Dr. Tim's vs Microbacter Start

[AquaLogic]

I'm about to start my first fish-less cycle. I've cycled plenty of tanks, but it's always been with fish or with live rock, and this time I'm trying fish-less. BRS seems to be all in on Dr. Tim's, so I ordered the ammonia, first defense, and one and only. However, looking at the reviews people seem to have a lot of trouble with high ammonia when they say they follow the directions exactly. Am I better off with Microbacter, or are the bad reviews of Dr. Tim's the usual user error? Is Dr. Tim not to be trusted? I know that a large amount of bad reviews for all but the worst of products tend to be from people who screwed something up, but if the conventional wisdom around here is that Dr. Tim's is a no go, I'll chuck it and try microbacter. Or use a fish. I'm unsure about what the best course is because the reviews are all over the place. The usual spread, either "Dr. Tim's was so good it helped my fish develop a personal relationship with Jesus" or "Dr. Tim is the devil, he killed all of my fish, burned down my house, and seduced my wife."

I'm not new to the hobby, just to fish-less cycling, so any opinions on this topic are welcome.

Thank you!

 

[jerrod]

I used Dr Tims when first cycling my last tank and didnt have any issues, ive also used Fritz before. This was years ago but I believe I followed the directions including amount of ammonia. Once I saw ammonia zero as well as nitrite to nitrate I added fish. If I remember right Dr Tims took almost 2 weeks for this to happen but as I said this was years ago so could be mistaken on timeframe. Ive never used Microbacter start.

 

[AquaLogic]

I used Dr Tims when first cycling my last tank and didnt have any issues, ive also used Fritz before. This was years ago but I believe I followed the directions including amount of ammonia. Once I saw ammonia zero as well as nitrite to nitrate I added fish. If I remember right Dr Tims took almost 2 weeks for this to happen but as I said this was years ago so could be mistaken on timeframe. Ive never used Microbacter start.

Great, thanks for your input!

 

[crabgrass]

I recently cycled my tank (in a trashcan). I did a shrimp + some leftover dr Tims. Took the shrimp out after a week and fed some food a couple times a week. I had a little time on my side, but 30 days later moved all my fish a few coral into the new tank without issues. Never did a single test for ammonia or nitrite.

 

[musel101]

I'm about to start my first fish-less cycle. I've cycled plenty of tanks, but it's always been with fish or with live rock, and this time I'm trying fish-less. BRS seems to be all in on Dr. Tim's, so I ordered the ammonia, first defense, and one and only. However, looking at the reviews people seem to have a lot of trouble with high ammonia when they say they follow the directions exactly. Am I better off with Microbacter, or are the bad reviews of Dr. Tim's the usual user error? Is Dr. Tim not to be trusted? I know that a large amount of bad reviews for all but the worst of products tend to be from people who screwed something up, but if the conventional wisdom around here is that Dr. Tim's is a no go, I'll chuck it and try microbacter. Or use a fish. I'm unsure about what the best course is because the reviews are all over the place. The usual spread, either "Dr. Tim's was so good it helped my fish develop a personal relationship with Jesus" or "Dr. Tim is the devil, he killed all of my fish, burned down my house, and seduced my wife."

I'm not new to the hobby, just to fish-less cycling, so any opinions on this topic are welcome.

Thank you!

Seachem Pristine would be another option works great for me​

 

[mrpontiac80]

My first tank I used dr Tim’s and followed the instructions and ended up with very high ammonia. Water changes took care of it but the cycle took longer than advertised.

The second tank I did I used fritz turbo start 900 and it was fantastic. I’ve used it since.

If you use dr Tim’s I’d probably cut the instructed ammonia dose in half. You can always add more if you need to

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

For what it's worth to you, Dr. Reef did a study on bottle-bac for insta-cycling a tank a while back. They found Fritz Turbo Start 900 was the best, and Biospira and Dr. Tim’s were runners up.

Dr. Reef said:
Few years ago I conducted a massive study here on r2r. It's called bacteria in bottle myth or fact.
We studied 9 or 10 different brands.
Fritz turbostart 900 wins in every way possible.
Bio Spira and Dr Tim one and only are runner ups.
Rest I found might be hetrotrophic ammonia sludge removers.
We use instant cycles in our qt tanks in between bleaching tanks.
Never had any issues. I use fritz turbstart 900.
Bleach the tank. Air dry for 24 hrs rinse and reset. Fill up the tank and use 2 to 3 times the amount recommended and release fish.
Algae is normal phase of every tank cycle that likely can't be avoided.

 

[AquaLogic]

For what it's worth to you, Dr. Reef did a study on bottle-bac for insta-cycling a tank a while back. They found Fritz Turbo Start 900 was the best, and Biospira and Dr. Tim’s were runners up.

Thanks, that's good to know!

 

[jttide]

I’ve used Microbacter 7 with Marco rock in several tanks in the past. I did a three month cycle with each. Used pellet food and then frozen food the last month. Tested every few days the first couple of weeks until everything leveled out. Never had any issues. It’s what I’ll do again soon on my 125gal, but this time I’ve have a little bit of cycled rock to help.

 

[Spare time]

Seachem Pristine would be another option works great for me​

You mean stability?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I did Dr. Tim's with my tank and didn't have any issues, quick and easy