product safe start any good?

[Flamfish]

I've just come home from the pet shop. I picket up the lighting you guys recommended. 8000k bulb for the 55 gal and 2 26 watt bulbs with 10.0 uvb for the 10 gal. I also picked up the heater.
I picked up an anacharis plant. (looks a little brown in spots, will it come back alright?)
I also picked up a product from tetra called safe start. it's supposed to have good bacteria. the ppl at the lfs say you can add it to your water and add fish the next day. I still plan on waiting and using the new parameter tests I picked up but is this product worth the money. will it speed the cycling process. if it gets good reviews here I try it in the 10 gal. (he had it refrigerated)
I'm not so sure how much I trust his opinion because he was appauled at the thought of adding ammonia and said he never heard of it.
I should add 1/4 tsp of ammonia to each tank right?

 

[67chevelle]

If you are going to use the tetra safe start,don't add the ammonia.Do it one way or the other.Fishless cycling with ammonia,or add fish with the TSS.I used some TSS when the cycle in one of my 55's crashed.It worked fine for me,but I have heard that it has not worked at all for some people.It is shelf stable,there is no reason to refrigerate it.
When I used it,the ammonia in my tank went from 2ppm to 0ppm overnight.

 

[bushwhacker]

tetra safe start is one of the only products on the market that actually work

 

[Flamfish]

ok, so if I add the TSS I should add fish within a day or two and not wait and keep testing to be sure it doesn't fluctuate too much?
the 26 watt bulbs are too big for the light, I'm gonna have to take them back for the 13 watt bulbs.

 

[67chevelle]

It's been awhile since I used it,but I believe you add it then add your fish at the same time.I know you are not supposed to do any water changes for 7 to 10 days,and I believe they don't recommend testing either.Something about it giving false readings.

 

[Flamfish]

wow, that makes me a little nervous. I just added the TSS and everyone said so much about how important constant testing is for the first few weeks. But I guess I'm committed now huh? lol
I'll do the slower cycling in the larger tank and compare the differences.
I guess I'll pick up some fish while taking the lights back. there should be an algae eater in every tank right? should I add one at the same time as the neons?

 

[67chevelle]

The TSS makes it a bit different.I'll look for some articles,I think I heard that testing is not necessary,but I am sure you are not supposed to do water changes.I believe it says on the back of the bottle not to do water changes.
I know when I used it I tested the water the next day.It was a little different situation though.I had the cycle in a tank crash,and the fish were gasping at the bottom of the tank.So I tested the water,it was like 2ppm.I went out and got the TSS and added it.When I got home from work the next day the fish seemed fine so I tested the water,it was 0ppm.
I think the reason not to test is that it can give false readings,and people will then do a water change,which makes it useless.I could be wrong about that though.

 

[Flamfish]

Cool, thanks for all the help. it's too late for me to make it back to the store today so I'll try to get there monday before work. I'll keep you posted on how things turn out.

 

[jpappy789]

Always test. There is no guarantee with any of the "quick cycle" products as you can easily get a faulty batch. Thats a disaster waiting to happen if you do not monitor the params.

I don't know why you would get faulty readings. If there is some form of ammonia present, a test will pick it up, which means the bacteria are not working at full strength yet and you need to do a wc asap otherwise risk causing damage to the fish.

The best plan would be to use this WITH the ammonia, rather than relying on it when you have fish. That way you do not have to worry about wc's and can be more lenient with testing. Plus, no risk with fish lives.

 

[JimL]

ok, so if I add the TSS I should add fish within a day or two and not wait and keep testing to be sure it doesn't fluctuate too much?
the 26 watt bulbs are too big for the light, I'm gonna have to take them back for the 13 watt bulbs.

TSS is a lot like "Prime" it detoxicifies Ammonia as well as adds bacteria. You can put your test kit away. The only one that will get stressed out will be You during this process. The fish will addapt just fine. Watch out for algae growth on glass, rocks, and plants. This will be the time to get pleco if you were wanting one, you'll wonder where the algae went. I keep 1 or 2 pleco of one type or another in all of my tanks. I don't like scraping algae.