Aquatop Dry Nitrifying Bacteria 6 Packets/Box for Quick Aquarium Cycling

Total garbage! Its so sad to see these "nitrifying" bacteria for sale here. To say the least, these are NOT REAL nitrifying bacteria. These are heterotrophic bacteria which work at 1 millionth than that of a TRUE, REAL nitrifying bacteria would. How? Real bacteria would not be able to survive any sort of drying and packaging! Also, under some circumstances, these bacteria can work in the reverse direction, creating ammonia from nitrites or nitrates and vice versa. They also don't require ammonia or nitrites or nitrates to survive, meaning they can lay dormant and do nothing in your aquarium. These bacteria are only beneficial in small amounts to remove sludge and fecal waste, which is their main target, not liquid ammonia in the water. These bacteria are also used because they can live up to 3 years without ammonia and such and in fluctuating temperatures, hot or cold. And sadly, they are the most sold and available nitrifying bacteria on the market. Real bacteria can only live for 6-10 months without ammonia and such and doesn't tolerate heavy light, or fluctuating temperatures. If you want to cycle your aquarium, or supplement it, look elsewhere! Find real bacteria like those from the "NITROBACTERACEAE" family which include Nitrobacter and Nitrospira (These 2 convert nitrite to nitrate), and Nitrosospira and Nitrosomonas (These 2 convert ammonia to nitrite). A few products that actually contain these real bacteria are: Tetra SafeStart Plus, Fritzzyme 7/9, ATM Colony Nitrifying Bacteria, and Microbelift nite-out/special blend. You can read more about this and to confirm it by googling or visiting these websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrifying_bacteria http://bioconlabs.com/autoheterobac.html