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From videos from the him, he said to pour the solution into tank and add live stock... Has anyone tried this product?
Dr. Tim bacteria
- Thread starter ecoreefguy
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I've used it to start both my 125 and 210 tank with success. great product.
Regardless of what ANYONE says - that's a bad approach to just about anything in this hobby. Some of Dr. Tim's videos say go ahead (admittedly with much a smaller set of first additions), others from him and reviewers imply that you should turn off just about any active filtering/water cleansing device you have & avoid cleaning your sandbed for a week or two after treating - all thing you'll be wanting to be running once the tank holds stuff that eats & does what happens after eating. The tone changes through even the Mr Fishtank video - they SAY it's OK to go ahead, then talk about the 5-9 day startup anyways, then test with a VERY large tank and a VERY small initial bioload. Sure it works... it'd take over a week for two small clownfish to pollute a 130 gallon tank on light feeding measurably.
I'd take the conservative approach - why tempt fate?
That said, the stuff is pretty good if used within reason. Get a relatively fresh bottle and you can jump-start a tank (or recover one that you've botched the initial cycling on) in a LOT less time than the traditional methods - maybe a week or two versus three or more. Especially if you dose & maintain a low but detectable level of pure ammonia (industrial/janatorial with no additives like detergents or perfumes) to keep the bacterial populations growing. Bonus is that you can easily determine how much waste your tank's biofilter can process - once it can convert around 1-2ppm of ammonia completely into nitrate within 12-24 hours you're ready to go. Better to blow a couple bucks worth of dirt-cheap ammonia than possibly kill off an initial stock-up run.
But hey I could be wrong on most of this... but if you huck in the stuff and then find the tank can break down the waste at the rate I said then go for it! :up:
I'd take the conservative approach - why tempt fate?
That said, the stuff is pretty good if used within reason. Get a relatively fresh bottle and you can jump-start a tank (or recover one that you've botched the initial cycling on) in a LOT less time than the traditional methods - maybe a week or two versus three or more. Especially if you dose & maintain a low but detectable level of pure ammonia (industrial/janatorial with no additives like detergents or perfumes) to keep the bacterial populations growing. Bonus is that you can easily determine how much waste your tank's biofilter can process - once it can convert around 1-2ppm of ammonia completely into nitrate within 12-24 hours you're ready to go. Better to blow a couple bucks worth of dirt-cheap ammonia than possibly kill off an initial stock-up run.
But hey I could be wrong on most of this... but if you huck in the stuff and then find the tank can break down the waste at the rate I said then go for it! :up:
+1 I give every tank I start (12) at least 2 weeks before I even start testing. Have patience !:yes:
I see nothing wrong with using it but, I wouldn't put any livestock in right away. I think it's a decent way to start a cycle and establish some bacteria. I used it, or something similar, and then dosed ammonia for a week or so until I saw nitrite go up. Even then, I waited over a month before moving any livestock over. Don't rush anything in this hobby, you'll just end up regretting it later.
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I understand the waiting process. That doesn't mean I will stop looking at different products on the market and their uses. Honestly, if the product works, I mean truly works, why not use it? I'm not trying to kill fish by all means, but every successful product nowadays probably had doubts when it was first introduce.
If it were me (and it was just a month ago) I would use Stability instead. Follow the directions to the tee with one exception. Don't stock fish immediately. When I did my 120 I gave it about 4 drops of ammonia and then did the 7 day Stability treatment. Worked like a charm.
