Tetra Safe Start Plus

[TankRank]

When I picked up my betta, I also got a 3.38 oz bottle of Tetra Safe Start Plus. The bottle says its good for up to 20 gallons but I have a 5 gal tank. Is it ok to add the whole bottle like the bottle says? Or is that too much?

 

[Byron]

According to the instructions, they say to add the full bottle to a new aquarium up to 100 gallons. SafeStart contains only three types of nitrifying bacteria, so this should not harm the fish or system anyway.

I don't recommend adding these products after the aquarium is cycled and established because it is unnecessary and a waste of money, and there is no point in "over-populating" the nitrifiers.

 

[TankRank]

My aquarium isn't cycled. So @Byron, it is safe to add a full 3.38 bottle even for a 5 gal aquarium. Right?

 

[Sgooosh]

My aquarium isn't cycled.

just add what the instructions say...
for example
api quick start is 1ml for a g
so you put 5 mls in
wait 2 weeks-a few months
test every week
if tests are good then add fish
plants should be fine in tap water (maybe not algae)

 

[TankRank]

The safe start plus says add the whole bottle for up to 20 gal. But I have a 5 gal and I'm wondering if 3.38 oz is too much.

 

[Essjay]

You can use the whole bottle at once, it won't harm the betta. Or you could use half straight away then the other half in a couple of days.

If it is easy to take the lid off the filter without lifting it out of the tank, pour it into the filter rather than just into the water.

 

[TankRank]

You can use the whole bottle at once, it won't harm the betta. Or you could use half straight away then the other half in a couple of days.

If it is easy to take the lid off the filter without lifting it out of the tank, pour it into the filter rather than just into the water.

So I pour it into the sponge of my internal filter?

 

[Essjay]

Yes, if you can do that without lifting the filter out of the tank to get at the sponge. At the start, the bacteria set up home inside the filter. So pouring it in where it will live is the best place.

Later the bacteria start to grow over everything in the tank - the walls, the decor, and especially in the substrate (in your case, the sand). But at the start, the filter is where they live.

 

[TankRank]

Yes, if you can do that without lifting the filter out of the tank to get at the sponge. At the start, the bacteria set up home inside the filter. So pouring it in where it will live is the best place.

Later the bacteria start to grow over everything in the tank - the walls, the decor, and especially in the substrate (in your case, the sand). But at the start, the filter is where they live.

Do I run the filter right away? (Again, sorry for bothering you with so many questions)

 

[Essjay]

Yes, turn the filter on as soon as there is water in the tank. Don't run the filter without water as that will burn out the motor.

We were all new starters once, ask as many questions as you need

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The below assumes you have set up the tank and filled it with water which has been dechlorinated (it that is needed).

1. Shake the bottle of SafeStart. (I would have told you to buy Dr. Tim's One and Only as a first choice, you found the next best option.)
2. Turn off tank lights for the next 24 hours..
3. Leave filter running
4. Pour the entire bottle into the tank.
5. Add ammonia to produce 2 ppm of ammonia.
6. Test in 24 hours for ammonia. If it is 0, you can add a full stocking of fish after a water change of at least 50%. If not,
7. Keep testing until ammonia hits 0 and repeat steps 5-7 until you can ytest 0 ammonia in 24 hours.

You can use household ammonia with no additives or you can use ammonium chloride. The easiest way to do this is to buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's Ammonium chloride. https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/Ammonium-Chloride-Solution-for-Fishless-Cycling.html you can get it on Amazon as well.

Here is what Tetra instructs you to do:

Shake Well.
To start new aquariums, add entire bottle to aquariums up to 100 gallons. Aquarium is then ready for fish. Consult your retailer for advice on type and number of fish appropriate for your aquarium.
For healthy maintenance, add one teaspoon (5ml) for every 10 gallons when adding fish, after water changes or after replacing filter media.
Tank Preparation: Condition tap water with Tetra AquaSafe®. Maintain a constant, appropriate water temperature in your aquarium.
Note: Live Bacteria, do not freeze or expose to heat.

INGREDIENTS: Purified water, Proprietary strains of: Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira and Nitrospira.

Do not waste your time and money following their maintenance stuff, it is only making them money because you should not need it.

Do not add fish until you know it is safe. If the bottled bacteria has not been properly kept by the seller it can die. If it has been in the bottle too long it can degrade (think about 6 months at room temp and about 1 year if kept refrigerated). In such cases it does nothing good. No knowing it has worked means you cannot be sure the product was viable when you received it. Adding the ammonia as I suggested above will tell you if the tank is safe or not.

In a healthy established tank the nitrifying bacteria can be found all over, not just in a filter. It will be in the top 1/2 inch of unplanted substrates and much deeper in planted ones. It can be on any hard surface in a tank which is out of the light. The bacteria do not like the light. You pour the water into the tank to seed the bacteria everywhere. It will establish best where it gets what it needs- water with ammonia/nitrite/oxygen/iron etc. the bacteria are basically immobile and all things they need must come to them, they do not actively more about seeking things. This is why you pour it into the tank and not just the filter.

Too much nitrifying bacteria is not usually a big problem. If you have more than the ammonia generated in a cycled tank can support, they will not reproduce. The result is they will reduce their numbers naturally due to deaths. When the number of bacteria and the ammonia to feed them are in balance, reproduction will maintain the needed numbers. If you add more fish (and thus more ammonia) they will reproduce faster to handle it. If you remove fish which lowers ammonia levels being generate, the bacteria numbers will decrease. Ain't nature grand?

 

[TankRank]

The below assumes you have set up the tank and filled it with water which has been dechlorinated (it that is needed).

1. Shake the bottle of SafeStart. (I would have told you to buy Dr. Tim's One and Only as a first choice, you found the next best option.)
2. Turn off tank lights for the next 24 hours..
3. Leave filter running
4. Pour the entire bottle into the tank.
5. Add ammonia to produce 2 ppm of ammonia.
6. Test in 24 hours for ammonia. If it is 0, you can add a full stocking of fish after a water change of at least 50%. If not,
7. Keep testing until ammonia hits 0 and repeat steps 5-7 until you can ytest 0 ammonia in 24 hours.

You can use household ammonia with no additives or you can use ammonium chloride. The easiest way to do this is to buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's Ammonium chloride. https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/Ammonium-Chloride-Solution-for-Fishless-Cycling.html you can get it on Amazon as well.

Here is what Tetra instructs you to do:


Do not waste your time and money following their maintenance stuff, it is only making them money because you should not need it.

Do not add fish until you know it is safe. If the bottled bacteria has not been properly kept by the seller it can die. If it has been in the bottle too long it can degrade (think about 6 months at room temp and about 1 year if kept refrigerated). In such cases it does nothing good. No knowing it has worked means you cannot be sure the product was viable when you received it. Adding the ammonia as I suggested above will tell you if the tank is safe or not.

In a healthy established tank the nitrifying bacteria can be found all over, not just in a filter. It will be in the top 1/2 inch of unplanted substrates and much deeper in planted ones. It can be on any hard surface in a tank which is out of the light. The bacteria do not like the light. You pour the water into the tank to seed the bacteria everywhere. It will establish best where it gets what it needs- water with ammonia/nitrite/oxygen/iron etc. the bacteria are basically immobile and all things they need must come to them, they do not actively more about seeking things. This is why you pour it into the tank and not just the filter.

Okay, I will pour some into the filter and the rest I will pour into the water. Do I turn off the light and leave the filter running for 24 hours before pouring in the Tetra Safe Start? Or do I shake, pour, and then turn off light and turn on filter?
BTW didn't Dr. Tim's sell their freshwater bacteria to Tetra?
Thank you!

 

[Essjay]

@TwoTankAmin TankRank already has fish, he's doing a fish-in cycle.

This is the story so far

Help me setup my Betta fish tank

Last night, my parents took me to the aquarium store to get a pet fish because I got good grades this year. The person helping me recommended a betta and said they needed a 5 gallon tank. He also gave me some stress coat, fish food, a internal filter, a 50 watt heater, some Tetra Safe Start...

www.fishforums.net

 

[TankRank]

Yep, I have to do a fish-in cycle.