Just thought I should jump in with a few points:
Java Plants seem to have had a few bad experiences with customers on this forum. (see some threads on the Aquarium Plants section of the forum).
They may be good now though, but on the same thread, there were very good reports about Greenline Aquatics. Havent bought from either so cant say from my own experience - just passing on what Ive heard.
As for Nutrafin Cycle, I think its pretty good.
I got rid of all Ammonia in my tank in about 4 days, and Im pretty sure this was down to the Cycle, as I did nothing else out of the ordinary.
The reason I think people dont rate these products is they dont understand how bacteria can stay alive when either a) there is no food source, b) there is no oxygen source.
The explanation is that the bacteria (and they
are bacteria in Cycle, not enzymes) are held in a form called 'flocs'. These are dormant (but still alive) bacteria colonies which are reactivated on contact with water... perhaps something like a hedgehog who can sleep all winter without eating and only breathing once per minute, yet awaken in spring to go about his hedgehoggy business
There is another product called BioSpira which contains NitroSpira (Cycle contains Nitrobacter, among others) and nitrospira may be better at converting Nitrite. BioSpira also needs refridgerated so if you are uncomfortable using a dormant solution (like CYcle) you could use BioSpira.
One final point - dont expect these products to magically mature your tank in days. They are just an accellerant to speed things up and get you going. From my experience - its worked very well.
P.S. pfk reader survey also rated Cycle quite effectively.
"Im Kent Brockman and thats my two cents"
