Aquarium – Filter Starter

Description

When to use?
If left, fish waste will build up and become toxic. Filter Starter contains Bacillus megaterium, B. pumilis, B. licheniformis, Paenbacillius polymyxa, Nitrosomonas spp., Nitrobacter spp., and Nitrospira spp. These friendly filter bacteria break down fish waste, making the water safe for fish.
Add to a new aquarium to help ‘kick-start’ the filter, when adding new fish, after a filter clean/water change, or after using a disease treatment.
How to use?

Calculate the volume of your aquarium in litres (Length x Width x Depth (in cm)/1,000). Alternatively, use our Dosage Calculator to help you.
Shake the bottle thoroughly before use.
Bacteria starts working immediately, improving the performance of the filter.
Repeat dose weekly for 4 weeks when starting a new aquarium or a single dose after each water change.

“Comprehensive and easy to use, I often like to have a couple of bottles of Anti-Internal Bacteria treatment or Disease Solve to hand. Nice to know that I’m not the only one who rates these products!” Nathan Hill, the Associate Editor of Practical Fishkeeping Magazine
For common frequently asked questions, click here.

NT Labs Filter Starter for cycling tanks in Singapore

Filter Starter delivers a blend of nitrifying and waste-digesting bacteria that help kick a new filter into life, and it is one of the products we point beginners towards when they are setting up their first tank. In our warm 27-29C climate beneficial bacteria establish reasonably quickly, but a bottled culture still shortens the anxious early weeks and gives livestock a safer landing.

We also recommend keeping a bottle on hand for after a deep filter clean, a big water change, or a course of medication, since any of these can knock back your colony and trigger an ammonia or nitrite blip. Add fish gradually rather than all at once so the bacteria can scale with the bioload, and never rinse media under chlorinated tap water, which kills the very organisms you are trying to seed.

For the full picture, read our simple nitrogen cycle explainer and our step-by-step on how to cycle an aquarium. More starter aids sit in our conditioners & medication section.