Seriously, does MB7 work or not?

[magikfly]

I'm in the process of cycling a new tank, and started out with a few hundred ml of biopellets. Started a few weeks after initial setup dosing microbacter and have noticed that it certainly does clear up water.
However I've read contradictory statements of (infamous) users on this forum saying its snake oil.
Well? Which is it?

[Jeff]

I start up all new saltwater and freshwater tanks with it. It seems to shorten the cycle greatly for me.

[m2434]

No one can give you any answer other than their opinion. This may be based on a valid observation, or just the placebo effect. To make any sort of accurate claim, someone would need to do an independent experiment.

I have some doubts, simply because the resources required to produce and manufacture a consistent, reliable product, that does what MB7 claims, would require a fair amount of resources. I am not sure how big Brightwell is, but most of these companies are pretty small, and I find it unlikely that they have the resources necessary for the R&D and quality control to bring such a product to market.

That said, I tried using it before Vodka dosing. I can't say it helped anything, but it didn't seem to hurt anything. I would guess it's just common nitrifying bacteria, which may help speed up a cycle. Whatever is in it though is purely speculation.

On a side note, why are you running bio-pellets during a cycle? This seems counter-productive.