Miracle Cycle

G

gpaaib

AC Members
Jan 15, 2008
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Irvine, California
I have been trying to do a little research on these so called "instant" cycle products, bacteria in a can if you will.

Three that come to mind are Bio Spira, SuperBac, as well as the one they sell at Petsmart called Cycle Biological Aquaium Supplement.

Right off the bat, DO THEY WORK? If so, is any one product better than the other? Is there one you would recommend over the other?

I went to the Marineland/Bio Spira site a few minutes ago and noticed that their page featuring this product was down.

I also notice that the SuperBac seems to be in more LFS that I have looked into, (not that that means anything I guess).

Gary
 
Cycle is junk, does nothing, never heard of SuperBac so no idea, of the 3 Bio Spira is the best and the most recommended, but its hit and miss as to how well it works. You have to be certain it was kept refrigerated etc.

Personal experience with Bio Spira is it did nothing, it was refrigerated at the LFS, but no idea about before it got there. I have also used Cycle in the past and it did nothing. I have heard good things about SeaChem Stability, and I have used this but not sure if it did anything. My nitrite spiked after I used it, but it may have just been coincidence.

To be honest most of them are not worth the money you will spend on them.
 
Bio Spira is the one that as far as I can tell everyone thinks will work and half way recommends. I can not think of any post on any of the boards I frequent that say hey it works.

Now that I have said that there will be all kinds of post that do say it works :wall:

best way is get a hand full of gravel or a used filter pad from a good running tank either one of yours, a friend or LFS to seed the new tank
 
biospira generally works if handled and used properly, but don't depend on it to cycle the tank instantly. i used it and did a complete fishy cycle in 2 weeks, instead of 6-8 weeks or longer. that was still 2 weeks of 50%+ water changes.
 
I used Cycle, but I don't know if it really did anything. I do know that my first tank cycled a bit faster than others have reported but it still took 49 days. If I ever had to cycle a tank from scratch again, which I shouldn't, I wouldn't use any of those products.
 
cycle, while it does not contain live bacteria (at least, not by the time you buy and open it) does contain enzymes that the bacteria feed on, in addition to whatever ammonia source you are using. i don't think it does much except give a little boost. i would think of cycle more as an unnecessary "vitamin" supplement for your bacteria. using it when the tank is already cycled just increases nitrates.
 
One other thing that no one has mentioned is Eco-Complete. It purports to have nitrifying bacteria in it. I've started all my tanks I've had with it and my tank cycle wasn't even noticeable--a "silent cycle" if you will. I never measured any ammonia and only a small amount of nitrate even in the first days of starting the tank.
 
SuperBac definitely works. Take it to the bank. In fact, it's impossible for it to NOT work unless you do something in the aquarium to kill them.

Don't argue with me about it.. try it then see if you can argue.
 
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