Cycle (the product)
- Thread starter LouRey
- Start date
A lot of people will tell you that it does not work. Once your tank is cycled, you should not have to use products like this during regular water changes.
Save your money on this product in the future. It isn't necessary and won't help your tank to cycle. 
:iagree:After your tank is cycled the only thing you should add to the new water going in the tank is a water conditioner such as prime.Save your money on this product in the future. It isn't necessary and won't help your tank to cycle.
I have to steel our thread really quick, has anyone actually had a good experience with this stuff actually speeding up the cycle process?
I bought it with my first 5 gallon tank a few years back. No live plants and white clouds were the first fish.(they are still alive now too). I can't say that it was the reason but I have it in my head it did work or at least helped. I can't imagine I was that lucky with a 5G being a first timer and all. lol
OHHH and for the skeptics how and why do you say it doesn't work? What claims does cycle make that you say it will not happen or does not have in it to happen?
Just curious.
OHHH and for the skeptics how and why do you say it doesn't work? What claims does cycle make that you say it will not happen or does not have in it to happen?
Just curious.
To be honest, all the "quick cycle" products out there are going to be hit-or-miss. It really depends on the shipping process and the handling within the store. It's entirely possible to end up with a bottle of completely dead bacteria due to an expired bottle or a batch that was exposed to extreme cold or heat.
I used it back when I didn't know any better - it was a disaster. Never buy this, it's a rip-off.
Living bacteria needs the conditions we have in a filtered tank to stay alive... water flow, oxygen, regulated temperature, a replenishing source of food. You can't bottle that for very long without ending up with dead/dying bacteria that does nothing useful for anyone. If you scoop that stuff from someone's existing filter media and put it in your tank real soon, it thrives. But those bottles get shuffled from factory to warehouse to shipping to distribution centers to retail outlets to store shelves, where it still sits there waiting for someone to buy it.
What's even worse is people trust this to do something. It's not just wasting their money on a useless product, it also interferes with them doing other things that would help make the cycle process go more smoothly.
I beleive in all intended purposes that the product was designed to work. Like jpappy said, it's possible that after so much handling through the distribution chain and storage of these products that many are no longer any good after reaching our aquariums. The directions on the bottle for most are designed to keep you as a customer returning and buying more, a steady source of income. What good is a product that you only use once right?
I used it when I first set-up my aquarium as well. I didn't add any fish to it, was going through a fishless cycle. It took 6 weeks for the tank to fully cycle, so I would have to say that the product failed me. As with many of these marketted products, I won't be surprised if they have a combination of things in there that puts our fish on "life-support" to allow us to think that the product is doing it's job. Products like Prime, and Stress-Coat, Ammo-Lock, or even Salt will all do the same thing, de-toxify on a temporary basis, giving customers the illusion that it's working.
I used it when I first set-up my aquarium as well. I didn't add any fish to it, was going through a fishless cycle. It took 6 weeks for the tank to fully cycle, so I would have to say that the product failed me. As with many of these marketted products, I won't be surprised if they have a combination of things in there that puts our fish on "life-support" to allow us to think that the product is doing it's job. Products like Prime, and Stress-Coat, Ammo-Lock, or even Salt will all do the same thing, de-toxify on a temporary basis, giving customers the illusion that it's working.
