Seachem Stability Experiment.

[FishFanatic04]

I took some inspiration from a member here...Snazy...who recently did an experiment on whether Tetra Safe Start works to quicken the bacteria cycle. I have had it suggested twice now from a source that I trust on other fishkeeping relating subjects that using Seachem Stability will cycle your tank in 7 days and allow you to add fish. I personally am skeptical, I doubt these products work but I happen to have a new 10g laying around, with a brand new filter, and fresh new sponges so here goes!

My tap water has 1.0 ppm of ammonia and 0-5 ppm Nitrates. My ph is high which I gather is good when cycling a tank. I plan to just do water changes to reintroduce ammonia to the tank since 1 ppm should be a nice normal number for a functioning tank. Going any higher won't do much good except for over producing bacteria that will die back when they are underfed by the few fish that I will keep in the tank later. I don't see how higher levels of ammonia will speed the cycle either. Correct me if I'm wrong, of course.

The tank is sitting as pictured. I just filled it and used seachem prime...not the best for a cycle however, that's the dechlorinator I use, I buy in bulk, and I've already forked out $11 for the Stability, which I suspect is a fraud. {after Snazy was ripped a new one over her plants} I will not be adding any decoration to the tank other then a thin layer of sand.

 

[HayzH]

I took some inspiration from a member here...Snazy...who recently did an experiment on whether Tetra Safe Start works to quicken the bacteria cycle. I have had it suggested twice now from a source that I trust on other fishkeeping relating subjects that using Seachem Stability will cycle your tank in 7 days and allow you to add fish. I personally am skeptical, I doubt these products work but I happen to have a new 10g laying around, with a brand new filter, and fresh new sponges so here goes!

My tap water has 1.0 ppm of ammonia and 0-5 ppm Nitrates. My ph is high which I gather is good when cycling a tank. I plan to just do water changes to reintroduce ammonia to the tank since 1 ppm should be a nice normal number for a functioning tank. Going any higher won't do much good except for over producing bacteria that will die back when they are underfed by the few fish that I will keep in the tank later. I don't see how higher levels of ammonia will speed the cycle either. Correct me if I'm wrong, of course.

The tank is sitting as pictured. I just filled it and used seachem prime...not the best for a cycle however, that's the dechlorinator I use, I buy in bulk, and I've already forked out $11 for the Stability, which I suspect is a fraud. {after Snazy was ripped a new one over her plants} I will not be adding any decoration to the tank other then a thin layer of sand.

good luck..i will watch this thread

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Excellent. I know it can be done in two weeks with Stability but I'm doubtful of the one week claim, hope it's true though.

As I said when snazy started his cycle with Safe Start, I don't think these products work if you dose high as in a usual fishless cycle. Your 1ppm is far better, although still too high in my opinion. Practicalities win out though.

Very savvy of you to use the 'free' ammonia supplied by your water authority, that's exactly what I do. Looking forward to the never ending story...oh no, wait, that was snazy's cycle (sorry snazy, just kidding! ).

 

[FishFanatic04]

LOL I hope Snazy doesn't mind the reference here, i learned a lot actually from that thread. I used my "free" ammonia from my tap in my fry tank and it worked great...small water changes kept the ammonia at about .50. Only a 100% water change was actually bringing the ammonia up to 1 ppm, but I was thinking that the lower ammonia level mimics the ammonia produced by the fish in the tank.

The bottle claims that you can add your fish anytime while using the product and that to make sure not to miss a dose. The first day is a double dose and you dose normally for the next 6. I have dosed already today and will test the water tomorrow.

Who knows, maybe there will be nitrites already!

 

[Crossfire]

Ah, I suspect you will have a dificult time during this cycle!
See, the bacteria found in Stability is a land based bacteria and though it eats ammonia like the water based, it won't actually establish itself because it will die after a few days.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Well its an experiment with a time limit. The bottle says 7 days. I'll give it 2 weeks at the most.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You are correct that the bacteria in Stability are not the correct ones. Nitrosomonas marina and nitrospira do not produce spores, however SeaChem states:

The bacteria in Stability are alive but not active. They exist in a spore form. They can withstand extreme temperatures and do not require food to survive. When you add them to your aquarium they become active due to dilution.

 

[FishFanatic04]

As expected, no results so far. 1.o ppm 0 Nitrite. I am not testing Nitrate everyday, not until after nitrite shows up and starts dropping.

 

[frodo11]

I started a 12 gal Fluval Edge a week (7 days) ago (all contents brand new) ... initial doses of Prime, Stability and StressZyme ... and Stability each morning since ... tested water last night - PH: 7.0, Ammonia: 0.0, Nitrites: 0.0 and Nitrates: 0.0 ... plan to dose with StressZyme and introduce a couple fish tomorrow ... if the cycling never started at least the water seems to be clean and should have enough hungry "bugs" that will be fed with fish introduction ... have I screwed up? Any comments?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

To cycle a tank (the filter really) you have to have a source of ammonia in the water, either from fish or by adding it yourself in a fishless cycle. Essentially you've just wasted your Stability and Stress Zyme. When you add the fish you'll be doing a fish-in cycle so be prepared for many daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm. Or, better still, do a fishless cycle, your fish will thank you for it.

 

[soybean]

I started a 12 gal Fluval Edge a week (7 days) ago (all contents brand new) ... initial doses of Prime, Stability and StressZyme ... and Stability each morning since ... tested water last night - PH: 7.0, Ammonia: 0.0, Nitrites: 0.0 and Nitrates: 0.0 ... plan to dose with StressZyme and introduce a couple fish tomorrow ... if the cycling never started at least the water seems to be clean and should have enough hungry "bugs" that will be fed with fish introduction ... have I screwed up? Any comments?

If you're after cycling help can I suggest you start a new thread, else it might get lost in this thread and people may miss it

That said... Your tank isn't cycled so if you add fish tomorrow you'll be in a fish in cycle and have to commit to daily testing and water changes at least once a day. A bit of a pain and not ideal for the fish. You'd be better off going to buy a bottle of ammonia tomorrow and dosing that instead to do a fishless cycle.

 

[FishFanatic04]

I started a 12 gal Fluval Edge a week (7 days) ago (all contents brand new) ... initial doses of Prime, Stability and StressZyme ... and Stability each morning since ... tested water last night - PH: 7.0, Ammonia: 0.0, Nitrites: 0.0 and Nitrates: 0.0 ... plan to dose with StressZyme and introduce a couple fish tomorrow ... if the cycling never started at least the water seems to be clean and should have enough hungry "bugs" that will be fed with fish introduction ... have I screwed up? Any comments?

The good news is that you haven't screwed up! But unfortunately running your tank empty and using Stability with no ammonia "food source" won't cycle your tank. The whole reason I'm running this experiment is that I'm not even convinced that Stability works. It's great that you have started out without fish since most newbies {including me} started with fish and watched them be poisoned as the cycle ran it's course. Trust me, it's sad and painful to watch.

The best thing you can do it to start adding a source of ammonia and wait out your cycle. Goodluck!!

 

[FishFanatic04]

As if it is shocking...Same results as yesterday. 1.0 ppm ammonia. 0 nitrite.

Will dose stability tonight. Dose #3 of 7.

 

[FishFanatic04]

This is the most boring experiment ever. Today will be does #6.

Test results in last 2 days are the same as always. 1.0 ammonia. 0 nitrite. Takes a long time for a cycle to get going. I haven't tested today yet. Maybe some purple?

Who cares? Stability is a sham

 

[FishFanatic04]

Apparently Stability works with a fish-in cycle so I've been doing it wrong {Major eye-roll} Adding ammonia to mimic fish waste can do the same thing as a fish-in cycle, except kill a bunch of helpless beings.

I was told today that I should have added fish on the 4th day. Whatever. lol I have ZERO results. The nitrite is slightly purple but no where near the .25 ppm. Tomorrow would be a week Since the start. First thing I'm going to do is break down the tank. Chuck the sponge in my Filstar xp3. and sit back while it colonizes.