# Cycle and Other Water Additives



## CyberSpike (Mar 25, 2006)

I guess this is an okay place to post about all aquarium products not just physical equipment? lol.

I'm going to use this thread to get reviews and feedback on good additive products, such as water conditioners and such.

Currently to condition my water I'm using AquaPlus water conditioner. It seems to be working fine and the pet store owner recommended it (big mistake I know ) Anyone have any experience with it or comments?

Also, Ive already seen many flames about the product Cycle. lol. I guess I'll have to hang my head in shame since I've used it.  Was this a waste of $10 or could I use this to speed up an already existing manual cycle process? (Such as adding it after throwing in the raw meat or ammonia )


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

I may be wrong, but I think cycle ends up lengthening the cycle process. it uses the wrong, old, bacteria nitrobacter instead of nitro-spira. although it does eat ammonia and keeps your fish alive, it competes with and slows down the growth of the true aquarium nitrifying bacteria. I could be wrong about that though.


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## Dong (Mar 24, 2006)

I hate to tell you but Cycle is a waste of money. The only bacteria in a bottle type of thing that is working is the "Bio-Spira". Nevertheless, Bio-Spira is quite hard to obtain as it requires refrigeration. You are lucky if your LFS has them on stock (which is not the case for me), or you can obtain them online with high shipping charge because it has to be sent express or priority overnight (usually cost around 30-40). This thing has proven to work so if you wanna try it out, you can find it online at http://www.fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Another thing you can try is the "Stability". I had heard some good comment about it but it is not an instant-cycle thing like the Bio-Spira. I heard that it helps the tank cycle faster. Don't go for other bacteria in a bottle stuff..., the rest (at least those currently in the market) are waste of money.


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## Dong (Mar 24, 2006)

Oh yea, forgot to mention that I am currently using AquaPlus as my water conditioner and there never seems to be a problem. I think those products are pretty much the same. (ie, they remove chlorine, chloramine, helps reduce stress, blah blah blah...) I think any water conditioner will do the trick.


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## Thomas (Nov 8, 2005)

Yes, water conditioners are pretty much the same. I would normally go for the cheap ones. For info, AquaSafe, despite quite expensive, does NOT remove chloramine. I contacted Tetra and they replied to me with confirmation. As many/some water authorities uses chloramine instead of chlorine due to its higher stability, I would use others that specifies it can remove chloramine e.g. Seachem Prime or Stress Coat.

Regarding bacteria boosters, it is quite bad according to this website:

http://www.firsttankguide.net/bacteria.php

Whether you believe it is up to you. But I would prefer the traditional methods. There is no need to hurry anyway.


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