There are a whole series of products that claim to “detoxify” ammonia and nitrite during cycling. They claim these products give an “instant cycle”. These claims are simply false marketing hype.
AquariumScience
2.6. Not Cycling an Aquarium at All
Understand, I recommend fish-less cycling for all aquarium hobbyists setting up a tank. This is simply the best way to cycle an aquarium with the least risk to the fish. But contrary to many fervent people on social media, one does not HAVE to formally cycle a tank
2.5. Aquarium Fish-in Cycling
If one has fish in the aquarium during cycling the tank, this is called “fish-in cycling”. I don’t recommend fish-in cycling. There is simply no reason to do it.
2.4. Cycling an Aquarium with Ammonia
There are a huge number of beginner hobbyists that have Googled aquarium cycling and come up with ammonia as being the perfect feed for fishless (no fish in the tank) cycling. Most experienced hobbyists, including the author, don’t do cycling with ONLY ammonia!
2.3. How I Cycle an aquarium
There are very many ways to cycle an aquarium and they all seem to work well. But being an obsessive-compulsive chemist nerd, I’ve come up with what I feel gives the fastest possible cycling time where the tank is capable of handling a large load of fish when the cycle is done.
2.2. Many Ways to Cycle
There are many ways to cycle an aquarium. This is far from an exact science and many things “work”. Some things can indeed speed up a cycle and some things slow down a cycle, but in the end, just about anything will “work”. Mother Nature is very flexible and forgiving.
18.1.4. Softened, RO, DI, TDS
Any water you can drink is fine for almost any fish. Plants are a little more touchy. The only time one can have problems is: So any sort of water treatment beyond chlorine conditioner is normally just a waste of money. But many want to know the options so here goes: Water Treatment in Depth […]
18.1.3. Water Change Water
Newcomers to the hobby are bombarded in the fish store with all sorts of water treatments: conditioners, stress coat, pH adjusters, ammonia detoxifier, bacteria in a bottle, buffers, aquarium salt, ad. infinitum. Only a cheap conditioner is necessary. All the other products are simply scams.
18.1.2. Aquarium Water Change Math
There is a “rule” that says you need to change the water 50% every week and a 25% change twice a week with an aquarium. The only reason for doing water changes is to keep the nitrates down.
18.1.1. Water Changes in Depth
It is generally (but not universally!) accepted that fish will do better in an aquarium if some of the water is drained upon occasion and replaced with new clean water. A reasonable water change schedule for most hobbyists is: 50% water changes be done every one to three months
