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There's also one "instant" suppliment sold called Bio-Spira that may give you enough of the correct bacteria types now to avoid a disaster
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WITHOUT trying to get into another 'debate' about this subject, I just want to say that you should be cautious about the 'instant' effects of this product and make sure that you are testing to ensure that you have a good 'batch', which is also recommended by the inventor of the product himself (searching for the direct quote).
I do agree though that the salt is not going to help you with nitrite control, which is usually the advice given by some. It will however, help promote slime coat growth on your fish, but it does this by irritating the fish's scales or skin. It would be like adding insult to injury if you fish are already experiencing ammonia burn.
The test kit is going to be your largest ally here. If you have any questions about the cycling process that were not covered or not clear in the cycling 'sticky', feel free to ask anything. I am guessing that the people at Petsmart stated that you can cycle with the fish you have, and that we are all being silly or something, and it is certainly up to you to see if you get away with it...some people have. HOWEVER, once the ammonia levels rise to toxic levels, followed by the nitrite levels doing the same, you will be forced to do water changes to lower the levels in order to keep your fish alive. This is an ok process, however it will slow down the cycle because you are reducing the food source for bacteria in your tank. The reason that fishless cycling is suggested is because you can create the ultimate benificial bacteria breeding environment such as high ammonia levels and very high temps, which fish just could not withstand. In my opinion, and from my experience, fishless cycling is the fastest, easiest, and least stressful, for both fish and yourself, method currently used today.
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As a sidenote, I bring up the fact that I dont want to start another debate over the Bio Spira product because....and this is fact...both products are advertised to do the same things: add benificial bacteria to your tank. The "fact" that Bio Spira is the only product that will do so, is really an opinion (not saying that to 'poke' at anyone) and even though from my more recent research, I may tend to agree that it contains more of the 'right' bacteria, I dont think it can be said that "Cycle" is worthless, nor can it be honestly stated that in every case Bio Spira will cycle a tank overnight. Both are bacteria 'cultures', meaning that they contain a source of bacteria, however you would most likely have to put as much Bio Spira, or Cycle, into a tank as you would water in order to get enough of the bacteria you need to support four relatively large fish in an unestablished tank.
Let me preface this by saying that I have seen Bio Spira sold in two forms...but both in the same packaging. The first form is simply kept on a shelf, under no environmental control to speak of. The second form is the same as the first, but kept in a refrigerator looking machine that keeps the product at one spacific temperature. When I asked why this was, the store with the heater, which is an LFS I sincerely trust, stated that it was to help support the bacteria up until the point in which the customer adds it to his or her tank. So, this makes me suspect of the same product that is not kept under some sort of control and like I said, it is stated by the inventor of Bio Spira himself that a test should be put forth onto a tank that has used his product before assuming that the tank is 'safe' for fish to be added.
Let me appologize first to those who disagree with me, and state that I do not wish to hijack another thread with this debate, but at the same time do not want to allow anyone to believe, in error, that a product will do something without considering all the options, pros, or cons.
) giving bacteria a limited ammount of food, while the extreme enviroments pretty much cut cycling time in half. thats proboly why i didnt loose any fish to ammonia.
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