Cycle Juice!

[bailey52]

So we have all seen the expensive bottle of cycle at the LFS... Whats everyones thought.. on a 8 month of system with 70 lbs lr and 5" DSB (well it was all cured LR) and about 3" southdown but I added a 20lb bag of LS on top of the sand.. anyway.. would cycle give my system a little boost?

 

[promisetbg]

Junk...don't waste your money.

 

[bailey52]

Do you think the LS did the job well enought.. i used 20lbs from one of the bags that says its LS.. before I added the LR I also did the 3 day raw shrimp also

 

[promisetbg]

You will need to test the water and give the tank time to cycle naturally.Patience is a key element to this hobby.
Let me understand..the tank has been set up for 8 months,but you just added LS and LR and a few shrimp? Are you asking if your tank has cycled?
How long has it been since you added the sand and LR?

 

[bailey52]

NOno im sorry if i am hard to understand... I put the southdown in.. then the ls and rock and the piece of raw shrimp.. then a couple damsels about a month later.. one of which is still in there and its now 8 months later.. i just wonder if there is a better cycle than another.. or after 8 months does it all come together....( i understand now depending on water changes and maintenance everyone will be diff)

 

[promisetbg]

There should be no reason to add anything at this point..the tank is done cycling.You should be doing water changes,testing the water for PH,ALK,SG.,Amm,Trite,Trate, and PO4,and do daily top-off with fresh RO/DI water.
And feed the fish...LOL

 

[my way]

I actually have had good luck with Cycle. I needed it when My tank crashed for some unknown reason a while back. I usually have never had any luck with any of these type of products, but I was desperate at the time and gave it a shot. Then again it could have been that the tank "caught up" at the same time as I added the Cycle. But I do think it worked. I really don't advise using anything other than natural methods of cycling a tank if possible.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by Bailey52
So we have all seen the expensive bottle of cycle at the LFS... Whats everyones thought.. on a 8 month of system with 70 lbs lr and 5" DSB (well it was all cured LR) and about 3" southdown but I added a 20lb bag of LS on top of the sand.. anyway.. would cycle give my system a little boost?
Are you referring to the actual product called "Cycle"? That is not usually very expensive, that is why I was wondering..

 

[bailey52]

Well its not cheap.. for a 250ml bottle is about $18

 

[lion_crazz]

Oh, well it can't hurt anything to add. It works pretty well, just not amazing. It will not harm your tank if you do not need it, it will simply boost the bacteria that is already in there.

 

[jumpfrog]

I'm scratching my head on this one. The bacteria will only multiply to the food source level. Once they're in balance it's done.
Why would you ever need to add more bacteria (except for a system crash which was a great example) other than making a significant increase in your bio load at one time.

 

[bailey52]

thats exactly what I was asking.. basically I dont need to add it after 8 ,onths it has equalized itself out

 

[ophiura]

If you have LR and LS there is no point whatsoever in adding a bottle of stuff that sits on a shelf, seriously.
The bacteria you are adding is like the bacteria on LR (that is, if it is still alive after sitting on the shelf). If you have an established tank an 0 ammonia levels, then you have enough bacteria to utilize the ammonia in the system produced by critters. Adding more will do nothing. They need ammonia to live, basically, and if there is not enough they just die off. The lifecycle of bacteria is extremely rapid, so the bacteria in your tank have a head start. Yes, you can still get ammonia spikes and it may take a few days for the bacteria to reach concentrations where they can manage it (assuming this is not a tank "crash"). But, IMO, adding cycle to an established tank will do nothing and is a waste of good money. I would always suggest spending that money on more LR or better foods, etc.