DrTim's Aquatics One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cyc

Started 3 29 gallon tanks for a research project in biology. Tank 1: Plain Water with ammonium chloride as ammonia source. Tank 2: APIs Quick Start with ammonium chloride as ammonia source. Tank 3: DrTim's One & Only with ammonium chloride as ammonia source. Ammonium Chloride was purchased from Amazon (DrTim's Ammonium Chloride Solution for Fish-less Cycling). Each tank was prepared with a standard dechlorinator (It is important not to use any product that binds or "locks" ammonia, as it is required for the cycle to progress). Water was allowed to rest for 24 hours, filters and heaters running, temps set to 80.5F, 30 LBS of standard gravel in each tank. Each tank received an initial dose of ammonium chloride of 29 drops (one drop per gallon), which raised ammonia to ~2.0 PPM. Caveats: If you use an API test kit, you will likely see about half the expected ammonia concentration. The test is not accurate at low levels, and does not measure the type of source used as well as other master kits. Be concise with the dosing and you are fine. You can use a Nutrifin NH3/NH4 test or other high grade ammonia detection kit that measures NH3 and NH4. Do not adjust water parameters or add water for several days. If you must adjust water parameters, do so slowly. Water should only be added if it has been allowed to rest after 24 hours once treated with dechlorinator. Results at 6 days: Tank 1: Barely detectable amount of ammonia reduction, zero nitrites, zero nitrates. Tank 2: Some reduction in ammonia, zero nitrites, ~20PPM nitrates. Tank 3: .50 PPM Ammonia, zero nitrites, 50 PPM nitrates Tank 3 has had one water change already, and is ready for the second due to rising nitrates. It is processing enough ammonia at this point to equal ~11 inches worth of fish. Ammonia has been added to this tank daily to sustain the cycle, as fish were never going to be introduced. I will be adding fish to this tank however, and reducing ammonium chloride dosing. Decided to keep this tank. Myth 1: There are many posts on the Internet about fish-less cycling. Many of which suggest the use of off-the-shelf ammonia that you find in your local grocery or hardware stores. While some of these sources might be safe, most are not. The ammonium chloride is cheap, and will cycle many, many tanks. Consumers are generally unaware of the fact that not all ingredients need to be listed on products not intended for human consumption. Therefore, they see water and ammonia listed on a label and assume there is no surfactant in the off-the-shelf product. This is simply not the case. Most of these products do in fact contain other ingredients that are not safe for fish, and will destroy the bacteria needed for the aquarium cycle. This can be seen in one of the other reviews. The result was, the tank did not cycle as anticipated. If you want good results and have gone to the expense of purchasing a bacterial additive, spend the extra couple of dollars and get a pure source of ammonia. Myth 2: Some postings on the Internet suggest that these products use terrestrial strains of bacteria. All nitrifying bacteria need soil or other surface. Therefore, all can be considered terrestrial. They are commonly found on the bottom of lakes and streams. Our filters and substrate mimic this environment. While evidence in my experiment suggests that not all products are created equal, some products do work -- and work exceptionally well. Myth 3: The cycle will crash because it isn't the right bacteria. Fact: If the bacteria were unable to sustain, we would not see the substantial growth noted in tank 3. In order for the ammonia to be processes and nitrite to nitrate, a large colony has to exist. Once these bacteria undergo binary fission (how they multiply), there is no logical argument that would support this cycle failing. If you have an environment where they will multiply, that will continue until there is no food source. Any crashing would be the result of that food source not being adequate for the colony. Another possible source of crashing, high nitrates (more than 50-75 PPM) as this will kill the bacteria. It is also possible that once the cycle begins to establish, that the consumer adds too many fish before the colony is large enough to sustain. If you opt for fish-less cycling, use a pure source of ammonia (ammonium chloride). If you opt for fish-in, make sure you do not use an ammonia binding product to dechlorinate the water. Let the water rest for a full 24 hours before you add fish and the product. You may test for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate -- but only adjust your parameters if the results show >2.0PPM Ammonia or >50PPM Nitrate. Other than that, leave it alone for at least a week. If you do need to reduce any of the parameters via a water change (25%), fill your bucket the day before and add your standard dechlorinator to the water and let it rest for a complete 24 hours before adding to the tank. Keep your filters wet at all times (bacteria will die). I consider this product a 5-star purchase. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Item received as described. Very happy with it. Good quality and looks great. Packaged very securely. Would recommend and buy again.

Great product, fast delivery

Grate item

This stuff works. Only thing I add besides Seachem Prime is First Defense to keep our fish healthy. And we got a lot of fish. Tried so many "remedies" that just didnt work. Much better to use Dr. Tim's to keep fish from getting too sick in the first place. Best thing for betta fin rot.