Tetra Safestart Help

[fishyfanle]

Hey guys,

Just started out with my first tank and under the advice of my LFS I purchased SafeStart, after reading up online I have read that it is actually quite good I thought this was ok. The problem however comes with how he told me to use it, he said to me that I should add it then wait 2 days to add the fish. I added it then just discovered that you are meant to add the fish at the same time so that it has correctly cycled.

Now it has been 2 days since I added it and the water has gone a grey cloudy colour, I read that this is a normal baceria bloom so shouldnt be too concerned. However my question is would it be ok for me to add my fish in now or would it be too late. Also could I add in the fish and top up with more SafeStart?

Any help would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

 

[Tizer]

pour it down the drain and read about fishless cycling in the beginners resource section linked in my signature.

 

[Noahs ark6]

pour it down the drain and read about fishless cycling in the beginners resource section linked in my signature.

+289

 

[ZoddyZod]

sadly all the 'instant cycle' products out there appear not to meet the claims they state on the bottle. As Tizer says, you really need to read the cycling links in the beginners section. It is probably the single most unknown part of fish keeping for those starting in the hobby for the first time (I had no idea about any of it before I owned my first tank).

once you've had a read, come back with any questions you may have (it can be a tricky subject to grasp the first time round!)

 

[phoenix2081]

As a newbie myself, who is currently undergoing these issues myself I would listen to the advice given and do fishless cycling before killing fish. I started with 6 tetras doing a fish in cycle and needless to say I am down to 4. Read the cycle guides and then ask as many questions as you can and you will find people on here are very helpful and know there stuff.

 

[fishyfanle]

Alright guys, I guess I'll start the long process of emptying out the 125 litres. Oh well better to do it properly =]

Thanks a bunch for your help.

 

[Tizer]

you dont have to empty it out, you can use the safe start, it "might" help promote some bacterial growth in the filter, but a huge number of people on here will poo poo it. But deffinately read up on fishless cycling and do it with ammonia. If you do it right, you could have fish within the next 5/6 weeks. Lots of threads on here where people have done cycles with nice updates to follow. You could also ask your local fish shop if they have any mature sponges you can put in your filter to kick start things. They will no doubt tell you the Tetra safestart is all you need, but its advice best ignored.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with phoenix... Finding this forum and working your way slowly through a fishless cycle may at first seem like a big setback compared to the nice quick startup up you envisioned when you first started looking at tanks in the shops, but in fact it can be one of the best things that ever might happen to you as a beginner. It can give you just the sort of learning period that makes a big difference in your knowledge of the fundamentals later.

Just getting your first tank up and going is one thing, but much better is to actually understand the "feel" of how aquarists start, maintain and control their "biofilters." As ZZ says, the fishless cycling concept and the biofilter it produces are usually the mystery that one has never really heard about before spending some time with experienced hobbyists. Waiting for the two particular species of bacteria to build their sticky biofilms all over the sponge and other surfaces of your filter is usually quite slow going and filling that time with questions about what's going on and all the other aspects of tank startup and the start of the hobby in general turns out usually to help your understanding in many ways. The art of creating a good "stocking list" for a particular tank for example can take quite a bit of back and forth with other hobbyists.

The months and years that stretch out later, when you're just maintaining the tank, are significantly different from the unusual things you do during very first start-up. It really helps your confidence later if you've had more time to digest the start-up things and "savor" the information. It contains the skills you'll need to really think of yourself as a hobbyist who can know how to start tanks and understand what's going on.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[HayzH]

you dont have to empty it out, you can use the safe start, it "might" help promote some bacterial growth in the filter, but a huge number of people on here will poo poo it. But deffinately read up on fishless cycling and do it with ammonia. If you do it right, you could have fish within the next 5/6 weeks. Lots of threads on here where people have done cycles with nice updates to follow. You could also ask your local fish shop if they have any mature sponges you can put in your filter to kick start things. They will no doubt tell you the Tetra safestart is all you need, but its advice best ignored.

Or not as the case maybe?? guld i thought 5/6 weeks was a long time