Do Aquarium Quick Start Cycling Water Conditioners & bacteria supplements actually work?

It is hit and miss with the quick cycle products.

Remember a cycled tank relies on bacteria. How can bacteria survive in a plastic bottle on a stores shelf for months with no food to consume and fluctuating temperatures?

You are better of getting hold of a still wet,dirty filter sponge from a healthy (no diseases or parasites) cycled tank and sqeezing it into the aquarium. The bacteria will migrate to the new filter.

I have "cycled" a tank in under 24 hours with this process, but remember there will be minimal bacteria in the tank doing it this way so only add one or two fish at a time (test the water before adding fish)

The water will look disgusting until the filter(s) can clear the tank, but most of the "mud" will be bacteria and will find its way to the filter.

Your local fish store may be willing to squeeze a filter into a bag for you for a dollar or two or even free if you ask nice. Treat the goo with the same care as you would any fish.

Basic rule of fish keeping is -:

health filter healthy tank healthy fish

healthy filter healthy tank healthy fish

Sort've. They will not cycle an aquarium instantly, but they will speed up the cycling process from the usual 4 weeks it takes to about 3 weeks. It would be best to do a fishless cycle before adding the fish, and you can just use the Quick Start to speed it up slightly.

Well i have tried API quick start and the ammonia went down from 5ppm to about 1ppm in a bout 1 week or less. then by the end of the next week it was at 0.5ppm And that is where it stopped for about a month then the natural cycle took it down to 0ppm.

They can help, but contrary to the claims of manufacturers, the tank should still be allowed to cycle for 6 weeks before being considered stable and healthy.

Not really. To be honest stuff like that can sometimes cause more harm than good :/

You'd be better just leaving it to cycle naturally instead of adding stuff to it.

Only one that works is tetra safe start

I believe so