Brightwell Aquatics MicroBacter Start XLF - Concentrated Freshwater Nitrifying Bacteria - Quick Start Fish Tank Starter, Lift Microbe Levels & Water Filtering - Aquarium Water Treatments, 16.9 fl oz

Use this when doing water changes. Water stays clear and my fish stay super happy.

Hello Follow Aquarists. I set up a 40-gallon breeder tank with ADA Aqua Soil and ECO Complete as the base layer, and of course adding MicroBacter StartXLF. I'm trying out the Dark Start Method for aquarium. In short, for those of you who may not know what that is, you allow your tank to run about a month with the lights off to allow the ammonia in the soil gas out and most importantly establish good bacteria to support your future fish and plants. See, Youtube for detailed information about the process. I ran my tank for 4 weeks and noticed how cloudy it was, you expect some cloudiness in tank with soil but not this much. So, I changed half the water and got a little improvement, but still very cloudy. After that, I changed out 15 gallons every other day for two weeks, still cloudy. I also filtered my water with high density filer pads during this time, no change. After, doing a web search of my problem, I realized that my MicroBacter StartXLF was outdated. I had forgotten that I purchased it several years ago. In short, I bought a new bottle and within a week. I have crystal clear water.

This product works very well. It quickly cycled my tank. Worked faster than other products I've used in the past. If I ever need to cycle a tank again, I'll be using this product.

This product has always given a boost to my aquarium's beneficial bacteria after a water change or when changing the media in my canister filter. Its a little pricey, but quality products usually are.

I got it to do two things: Keep the water clear in my pond, and help make liquid fertilizer. If you didn't know, you can put grass clippings and other organic stuff into water, and the water will leach out a lot of the good stuff. Eventually this progresses into a fermentation, and finally, nitrization. That's when bacteria start really turning the nitrogen in the liquid into something plants can use.Well, my liquid fertilizer mixture is still sitting, but not long after I added some of this, the water turned black. This is a good sign and shows that everything's working, and quickly! As for my pond, it looks great and has no problems.I recommend this item to people getting into homesteading, aquaculture, regenerative agriculture, making their own fertilizer, etc.

Great product

Well I was unsure what to expect with the mixed reviews, but it worked, and very well. I set up a new tank and did the dry start method for planting some seeds in the tank. While letting the seeds sprout and grow for about a week I kept the substrate very moist. I had the idea, since I was using a dirted tank capped with sand and the dirt was compost that was nitrogen rich, that I should be able to start the cycle with the dry tank. I kept it very wet and poured a little into the substrate for a few days and then just went ahead and dumped the rest in at one point. My grass was getting so tall it was falling over so I filled the tank up a couple days later. About a week or so after filling it up I tested the water and it shows cycled. It's a 30 gallon tank. I used the rest in my 20g to boost the filter in it after a big cleanup.

Did absolutely nothing to help cycle my tank. I assume the bacteria was dead or just an overall poor product.