Review on Activ Betta Gems Aquarium 1 Pound by Mary Freedom

Bought this and some small blue rocks for my small 5 gallon tank. They look great but don't really start the nitrogen cycle like a substrate with active bacteria should. I installed it on a Friday night and let it filter until Saturday night as the water was very cloudy as some have said. Once it was almost clear, I added Dr. Added Tim's ammonia solution, brought the ammonia level up to 2 parts per million and waited, checking the ammonia level each day. The environment still didn't change, so I added one of the small bottles of Tetra Safe Start Plus to my aquarium filter. On Thursday the ammonia level dropped to 1ppm so I increased it to 2ppm. On Friday it was 0.5ppm so I increased it back to 2ppm. On Saturday, the ammonia level was close to 0 ppm. I've never seen a nitrite spike, but I've read that it can happen if I'm using a safe start and my nitrates have gone through the roof, completing my cycle. Time to choose my fish!