# Best Chemical to boost bacterial growth???



## tsalvageboy (May 21, 2007)

What chemical do you guys recomend for bacterial growth?...I want to speed up the cycling process as much as possible.

Are there any that are common....dont want to have to order it on the net...

Tim


----------



## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

I've HEARD that bio-spira can cycle a tank in as little as a couple of days.


----------



## leifthebunny (Mar 13, 2007)

I've had success with Nitromax.


----------



## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

I cycle my tanks the old fashion way, (4) pearl danios and a shot of Stress-zyme. Many times I use aged gravel, if I'm using the same color gravel. Or colonized power filters work, too.


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

Yeah BioSpira i've heard is the best on the market. It's made by marineland and the head researcher for marineland is Dr. Hovanec, a genius when it comes to beneficial bacteria research. Most bacteria supplements use Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas bacteria, which are the two main bacteria involved in the Nitrigen cycle. Dr. Havanec and his team recently discovered a more important bacteria involved in cylcling within a closed aquarium system. I have not tried Bio-Spira yet because I havnt seen it sold in a lot of places unfortunately. If you can find it, try it! Otherwise, I have had a lot of good success with Stability by Seachem. Seachem is another company that puts out awesome products and stability is designed to work faster than most bacteria products. I cycled my 47 gallon in about 2 weeks. An average nitrogen cycle without adding bacteria supplement takes 4-6 weeks, so 2 weeks is still pretty good.


----------



## miagrrl (May 3, 2007)

tip for using cycled gravel from an established tank- if the color of the gravel is different and you don't want to mix the two colors, put it in a piece of panty hose and after a week or two, just remove it- you get all the benefits of the bacteria while preserving your "color scheme". also, take it out before adding fish, they shouldn't be allowed to nibble on any weird synthetic fibers...can't imagine that would be good for anybody. 

use gravel or a sponge from an established tank, not chemicals is my advice.


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

bacteria grows the most where oxygen is abundant and water flow is prominant. In other words, unless you have an undergravel filter, not much bacteria actually grows within the gravel bed. using used filter media is your best bet if you are bringing anything over from an established tank.


----------



## Andyandsue (Jan 23, 2007)

BIO-SPIRA!!! Best thing out there. I have cycled 3 tanks all with Bio-Spira, and have not had one fatality from cycling. My only advice: make sure you purchase it from a reputable LFS who knows to keep it in the fridge and who has a high turnover, so you know it's fresh.

The best part about Bio-Spira is that it's not a chemical, it's "nitrifying bacteria". Keep in mind your tank really isn't cycled, but fish-safe with no ammonia, and nitrites will be showing literally overnight. You will still need to test and do your water changes until it's complete, but I had all tanks fully cycled in about 10 days time.


----------



## Silli_Millivanilli (May 13, 2007)

how do you know when your tank has completed the cycle?


----------



## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

You will know your tank has cycled when you have a steady and constant reading of Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, and a presence of Nitrates. Nitrates are the beneficial bacteria which will be found at the end of the cycle.


----------



## Andyandsue (Jan 23, 2007)

Silli_Millivanilli said:


> how do you know when your tank has completed the cycle?



These are the 2 pages I used to learn about cycling. It's written very well which makes it easy to understand and make sense of it all. I would've been lost without this.

http://www.bestfish.com/newtank3.html

http://www.bestfish.com/breakin.html


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

kateyoup...nitrate is not actually a bacteria in itself. There is bacteria that converts nitrite into nitrate but nitrate is a chemical. But yes, you will know your tank has cycled when ammonia and nitrite are very low and nitrate is steadily climbing.


----------

