There’s an ongoing debate among fishkeepers about whether Tetra’s SafeStart and API’s Quick Start even work.
What is the difference between Tetra SafeStart and Tetra SafeStart Plus anyway?
Starting a new tank can be stressful for both you and your new fish buddies.
The logic behind these products is solid, but that’s in theory.
Is there a safe dose or an overdose?
Should you do a fishless cycle?
What’s the reality? The good news is I have tested them both…twice.
I’d be more than happy to show you my results and point you in the right direction.
Shall we?
Main differences – API Quick Start versus Tetra SafeStart Plus?
Both products claim to have live nitrifying bacteria that will speed up or reinforce your nitrogen cycle.
They contain two stains of beneficial nitrifiers – one that turns the ammonia into nitrites and one that turns said nitrites into harmless nitrates.
Here’s the truth about the Tetra SafeStart vs API Quick Start comparison:
The difference between the two products is that API Quick Start can be used in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums whereas Tetra SafeStart can only be used in freshwater systems by design. These aquarium cycle starters also contain slightly different strains of bacteria, which affects how fast each product works.
Both Tetra Safe Start and API Quick Start will work, given that they are applied in a correct manner. The cycling of a new tank will speed up significantly but it won’t happen overnight.
Generally speaking, with proper use you can realistically expect to wait about 14 days to fully cycle a fish tank with API Quick Start. Tetra SafeStart takes about the same time although often it may finish the process in just 10 days. Dosage plays a major role in success.
Unfortunately, following the instructions on the back is not something that will help, as they are pretty vague.
After experimenting hard I’ve managed to highlight what strengthens your chance for success, eventually finding a process that, in my opinion, is foolproof.
I ran two tests on both before actually using them in a real fish tank project.
The only disappointing part is that they will not cycle your fish tank the same day.
Also, by the “add fish instantly” on the label they don’t mean all the fish the tank can hold but rather just a couple, until the beneficial bacteria settle.
Both API Quick Start and Tetra SafeStart can be added with live fish in the tank.
The bottles obviously don’t contain substrances harmful to fish, just the opposite.
How to use them and make them work?
After running a couple of tests I am confident to share my success formula with you.
Going through hundreds of forum threads and speaking with fishkeepers I know, I did find confirmations of my findings.
This means that my logic was correct.
Firstly you’d need to get the right bottle of bacteria.
by Cczman
Safe Start and Quick Start both contain live “inactivated” bacteria. By being inactivated like this the products last longer on the shelf and are easier to store, which makes them more beginner-friendly.
Both brands are claiming no refrigeration is needed.
The perfect temperature for the bacteria’s shelf and in-water life would be between 40°F and 80°F (5°C to 25°C).
Going beneath or above that range may spoil it, by killing the microorganisms and rendering the product useless.
Trusting your local fish store is okay, but I do prefer getting mine over at Amazon (link that will open in a new tab).
Anyway, if you do insist on getting the bottles from your local market make sure that they were safely stored and aim to get the most recently shipped ones (with the farthest expiration date).
Some instructions before you start are:
- Get a bottle that has been manufactured as recently as possible – The newer the bottle, the better. Also, get at least two bottles, I will explain why later.
- Choose a bottle meant for a larger aquarium than yours – For me, it worked best when I used the 3.38 Oz bottle of Tetra SafeStart Plus for my 20 gallons, and also when I doubled the dose recommended for the API Quick Start.
- Make sure the ammonia is not already deadly high – everything above 2.5 ppm of ammonia will be harmful to your fish AND the bacteria. Before you start with the nitrogen cycle you need the ammonia lowered as much as possible.
With that out of the way, you can start cycling your aquarium.
Follow these exact steps to properly use Tetra SafeStart or API Quick Start:
- Dechlorinate your water no less than 24 hours before adding the bacteria.
Use a commercial dechlorinator.
Leave the filters running during that time.
Chlorine will kill the not well-established cycling bacteria. Also, when having live fish in the tank you first dechlorinate the water and then add it to the tank.
- Shake the bottle of bacteria hard.
This part is really important.
Shake the bottle really well before adding the bacteria.
- Pour in double the recommended dosage.
For Tetra SafeStart users just add the WHOLE bottle of bacteria to your aquarium.
Add it all.
You can’t overdose with aquarium cycle starter products, unlike with dechlorinators and other water conditioners.
It’s simply beneficial bacteria. The more the better.
- Add 1 SMALL fish per 10 gallons of water.
Adding fish to your new tank should be done shortly after you’ve poured in the bacteria, within a maximum of 2 hours.
This proportion of fish-to-volume of water is what worked best for me.
By definition, this is where most people make a mistake and end up with dead fish in their new aquarium.
Adding just one small fish per 10 gallons of water is the safest way of controlling the ammonia levels. Here you can find some hardy beginner fish options.
If you’re cycling a 5-gallon tank it’s really best to put a source of ammonia in it and no live fish. Such source could be fish food.
Anyway, it’s technically true that you can stock the tank up, but you’d need very clean fish (ones that do not poop as much) and you’d have to feed them very carefully to either not overfeed (leaving extra ammonia work for your bacteria) or starve them (being too cautious not to overload your tank with ammonia).
- Feed your fish every other day.
Test your water frequently, if you notice a spike in ammonia it’s okay to not feed your fish that day.
Many fish can survive more than a week without food, so they will be fine.
- Don’t do water changes until the 14th day.
If and only if the ammonia starts rising for no apparent reason you can do a water change to lower the levels down.
Add another bottle of the product if that happens.
This is why I told you to get a second bottle.
However, there’s another solid reason behind this point.
You’re probably using chlorinated tap water for your fish tank. In order to perform a water change you’d need to dechlorinate the water first, right?
Water facilities in the more developed cities use Chloramine instead of Chlorine for disinfection.
Chloramine represents the chemical bond between chlorine + ammonia.
Seachem Prime (a commonly used dechlorinator), for example, breaks down chloramine to chlorine and ammonia, takes care of the chlorine, and detoxifies the released ammonia.
by JustSuppThings
Every product that claims to detoxify ammonia likely transforms it into ammoniUM.
Ammonium is harmless to bacteria and fish alike, but the detoxifying effect only lasts for 24 to 48 hours if your tank’s pH is above 7.0. This does not mean that having more than 7.0 pH is bad, it just means that using ammonia detoxifiers in a non-cycled tank is not a good long-term solution.
Anyway, after that, the ammonium turns back into ammonia, which means you now have more of the latter in the cycling aquarium.
The more Chloramine your water facility uses, the more the released ammonia after the effect of the detoxifier expires. This could consequently harm your bacterial biofilter and fish if the contents turn out to be too high for the bacteria to handle in time.
Author’s note: This only affects new aquariums that do not have an established colony of nitrifying bacteria.
Anyway, another argument for not changing the water in the first 14 days of cycling (unless there’s a dangerous ammonia spike out of nowhere) is that studies suggest that nitrifying bacteria use ammonia instead of ammonium for their source of energy.
Continuously using a dechlorinator that turns ammonia into ammonium could actually slow down the nitrogen cycle in your aquarium even further. The nitrifying bacteria would not be interested in the latter and will not be stimulated to multiply further.
This can easily turn into a vicious circle and a never-ending supply of Prime for a new, non-cycled fish tank…
If you’re using bottled bacteria you’d want your fish tank to cycle as soon as possible, right?
Tip: The best way to avoid all of this is by having a separate batch of dechlorinated water to use for water changes during aquarium cycling. The “emergency batch” should be dechlorinated at least 24 hours before use. Add a little bit of bottled bacteria to it to make up for the residual ammonia and it’s good to go.
Suggested Read: How Aquarium Fish could Die After a Large Water Change
Despite the described scenario Seachem’s Prime still remains a fantastic option for water dechlorination in a fully cycled aquarium. I’d recommend it to anyone who is using tap water for their aquarium. The residual ammonia from breaking down the Chloramine would be negligible to the already-established bacterial colony in a mature tank.
Anyway, after 14 days of cycling, you can perform a water change the regular way.
- Don’t test the water for the first 2 days.
It’s okay to test it whenever you want but that is something that I stuck with throughout my tests.
- Turn the UV lights off for the first day or two.
Ultraviolet light does affect the bacteria in a negative way.
For it to successfully establish I’d strongly recommend not turning those lights on the first day after the application (if you have them).
Keeping the fish tank cycled
After the second week you can gradually add fish, but of course, don’t add 10 at a time. This would overwhelm the bacteria.
When doing the first water change the ammonia may go up, as there may be some ammonia in tap water, but I wouldn’t worry about it that much.
The levels should be overall low and should quickly get back to normal within the next 12 hours or so.
Also, don’t freak out if you don’t see your nitrites spike when water testing.
If you’re using Tetra’s SafeStart the process will skip the nitrites building up and will directly build into nitrates.
by flexed_guitar
Don’t worry if your aquarium becomes cloudy at first.
The water will get clear within two to three days or a week at most.
Seeing cloudy water in a new aquarium at the beginning of its Nitrogen cycling is completely normal and it means that different bacteria are establishing their hierarchy.
Visit the link if you’d like to understand the process in depth. Understanding aquarium microfauna is, in my opinion, a core component of long-term success in fish keeping.
And that’s not an overstatement.
Which of the two should you choose? Which one is the best for your?
This is not one of those posts where I discuss the pros and cons of both products and leave the choice to you.
I have a statement:
Both can be (successfully) used for a start but If you’re starting a brand new empty fish tank and want to establish an environment safe from Ammonia, I’d recommend using Tetra SafeStart.
If you’re starting a brand new planted tank, doing huge water changes, or adding a lot of fish at once to an already cycled planted tank I’d go for API Quick Start.
by Tobyracer
Tetra SafeStart’s better at handling the nitrites (it virtually skips them) and API Quick Start will normalize the ammonia levels in the water quicker. The latter is more important in a mature tank with many live fish in it.
High ammonia levels may result in your fish staying at the bottom of the tank seemingly gasping in despair (click the link for an in-depth explanation of this behavior in Bettas).
The API Quick Start is more efficient when you have a planted tank as it does not handle the nitrite levels as well as Tetra’s SafeStart. Live aquatic plants prefer ammonia and nitrite over nitrate as their source of nitrogen so, by using API’s product you will both speed up the cycle and let your plants feed on the nitrite.
Note: Between Tetra SafeStart and Tetra SafeStart Plus the difference is only in the concentration of the bacteria. I’m really happy with Using the Plus version, so the instructions will remain the same.
The alternative bottled bacteria for saltwater aquariums is called Bio Spira.
API doesn’t have a saltwater version, you just double the dose.
What’s with the mixed opinions then?
Honestly, it’s probably a human error.
Seeing how (upon proper use) the products kept proving themselves to me and others I spoke to, I can only conclude that.
Then again, the negative reviews pushed me to test them myself, before anything.
Conclusion
Fishkeeping is a hobby that requires some patience.
Whether you choose to go natural or use bottled bacteria products for starting a new fish tank, you will have to wait it out a bit.
There is no shortcut for that, there are only shorter cuts…
Tell me how things unfolded for your new aquarium in the comments.
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Hi, I wish I would’ve seen this two weeks ago when I got my fish; this is chock full of such helpful information!! Apologies in advance for the long comment. I recently, 2 1/2 ish weeks ago, purchased a betta fish from a local aquarium store; I have him in a 5Gal Portrait Aquarium. Before I put him in the aquarium, I had the tank, filter and heater running with conditioned water for four days. I didn’t do much research besides the standard stuff like the size of tanks that are better for them, what kind of food and temp they like to live in. I read about a cycle that has to happen but I only skimmed that part. After putting the fish in, I realized that the cycling was supposed to be much longer than the four days and I started to panic. So I bought the water test kits and watched him closely for a few days to see if he changed in moods and appetite and luckily he seems great; even making little bubble nests all over. I bought a 10Gal tank from a pet store and decided that I wanted to switch him to that one since it’s much bigger for him and give him more room to swim around. I bought the Tetra Safe Start Plus to help with the cycling of the new tank. I was wondering if adding some of the gravel, decorations or marimo balls that are in his current tank will help with the bacteria. I’ve tested the water many times for the past two weeks to see when I can start a water change but they’ve all tested negative for anything harmful so I’ve skipped the water change until next week. The test kit that I have is a 6 in 1 that tests for Nitrite, Nitrate, General Hardness, pH, Free Chlorine and Carbonate. The only one that could be considered “high” is the hardness but it’s only slightly high and I read that it’s supposed to help with keeping the pH stable. My question(s) is what happens next? Do I setup the new tank and add some dechlorinated water, wait 24hrs and then add the whole bottle of safe start? Then after adding the safe start, how long do I wait to add the fish? And after I’ve added the fish, do I add more bacteria or just keep checking the water levels to make sure that if they increase that they’re decreasing daily or with every small water change? Sorry about the length of this question; I’m just a bit confused on what to do and want to make sure I’m doing the best for my new fish bud. If you see an entry like this please disregard it lol I didn’t remember if I clicked the submit button. Any help, tips or tricks would be highly beneficial and appreciated.
Hi, I wish I would’ve stumbled upon this article earlier; this is chock full of so much great info! I recently, about two and a half weeks ago, bought a betta fish. I put him in a Marineland 5Gal Portrait tank. Prior to me placing him there, I had the conditioned tank running with the filter in and heater for about four days. I didn’t really do much research except knowing that they needed a much bigger tank than most advertised and I didn’t know about cycling either; I only read about it after getting the fish. He hasn’t shown any signs that he’s in distress or even unhappy; he’s been loving making his little bubble nest which I’ve read is a great sign. I’ve tested the water and a lot since and all the parameters are great. I have a 6 in 1 test kit that measures Nitrite, Nitrate, General Hardness, pH, Free Chlorine and Carbonate; the only one that might be a little high is the hardness but it’s not by much and I heard that having it a bit high is helpful to keeping the pH stable which has never gone higher or lower. I recently purchased a 10Gal tank because it was $10 at the pet store and wanted to move him to it soon. I purchased the API quick start and was thinking about adding some of the gravel that’s in his current tank because I haven’t done any water changes; all the tests come out perfect. My question is, how do I go about it? After setting up the tank and filling it with dechlorinated water that I left out for 24hrs, do I add the quick start, test the water and then add the fish? If so, do I add the whole bottle at once? Does adding some of the old gravel, decorations, Marimo balls or even a bit of the old tank water help with the bacteria? I’ve never tested the ammonia levels in the current tank he’s in so I bought one of those tetra test strips that should arrive later today. After I do all the steps and i add him in, do I have to keep doing small water changes until the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are zero? I think he’s happy in his current tank but I think he’ll be happier in his 10Gal since the one he’s in is more vertical and less horizontal and doesn’t give him the most space to swim. Any tips, tricks or directions would be super appreciated!
you mentioned not using UV lights during the cycling process. I have an LED light, is this okay?
Hi,
Yes, as long as it does not have a lot of diodes in the UV spectrum. Such LED lights would be some specific models designed especially for coral growth. If yours is not that – don’t worry.
Best,
Momchil
Hello, I am new to the hobby. I kept goldfish years ago and knew nothing of the cycle. It must have been a miracle because I successfully kept feeder goldfish alive for many years that grew to be huge (at least 9-10 inches long) and knew zero about the nitrogen cycle. I just assumed fish keeping was simple like it was back then so when I bought my son a 30 gallon tank for Christmas this year, I assumed we could just go get some fish and fill it up… I set up the tank on Christmas morning and the next day we went and bought 6 zebra danios. I saw some comments about cycling the tank first and I thought it meant just running the pump and filter for a while to clean out any dust in them. A few days later we went and got 10 neon tetras. A week later we went and got a couple of African dwarf frogs and 3 Cory catfish. I was using sea chem prime that was recommended by the fish store almost every day and then started testing the water with test strips. I didn’t really know what I was testing for, but the numbers were looking to be neutral and I thought that was good. Then I started to see algae around week 4 and all of a sudden it started growing like crazy so I got 2 nerite snails and a ghost shrimp. The water looked just awful and my ammonia level was high on the test strip, so I bought the api master test kit and my ammonia was dark green and zero nitrites and nitrates. I decided to start over and so I bought new substrate and a new filter. I had rocks and changed it to sand. I thought the food wouldn’t fall in the sand and get lost and rot as easy with sand. I put all the fish in a big bucket, took everything out. Cleaned the tank and most of the decorations completely and totally started over with all new substrate, new filter, wiped down glass and many ornaments cleaned off. I added new water, added prime and waited for the water to get to 75° and put the fish back in. Then I started doing a ton of research and discovered the nitrogen cycle and what a cycle really meant…. to my horror, I also discovered I wasn’t suppose to cycle a tank that was heavily stocked!! Oh my goodness!! And the list of my mistakes just go on and on as I’m sure you know by reading what I did so far!! I felt so guilty for putting these fish through all of this!! I stayed up nights researching and stressing out about this that I literally lost sleep for the last 2 weeks. When I did sleep, I was dreaming about ammonia, nitrites and nitrates!! I ordered all kinds of bacteria and chemicals an was trying my best to keep these fish alive. I started testing the water 2-3 times a day and to my surprise, my ammonia stayed very low this time. Under 1ppm. I was doing partial water changes and adding prime and beneficial bacteria. My numbers were staying at 7.5 ph, 0-1 ppm ammonia and 0 nitrites and nitrates. I found a YouTube video showing someone starting a tank with safe start plus so I decided to try it. I went to the store and bought A bottle that treats up to 50 gallons and before I used it, I tested the water and was .50 ppm ammonia and 0 nitrites and nitrates. I used the entire bottle of safe start and when I tested the next morning I had .25 ammonia, zero nitrites and 5 nitrates. It was the first time in 2 months I ever saw nitrates. I kept testing 2-3 times a day and the ammonia stayed around .25 or slightly less maybe and nitrates at 0 and nitrates between 5 and 10 for a week now. Because I continue to have tiny amounts of ammonia, I assume I am not cycled yet, but I am happy to say I am finally hopeful my fish might all survive this catastrophe I caused them!! When can I be 100% sure I am cycled? My ammonia is zero when I test the tap but shows very very slight green tint when testing the tank water. Thank you for your article and for still answering questions so long after you wrote it
Hi Karey,
Thanks so much for sharing your story with me. Don’t worry, most of us were like this in the beginning.
Anyway, a cycled tank is one with the following water parameters:
0 ppm of ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate.
For more accurate water tests, I recommend a liquid test kit (not strips).
Keep doing your research and good luck!!!
Great article!! Learned a lot from it. I had a question or two (i’m a new tank owner). I started a tank last monday which i include about 7 plants and my betta. I bought a Marina 10gal aquarium which included a starter kit: nutrafin cycle and aqua plus. I did as the instruction of adding the cycle and aqua plus to my tank. Yesterday i did a nitrite and nitrate test and these are the results: nitrate 20mg/L and nitrite 8.0 ml/L. I added another 10 ml of Nutrafin aqua plus to tje tank yesteday. Should i do a 10% or 20% water change?? Or should i just wait for the cycle to end?? Should i add Tetra’s SafeStart and/or API Quick Start to help??
Thank you very much!
Greatly appreciated !
Fernando
This article helped me a lot. Just wanted to share my experience. I Tried to do a fishless cycle in a 15 gal using API QuickStart months ago after reading a lot of different articles and watching YouTube videos but got no results. First I dechlorinated the water, dosed it with bottled liquid ammonia from Ace Hardware until the ppm was about 3-4ppm. Made sure the PH levels were right, then I added the amount of QuickStart recommended on the packaging. I was testing almost everyday for the next 2 weeks and the ammonia remained the same or it would rise with no 0 nitrites. After reading your article I’m thinking the ammonia might’ve been too high for the nitrifying bacteria to handle or maybe I didn’t wait long enough for the water conditioner to do it’s job before adding the quick start? I messed up somewhere. But after doing more research I found your article and read that you’ve tried many methods and this one works the best for you So I thought I would give it a try. I added TETRA safestart on the 19th of this month and it seems to be working. So I first followed your instructions and brought my ammonia down to about 1.5ppm by doing a 25% water change(making sure the tap water was dechlorinated a whole day before) and then I added the safestart along with 1 small fish(Fed fish every other day). By the 22nd, the ammonia had already dropped to 0.50 ppm and the nitrates were at 5.0ppm.
By the 24th, the ammonia was at 0ppm and the nitrates are at 10ppm
Today is the 25th and my ammonia is at 0ppm still, and the nitrates are around 5.0-10ppm. Should I be worried if my nitrates start to slightly drop? If the cycle isn’t fully finished and my ammonia is 0ppm can my nitrate die out ? Or will the 1 fish I have help to regulate that. Thanks for the article, it’s been really helpful!
Hi Anthony,
I’m super glad my article helped you! It seems that you had a remarkable success 🙂
Anyway, on your question – You should not worry if the Nitrate drops, Nitrate is the final product in the Nitrogen cycle (in the context of fishkeeping) If it drops – it does not mean that the Nitrogen cycle has been compromised, as long as Ammonia and Nitrite remain at 0 ppm respectively.
I am not that familiar with your setup, but the reason Nitrate would drop is that something is using it up, or it will remain in the system and start building up. Usually, in an aquarium, live plants use up Nitrate. Do you have live plants? Other than that, Nitrate can be exported from the system with water changes, etc. It could also be that you have some form of Nitrate-absorbent media in the tank. And last but not least, It could be that some bacterial colonies are still developing and figuring out the balance. If it’s the latter – you should not worry as long as your ammonia and nitrite are in check!
Makes sense?
I hope I was of help.
Momchil
Hi, I have a Q hoping it will be seen as the post has been running a while. Daughter for her birthday decided on a Beta fish. We have not got the fish yet as she has just started the cycle Tetra safe start Bacteria 100ml bottle added.
She has a Dennerle 35ltr tank and light, Fluval heater, water filter can’t remember the make, it was the smallest we could get, starts for 35ltr size (10-30 gl) size. She has set the gravel and Fluval substrate and has added some live plants and dragon stone.
She has the API advanced fresh water kit and this is where her worries have started.
Tested the water PH balance and the nitrates. PH was about 6 and the Nitrates are around 20 – 40.
From this we have tested are actual water as we on a public well. Are water is softened with salt as we are a natural hard water area the softened water is a PH of 7 nitrates 40.
We have a separate drinking water tap that is filtered again, not much difference still within the same range, so are water is absolutely useless for the tank.
Do you know of anything she can use to get the nitrates down as so far all she will have is a tank with plants until we can find a solution for this. Your advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks, Irene
Hi, Irene,
Since investing in a RO/DI water filter may not be viable in this situation I’d recommend getting a simple Nitrate Remover.
There are many – API Nitra-Zorb and Seachem’s Purigen both come to mind and work fine. Don’t forget that these need to periodically re-charged to maintain the efficiency.
Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.
Momchil
hi its me again. hope all is well. i have recently upgraded to a 125 fluval roma it is currently set up with plants and substrate filter and heater. when i want to transfer my fish frm old tank to new
should i repeat the process with TSS?
Hi,
sorry for the late response!
Yes, you should. The new tank should be cycled to handle the bioload of the fish. 🙂
cool ive also added the filter media from the old filter to the new so should be paasing on the good bacteria already.
Yup, well done!
Keep track of the water’s parameters and you’ll know when the cycle is rolling.
This article was so helpful! About two weeks ago I put together a nice ten gallon and i’ve had it running since. Ive been doing the method where you just add fish food almost every day. And i’ve recently decided that I want to switch to a fish in cycle. I’m going to do a 50-75% water change to get the fish food out. Ive been testing the water weekly and there’s not much ammonia in it so I think it won’t be too bad. I’m going to add prime to dechlorinate the water after the water change and let it sit for 24 hours, or more. Then I plan to put tetra safe start in the tank and put a molly in the tank to get it started. I’m planning on putting a betta fish in the ten gallon then gradually introduce a few harmless tank mates. I just decided to start out with a more hardy fish to cycle the tank with. I haven’t started this process yet, but I want to know if i’m doing anything wrong. There’s just so much information out there and I want to get this right. Thanks for your help!
Hi Anna,
Your plan seems great, it looks like you’ve read enough information to do this right. Arm yourself with a test kit and a handful of patience and go ahead!
Good luck!
Thanks so much for this it’s really helpful! I’ve been trying to do a fishless cycle, but it’s been a very slow process, so I bought some Quickstart to try and speed up the process. I’m yet to use it, but this has been super helpful in instructing me on how to do it, and safely add fish at the same time!