off adding only half a dose of safe start until i see nitrite levels rising. That way there will be food (nitrite) for the nitrite eating bacteria when i add the second dose. I would imagine that all the nitrite-eating bacteria in the safe start would be dead after a day or so with no food (nitrite).

Suggestions please.

Well, I tried it as my cycle was taking forever. It did not work for sure and was darned expensive. My cycle took 9 weeks in total.

Have you checked out the Media Donar thread pinned above? Is there anyone near you that could donate some mature media? Check it out.

 

[Callum]

i used this on my 180l i added the fish from my 80l a BN plec, 5 harlequins, 3 platties, 3 platty fry, and a albino cory. i added them along with the ceramic rings from my old filter and added them into the new one along with 2 100ml bottles of tetra safestart. these were the results just before 24 hours had passed

PH 7.6
amm 0
nitrite 0.2
nitrate 7

these are fairly good readings. my tank went into a minicycle for a day proving that either the safestart worked or i have some decent filter media or it could be both working together. Also the safestart doesnt have to be refrigirated but it says on the bottle keep between 2 - 30 degrees centigrade.

Also what is the CBS incident? do you mean the easybalance incident?
Also not all tetra stuff is crap flamingonhot but i agree they do have a tendancy to make slightly strange claims like the ones on the bottle of easybalance that was a joke. However the reason i tried this was purely it was based on bio spira. I just wished they had that in the UK. Also if anyone knows of any bio spira in the UK please measage me