i use API quick start and compared to fish cycling(not recommended by me) and fishless cycling im guessing theres some kind of risk but nothing bad has happened to me so i cant really say anything. i heard that sometime they just wont work so itll be high risk but if it works the satisfaction tho
thats what usually people do but you have to keep adding ammonia so the bacteria dont die from starvation.Also ,would you recommend me adding some pellets in there to spike the ammonia levels a bit to see whether the bacteria acts on it.