νιτροποιητικα βακτηρια. οι γνωστοι μας αγνωστοι...(..και οι εταιριες)

[Πάνος]

ενδιαφερουσες ειναι και αυτες οι κριτικες (απο εδω http://www.americanaquariumproducts....gen_Cycle.html ) επανω σε επωνυμα προιοντα... και λεει πανω κατω παρομοια πραγματα. (μιλα για επικολληση στα τοιχωματα, χαμηλη μεταβολικη δραστηριοτητα σε χαμηλες θερμοκρασιες και ετεροτροφα βακτηρια)

There are many products for cycling available too, but most in my experience/tests do not work well with the exception of SeaChem Stability, Fritz Turbo Start, & possible BioSpira.
Properly cared for BioSpira (continuous refrigeration is a must, as well shelf life is still short) or the newer Fritz-Zyme Turbo Start #700 (Freshwater) & #900 (saltwater) can be effective as these are live albeit very fragile Autotrophic bacteria.
The key for these products is proper care, the shelf life is short and both must be stored between 34 F and 40 F. I think The Fritz product is better since it is sold direct with better control of shelf life, refrigeration, and shipping to the end customer.

I will note however that many I know in the aquatic community such as others in aquarium maintenance profession as well as aquatic forums have not had all that good of results in tests with BioSpira, possibly due to poor storage, etc.

Most other products are Heterotrophs are cannot truly cycle an aquarium and are best for spikes in bio loads of established aquariums. Another problem with many cycling products is due to the fact that aerobic nitrifying bacteria cling to media and gravel (this has been PROVEN scientifically) and do not work while suspended in water. Also poor storage and shelf life undoubtedly play a role as well, and proper since storage and handling cannot often be well verified, this explains the often mixed results especially with BioSpira (FritzZyme ships directly, so this may be the better choice of these two products).
It should also be noted that many freshwater products generally cannot be used in saltwater or vice versa.

Liquid Cycle and Stress-Zyme are just preserved bacteria (mostly Heterotrophs) that are more useful for over feeding or other bio over loads in an established aquarium (as aerobic bacteria needed for nitrification do not store well in liquid form at room temperature without oxygen).
Honestly in my tests Cycle or Stress Zyme are really only useful to aid in breakdown of excess wastes from over feeding, poor filtration, etc. (Cycle can also be used as an aid to organic breakdown while waiting for your aquarium Nitrogen Cycle to get started from other means when fish are present). The Heterotrophic Bacteria within these products can aid in the decomposing of excess organic waste however they are basically useless for actually seeding an aquarium and this is a FACT.
Tetra Safe Start is another newer product, that makes many claims, but without any real proof to date (as well previous experience with most of their products over the last 3 decades leaves me with little trust of any product with a Tetra Label). That said, I know a few persons I trust that have used this product (I have not) with poor to fair results (better results than Cycle or StressZyme). These tests were not controlled though, so these are more of an observation.

Another product on the market by a VERY reputable company; SeaChem, is “Stability”.
Although I am a big fan of most SeaChem products, this product has a few claims that do not wash with known facts about nitrifying bacteria. SeaChem claims this to be a synergistic blend of aerobic (including encapsulated oxygen), anaerobic, and facultative bacteria; however facultative bacteria are NOT the primary bacteria of nitrification and are mostly Heterotrophs of which I discussed the differences earlier in the article.

This said, the bacteria found in Stability, albeit not 100% of the primary bacteria of nitrification, this is the closest bottled/non refrigerated product to date that I have found to be a reliably useful product. One major positive of this product over other products such as Stress Zyme or Microbe-Lift (not Microbe-Lift Nite Out which is primarily Autotrophs) that also employ Heterotrophs is that its synergistic blend does not "dump" these into the aquarium thus taking over any true nitrifying Autotrophs that may be present, thus it allows for establishment of your biio filter while it also takes care of immediate and slowly released nitrogenous wastes.

My recommendation as it pertains to Stability is to use it as an aid in cycling of new aquariums or (better) as a boost when the bio load of an aquarium suddenly “jumpsʼ for whatever reason. If any cycling product is to be used in an aquarium, Stability would be the one I would recommend, especially for an aquarium that already has fish and is encountering cycling problems (whether an established aquarium that had a spike in bio load for whatever reason or a new tank that had a set back for whatever reason).