Tetra Aqua Easy Balance

[screamingdonkey]

Got it as a freebie. Anyone have any good/bad experiences of this?

Thanks in advance

 

[Munkys Mummy]

we got it with our tank and had np with it, still got all the fish so I guess it must be working

 

[WILDER]

Find all tetra stuff good but overpriced.

 

[GoldLenny]

It's NOT GOOD for several reasons.

Firstly, because it tells people or implies to them that they do not have to do PWC's for up to 6 months which is HORRIBLE advice. Next, it has chemicals in it that are best left out of an aquarium. They do not make the MSDS sheet available on their site but I found it through a Google search a while back on Wal-Marts "master" MSDS site.

Here is the "Dangerous Chemicals" ingredients according to the very hard to find MSDS sheet. http/msds.walmartstores.com/cache/2258_1.pdf

Dangerous Chemicals:
Sodium Hydroxide <2.5%
Tartaric Acid <2.5%
Formaldehyde <2.5%

The other major ingredients are Sucrose (sugar) and 89.4% water.

Further, it has little white granules that contain these chemicals that get down into your gravel which slowly dissolve into your water, so if you have fish that forage in the gravel, they could ingest these granules. No telling what kinds of problems they could cause.

 

[iairj84]

It seems interesting that they would include potentially lethal ingrediants into the stuff... Obviously the 6 months without a water change claim is ridiculous but to include potentially lethal stuff in there?

 

[WILDER]

Does it say 6 months , never used it.
Anybody who can't be bothered to do a water change for six months shouldnt be keeping fish.

 

[iairj84]

Easy Balance® – An Overview

EasyBalance® provides an invaluable safety net for the time challenged hobbyist. Nitraban™ adds further stability to aquariums by helping natural bacteria complete the nitrogen cycle. These white, biodegradable granules settle into the gravel where they nourish beneficial de-nitrification bacteria that convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas. When used on a weekly basis, EasyBalance® will help keep your fish healthy while making your job easier. The water is kept biologically healthy for up to 6 months, extending time between water changes. It’s a comprehensive benefits package for both you and your fish alike.

Easy Balance® – Detailed Description of Individual Product Features

* Carbonate Hardness Additive– The appropriate amount of carbonate hardness is added to the aquarium water compensating for KH losses, which occur as a result of nitrification.
* pH Stabilization– Stabilizes the pH value on a sufficiently high level, preventing a drop to biologically harmful levels (pH crash) and produces a certain amount of CO2 preventing excessive pH values.
* Phosphate Removing Effect– In a standard aquarium (30gal) the phosphate concentration is reduced to zero during most of the 6-month period.
* New Feature: Nitrate Reduction with Nitraban™– Serves as a nutrient for denitrifying bacteria that consume the oxygen releasing nitrogen from the aquarium. On average the nitrate concentration will drop below 40mg/l.
* Other Features Include– Production of Carbon Dioxide, the addition of trace elements and a replenishment of vitamin B

Easy Balance® – Directions for use

* Shake well before using
* Add 1 teaspoon of EasyBalance® for every 5 gallons of aquarium water. Repeat dosage weekly.
* Change 50-75% of your aquarium water at least once every 6 months, provided Easy Balance® has been added as recommended and the aquarium is other wise properly maintained.
* Note: EasyBalance® is not a tap water conditioner and will not neutralize harmful chlorine or chloramines. When adding tap water to the aquarium it is recommended you always use Tetra AquaSafe® according to its directions. EasyBalance® should not be used in aquariums with low oxygen conditions; proper aeration using an airstone is strongly recommended.





Seems like it claims that... It's a shame

 

[GoldLenny]

It seems interesting that they would include potentially lethal ingrediants into the stuff... Obviously the 6 months without a water change claim is ridiculous but to include potentially lethal stuff in there?

Those ingredients are listed right on the product's MSDS (Manufacturer's Safety Data Sheet). I ALWAYS look at the MSDS for chemical type products before I add them to my tank. Mostly, I just don't add them. Strictly weekly 25% PWC's and a simple dechlor product. None of the stress-this or slime-that type products.

About the only good thing about EB is that after the first two chemicals kill your fish, the formaldehyde will preserve them better for the necropsy.

 

[Bignose]

The heading on an MSDS is "Dangerous Chemicals" but that does not mean that the product cannot be used safely. Sodium Hydroxide can be very safe, there is a lot of it in soap, for example, and if you eat grits you are eating sodium hydroxide in the hominy. For that matter, a sodium hydroxide solution is used to wash fruits and vegetables, in chocolate and caramel production, and is in every soft drink. Tartaric acid is present in wine, in fairly high concentrations. Formaldehyde is probably the most dangerous, but a solution of 2.5% or less is not very dangerous, and can be very safe if used properly. It is a mild anti-microbial agent. It is a principal component in a lot of ich/other parasite medicines, though in those cases it is usually around 20-35% concentrations. I guess my point here is that many, many, many things have "Dangerous Chemicals" in them, but that doesn't make the product itself dangerous, so there is no need to freak out about it. I am 100% sure that those chemicals are added because they perfrom the job they are supposed to perform. If all they did was kill fish, I am sure that by now the fishkeeping community would know about it and Tetra wouldn't still be making this product.

Now, about its use, I do find it highly suspect. There was a great thread about 2 years ago now where a forum member kept two tanks identically, one with the regular water changes and one following the intructions on the EasyBalance bottle. Bith contained a populaiton of guppies. In the water changed tank, the guppies spawned normally and were their normal guppy selves. In the EasyBalance tank, the guppies were healthy, none died or anything, but they didn't spawn. And I think as we all know, guppies that aren't spawning have something wrong with them. It seemed like it was nothing overt, but the guppies were obviously not 100%.

That thread and many others talking about EasyBalance can be found using the site's search function.

 

[ghostchoir]

How odd, I was going to ask the same thing. Have you been buying dechlorinator, by any chance?

Bignose, could you link me to that thread? It sounds interesting but I can never get the search to work on my computer.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.ilfordaquarists.co.uk/articles2.htm

 

[GoldLenny]

Maybe Tetra should re-market EB as birth control for live bearers. That might make it sell a lot better than as a water treatment product. LOL

As far as your other "safe" uses for the "Dangerous Chemicals"... while they may be safe for humans, they are not safe for fish. We are constantly warning people against using cleaning products in or near their tanks. I know lots of the meds we have to occasionally use have "Dangerous Chemicals" in them but we also use them for a short period and then do PWC's and run fresh chemical filtration to remove the meds.

I just don't see how this stuff can be marketed as being safe for fish.... especially based on their instructions about 50-70% water changes every six months. It is taking advantage of the uninformed newbie and causing who knows what kinds of problems to the fish.

People get outraged over tattooing and dyeing. I think there should be more outrage over supposedly reputable companies putting out products like this.

 

[WILDER]

I would rather have peace of mind by doing my weekly maintance not chemicals, sounds to good to be true, just another fish keepers lazy tool.

 

[kribensis12]

i used for a while, never overfed, did my water changes monthly( said on the back, extended water changes) and all my fish died from nitrate, and ammonia.

 

[Bignose]

How odd, I was going to ask the same thing. Have you been buying dechlorinator, by any chance?

Bignose, could you link me to that thread? It sounds interesting but I can never get the search to work on my computer.

I don't think it is a question of "working on your computer" you just click on the "Search" button and type in "EasyBalance" here is a good example of one of the threads that comes up: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...;hl=easybalance

And, again, Lenny, the chemicals are in there to do a job. If all this product did was kill fish, I don't think it would survive on the market very long. But, this product has been out for well over two years. I agree that it is unlikely to help, and it doesn't keep the fish at 100%, but, I also don't think that adding this is an instant death sentence. The chemicals are in there for a reason: the sodium hydroxide would be basic so it helps prevent pH crashes, the tartaric acid is in there since it prevents many of the undesirable bacteria and pathogens from growing. The same can be be said for the formaldehyde. The concentrations of these are not high, and then when the bottle contents are added (a few mL per 10 gallons) the concnetrations are diluted to even a much lower levels. Look, it is not something I would want in my tank, but it is not correct to say that these chemicals are in there just to kill the fish. They are there to do a job. I am sure Tetra didn't just chuck a bunch of chemicals together and said, "slap a label on it and get it in the stores!" I have little doubt that the chemicals do the jobs they are supposed to do, and do help keep the fish alive -- compared to a tank with no water changes and no EasyBalance, I'd definately take the EasyBalance. But, we know that the water change route is much, much healthier and almost just as easy. But, to say "I just don't see how this stuff can be marketed as safe for fish" is ignorning the fact that those chemicals are there to do a job and that their concentrations are very, very low. It is not unlike air quality or water quality for humans -- a certain small amount of pollution is perfectly acceptable in both the air and the water, since they have no effect whatsoever on people. That, and it is practically impossible to achieve levels of exactly zero pollution. It is the same thing with the fish and EasyBalance -- the concentrations of the chemicals are low enough that they don't cause immediate problems with the fish and still high enough to do the job they are supposed to do. Again, I agree that adding chemicals is not something I want to do to my tanks, but the levels of chemicals in the tank from EasyBalance are not going to be a death sentence for the fish. Tetra, in their search for profit, would not make a product that is anywhere near that deadly -- it would be deadly for their company. Word would get out very, very quickly. It is not a deadly as you make it out to be.