has anyone used a product called cycle?

[DclownD]

Has anyone used a product called cycle... I used it and i seem to so far have success... ill keep it updated... on how it goes... my one fish loss i think was dying when i bought it as he was acting funny in the bag...

Day1:everything seems cool no deaths and are eating and swimming nicely

Day2: everything still looks good and the fish seem to be setting up social groups and pecking orders

update: water looks slightly "cloudy"

Night: they are all still alive and crazy we will have to wait till morning am 0 ph 0

Day3: lost a fish today(male platy)... he was wrapped around the filter intake so i dont know who is to blame...
Edit my platies dont seem to be eating i can forsee the loss of the other 2... .25 ammonia 7.2 ph temp is 78deg and according to my strip everything else is fine...

Edit: lost the really fat female platty*the other one still wont eat so i see her dyen soon*
water looks extremly cloudy gonna go buy stuff to clear it up

Night: found a total of 4 female platty fish...(fry) went to (petco/petsmart) got my light and a bunch of other stuff like the new bacteria and some snails.. ps my friends buddy owns a salt water shop and is starting to add fresh water my budie is gonna ask him about bio spira...

Double edit Bought topfin bacteria suplement anyone use it before?

If my camera was working i would take pics

Day4: with new additions yesterday and a new bac i was worried at first.. ammonia is at 0 how could it have dropped was it the bacteria by topfin? who knows... i even added more bioload when i bought 5 tetras and 1 more molly and got 3 babeh snails for free... i think they may be pond snails

ps:my platy female is actually swimming
day5 & 6: not sure if its 5 or 6 but i lost one neon again... im just gonna leave it as a group of 4... after all i have baby platy and maybe baby mollies on the way... and my pleco keeps givin me dirty looks... like wtf mate wheres the other ugly fish >.>
and so now im starting to wonder if the topfin bac worked a little bit.. as things have stabled a bit after using it

day 7&8: lost a fry during water changes yesterday and yes i said changes... as i had to do 2 due to ammonia spike >.> everyone is still alive though and doing well... i think the topfin stuff really helped just not enough... also i started to use amqual plus it removes some nitrate nitrite chloramines and chlorine... and my big molly female has a white spot on her backside? and my platy has gotten alot more active... so i suggest at this point amquel plus and topfin bacteria together they have saved me some money im sure...

end of day 8: bad news lost a tetra... im not buying more fish till my tank becomes stable... tommorrow im gonna do a pretty big water change and see how it goes from there

day 9 & 10: exchanged my pleco for an angel.. and bought stress zyme.. and after re reading this thread i realize i was told fitz zyme... not stress zyme >.> it doesnt seem to be helping but eh ill live and so will 80% of my fish

 

[bala_aquarium]

ive heard that cycle doesnt work

 

[DclownD]

seems fine so far... i read the pakage and did like it says... my fish seem fine... ill keep you updated

 

[Lotus]

As far as I remember, you only got your fish yesterday. If there is going to be a problem, it will be a few days before you start to see it. Keep testing your ammonia and nitrites every day for the next week or so to make sure you're not poisoning your fish.

 

[DclownD]

yes i plan on that... and overall we will see if it is a good product or not...

Day2: everything still looks good and the fish seem to be setting up social groups and pecking orders

update: water looks slightly "cloudy"

Tryn to cut down on my posts so moving some stuff: well ill use it and maybe ull hear bad or good things...

 

[micah2012]

I've used Cycle and have never been more dissatisfied in my life, it was an awefull product. I hope it works out for you. My advice if it doesn't though is to go out and buy some Bio-Spira.

 

[DclownD]

yeah i called all the local stores and they only had cycle... kinda weird so if i have to i will order biospira off the internet.. but first i fiugred id test cycle...
ill tell ya one thing it possibly will make ph go up when u add it... kinda wierd

 

[JWright]

I've heard nothing but bad things about Cycle.

Every account I've heard says at its very best it does nothing, at it's worst, it can actually have some harmful consequences.

~JW

 

[micah2012]

If you order from the internet make sure it is delivered cold, Bio Spira needs to be refridgerated at all times. Also if your Ammonia is up by the time it comes in make sure you do enough water changes to bring the ammonia levels as close to zero as possible. Bio Spira is meant to be added to the tank with the fish when the level is zero. If the ammonia level is up when you add it, it will be ineffective.

 

[Lotus]

Another product that's often recommended and more often available is Seachem Stability.

Please tell me you have tested the water for ammonia and nitrites, not just pH and looking at cloudiness.

 

[Chazwick]

I've also heard that cycle is an unrealiable product.
Temporary or something.
But, if it's working for you, then there's no reason to stop using it, just keep an eye on your water parameters...

 

[FroggyFox]

Bummer...I thought you were going to use biospira. Yeah...I've used cycle, its worthless. Do yourself a favor and at the very least dont add anymore fish to the tank.

Keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels for us.

 

[FroggyFox]

nitrite comes first and is more harmful than nitrate...but neither are that great. With a healthy established cycled tank you'll have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite and low nitrate.

 

[DclownD]

umm i have strip that has nitrite and nitrate both 0... ill get a nitrite test kit tommorrow
i wanted to get bio spira and i called every local fish shop and no one had it thats when 2 ppl on the phone said they have used it and it works great.. and it only cost 7... so im not gonna loose alot if it dont work.. and i can do daily water changes... it wont hurt me... so im ready for the worse...

 

[FroggyFox]

well thats good...but like Lotus said its not going to be immediate. I'd test once a day and just keep an eye on it. Definitely try not to overfeed.

 

[celticveil]

The company I work for did research with the different bio-live products, and found that the fritz-zyme series works best, but not everyone carries them...in fact, when I looked at cycle under a microscope over a year ago,(brand new bottle, given to me by a hagen rep himself,) there was nothing alive or active in it at all. And comparative tests in my home aquariums showed it didn't work near as well as a two or more week buffer in terms of the set up/addition time. So all in all it's the most worthless piece of trash on the market for it's purpose. And I've seen the fritz-zyme,(bacteria/enzyme combination product,)_ work wonders where cycle falled flat on it's face. Thank you, Rolf C. Hagen...now go and retire before you create more worthless crap.

 

[DclownD]

so wait whats this fritz zyme stuff..
Edit gogled it already if i get a chance ill try it

 

[celticveil]

Its made by fritz pet products, and is a combo of bacteria and enzymes, and actually works. Seen the results with my own eyes. Very impressive. Google it sometime, they have multiple varieties.

 

['-JIN-']

yup for me CYCLE wont giv any freat satisfying result,i used bio-spira for two months and it shows great result till i found new product called bacter ball by ADA.this product give a instant result.

 

[ONeill074]

I use Cycle and it works for me. If you looked at it under a microscope you wouldn't see any activity because the bacteria contained in the bottle are dormant. Once released into the tank they become active.