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Tetra SafeStart Plus Review 2024 – Pros, Cons & Our Final Verdict

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By Lindsey Stanton

Tetra SafeStart Plus Review

If you own an aquarium, you probably know that adding new fish into a tank, especially a tank that has not yet been established or cycled, can be quite a challenge. There are many substances in the water which can hurt your fish. These include ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate too. Yes, with a good biological filter, these substances will be broken down into other harmless substances.

However, if your filter is new and the aquarium is new, the beneficial bacteria which break down ammonia and nitrites will not be there in sufficient numbers in order to really make a difference. We are here today doing a Tetra SafeStart Plus review to cover a detailed overview of this treatment product.

aquarium plant divider Our Tetra SafeStart Plus Reviewsafe start plus

Tetra SafeStart Plus Water Treatment is more or less a little bottle of liquid filled with the beneficial bacteria needed to get rid of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and other such things.

Let’s get right into it and talk about what exactly this water treatment can do.

Features & Benefits

In all reality, this treatment is a very simple thing and it is easy to use. There is not that much to say about it, especially since we have already covered what ammonia is and why it is bad for your fish. However, there are a couple of key things that you need to know about Tetra SafeStart Plus Water Treatment, so let’s talk about it right now.

Like we said, Tetra SafeStart is more or less a bottle of the same bacteria which would usually be present in your biological filter. The problem is that these filters are sterile for up to 40 days, which means they are lacking bacteria. These bacteria need to grow and multiply, which can take several weeks. This means that no fish can be added to the tank during this period. This is where Tetra SafeStart Water Treatment comes into play.

What It Does & How To Use It

Tetra SafeStart treatment is like a kickstart that your biological filter needs. Simply add in the appropriate amount of the treatment (as directed on the package instructions) in order to get things started. The bacteria will infiltrate the biological filter and multiply very rapidly. It is like an instant addition of bacteria to your tank and the biological filter.

The obvious benefit here is that you do not have to wait for 40 days to add fish into your new aquarium. Simply add in the water, add the appropriate amount of Tetra water treatment, and you are ready to add your fish into the tank. One single dose of Tetra treatment adds enough bacteria for the whole filter bed.

Not having to wait for your bacteria to grow before adding fish cuts down on a lot of wasted time and hassle too. The bacteria contained in the bottle start working immediately upon entry to break down ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. A 1.69 ounce bottle of Tetra SafeStart is enough for a 15 gallon tank. There is also a 3.98 ounce and 8.45 ounce bottle, which are good for 30 gallon and 70 gallon tanks, respectively.

Pros
  • Immediately adds beneficial bacteria to the aquarium
  • Helps establish your biological filter immediately
  • Starts breaking down ammonia and nitrites right away
  • Allows you to add fish into a brand new aquarium without establishing the filter or cycling the tank
  • Very easy to use – just add into the water
  • Extremely effective
Cons
  • Might cause the water to be sudsy for a few days
  • May make the water a little cloudy
aquarium with coral, clay pot, cichlids, plants
Image By: Frantisek Czanner, Shutterstock

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate & Your Aquarium

Like we mentioned before, the problem with newly established aquariums is that they do not have enough beneficial bacteria present to adequately handle the buildup of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Fish produce a lot of waste, which is even truer the more fish you have.

Fish waste gives off ammonia, something which is very deadly to fish even in very small quantities. Well-established fish tanks are full of beneficial bacteria which break this ammonia down into nitrite, then into nitrate, and eventually into harmless nitrogen.

A biological filter that has been left to grow bacteria is a great way to get rid of this stuff, but if the filter is new and bacteria have not had time to establish, you have a problem. Tanks need to be cycled, which means you need to wait for a few weeks for the bacteria to build up before you can add fish.

There need to be bacteria already present when you add fish into the mix to feal with the ammonia fish produce. Without this buildup of good bacteria, the ammonia will accumulate, be left untreated, and quickly kill your fish.

aquarium plant divider Conclusion

The bottom line is that ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate cannot be present in an aquarium even in small amounts. Instead of waiting for your biological filter to establish itself and for bacteria to grow, a water treatment like this one can help immediately.

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