Nutrafin Cycle (works for me!)

Rover88 · 11/07/2017, 11:57 AM

I've seen a lot of people really knock supplements like this.

I was preparing rock that was formerly live, went dead, got acid washed, and got put into a 20 gallon bucket.

I was adding ammonia casually, making sure it stayed around 2ppm.

For the first week, no movement. Decided to try Cycle in it, since I had it around for my fresh water tanks. That was last night.

Overnight, Ammonia is now showing clear yellow on my API test.

I put enough in it should be ballpark around 2ppm again, and I'll repeat the test tomorrow.

I know people hate on and knock supplements, but it seems pretty straightforwards to me, almost the same principle as seeding dead rock with live rock. You are just adding bacteria to it. I haven't been fishkeeping terrible long, so is there a reason this is a negative?

bertoni · 11/07/2017, 01:34 PM

I don't think that a bacterial supplement can hurt anything. Whether they do anything is another matter. People report success and failure with them. I suspect that the bacteria in them won't last long in the tank, since bacteria are very competitive and specialized. They might be fine for reducing the initial ammonia spike, which can be useful in itself.

11/07/2017, 11:57 AM	#1
Rover88 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 590	Nutrafin Cycle (works for me!) I've seen a lot of people really knock supplements like this. I was preparing rock that was formerly live, went dead, got acid washed, and got put into a 20 gallon bucket. I was adding ammonia casually, making sure it stayed around 2ppm. For the first week, no movement. Decided to try Cycle in it, since I had it around for my fresh water tanks. That was last night. Overnight, Ammonia is now showing clear yellow on my API test. I put enough in it should be ballpark around 2ppm again, and I'll repeat the test tomorrow. I know people hate on and knock supplements, but it seems pretty straightforwards to me, almost the same principle as seeding dead rock with live rock. You are just adding bacteria to it. I haven't been fishkeeping terrible long, so is there a reason this is a negative?

11/07/2017, 01:34 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I don't think that a bacterial supplement can hurt anything. Whether they do anything is another matter. People report success and failure with them. I suspect that the bacteria in them won't last long in the tank, since bacteria are very competitive and specialized. They might be fine for reducing the initial ammonia spike, which can be useful in itself. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni