Seachem Stability

[lilacamy931]

Hello
I have been cycling my tank with just Seachem Stability for two weeks, I only got a test kit today (waiting for the one i actually ordered lol). The tests read as follows

ph 8
ammonia 0.5
nitrite 0.5
nitrates 5

I need help as I am getting the fish on Saturday! The tank is a 14 gallon, has plastic plants in, a piece of bogwood and will be holding 4 dwarf puffers. I will be testing tomorrow for any changes, but please help me!

On the bottle it says to add so much on the first day to a new aquarium, then so much up to 7 days. Quoting from the bottle "fish and other aquatic species may be introduced at any time as long as the dosage is maintained for 7 days". The Stability is meant to be like instant cycles supposedly but works in a different format by being in a dormant spore form. I checked with other people that had used it and reviews and all the responses were no not to add anything to feed just to leave the product to get on with it....

 

[waterdrop]

Well, looks like you'll be our guinae pig! Although Seachem is a great company (members here really like their "Prime" and "Flourish" products, among others,) they are not immune from marketing things that, perhaps in this case, don't have a great track record. Most comments here are that this is just another "bacteria in a bottle" product and all of these have a record of leaving members disappointed.

If the fish arrive Saturday, you'll likely find yourself in a "fish-in cycling situation" and as such you may have a month of daily water changes ahead. The usual technique for fish-in cycling is to attempt to keep ammonia and nitrite(NO2) levels always below 0.25ppm. Most people test twice a day (with a liquid kit, like the API Freshwater Master Test Kit) about 12 hours apart. The goal is to adjust the percentage and frequency of the water changes so that by the time you get home and can test, the water will hopefully not have risen above the 0.25ppm levels, and you can change again to get it looking like zero ppm.

Now in your case, if this goes against what the Stability instructions are saying to do, then you'd have to make a judgement call. The levels you are showing us are 0.50ppm, which we'd normally expect to be at the beginning point of permanent gill and nerve damage for some species, but if the Stability called for that and if it didn't test above 0.50 then perhaps we could see you giving it a try. With any sort of fish-in cycle there's not much guarantee the fish will necessarily survive though, or if they do, that they will live as long.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lilacamy931]

Many thanks for replying... if it means daily water changes or even two then I will do it. I am going to test know (it is AM here) and then this evening for readings and post. My last thought suggested to me eslewhere was to do a large water change and get Tetra Safestart to add with the puffs to give a better running start..

 

[stranger69]

Just my 2 cents from my experience.

When re-cycling my old tank for my molly fry, I was in a spot and bought this product upon the recommendation from my LSF.

In short it did absolutely nothing for the cycle, 4 weeks of cycling and the ammonia didn't drop at all so I was stuck in the first stage of cycling. What I did to get it going was when I was doing maintenance on my other tanks filter. I squeezed out the sponge into a glass and poured it directly into the other tank. Worked like a charm.

Not sure if you have access to another established filter or have a friend who has one.

 

[lilacamy931]

Unfortunately no one I know has a fish tank! All the stores I visit are on a central system and the one I did find that has individual filters had very sick looking fish..

The tests this morning were same results, the tests done just now are....same.

About to do 30% water change, then will add tetra safestart when add the puffs tom and really hope for the best, very disappointed this product did not work for me. Will have to work hard to make sure they are happy and hope I do well for a first timer.

 

[stranger69]

Check this out and see if anybody is close to your area.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150631

 

[lilacamy931]

Thanks for the link, i have contacted someone and we will see! The four dwarf puffers have been added along with tetra safestart and will be monitoring closely with as many water changes as needed to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down. They are absolutely adorable!

 

[waterdrop]

What sort of test kit do you have? You'll want to be testing twice a day. The goal is to figure out what pattern of percentages and frequency of water changes will allow the ammonia and/or nitrite(NO2) levels to not have risen above 0.25ppm by the time you can be home, test again, and perform another water change if necessary.

I'm not sure what sort of pattern it would take with 4 puffers in a 14g, but it might not be too bad. You just have to be careful about it!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lilacamy931]

i have an api feshwater test kit and testing frequently. the ammonia never raises above 0.25 as do frequent water changes, but the water still usually measures 0.25. Got very excited yesterday morning as everything was 0! do about 20-30% water change everyday. as had a long weekend and was ill, fed two small amounts a day. as now at work, will be feeding them when back from work and a water change afterwards

 

[waterdrop]

Sounds like you are doing everything right!

 

[lilacamy931]

thanks waterdrop - always seem to now have a reading of 0.25 ammonia before and after water changes (i have tested the tap reads 0) weird. Had that wonderful 0 ammonia reading as a one off!

 

[Marclau]

I've been using this product for 4 months and sincerely believe its of value...........here is my reasoning............i do weekly tests on water quality etc etc.......and although everything is easily within perimeters, my Nitrate now and then falls down to 5. When this occurs, I add Stability (3 cap full as per instructions) and within 2 hours my Nitrates jump up to 10.
Every water change I do (30% fortnightly) I add it or when I add new fish and so far does not falter........

Now, I have tested my Nitrates before adding and always sits at 5 both before and after water change.........it then sits on 10 for about a week after adding Stability.